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  • Are landfills covered under Title III of SARA since they are covered by RCRA?

    Yes, landfills are subject to certain Title III requirements. Subtitle A of Title III is intended to identify facilities which present a potential hazard for a chemical emergency and to provide a process for local emergency planning committees to engage with such facilities in determining the significance of the release…

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  • Does sheet metal lose the manufactured item exemption when cut, welded, or brazed?

    A facility stores and processes sheet metal that contains a hazardous chemical requiring a material safety data sheet (MSDS) under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard ( 29 CFR section 1910.1200 ). The sheet metal, when in storage, is considered a manufactured solid and is therefore excluded from the definition of hazardous…

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  • Is customized paint exempted under the consumer product exemption?

    A store sells paint in five-gallon cans to the general public. Customers may purchase the paint as received from the manufacturer, or they may request a custom shade of paint. To attain the customer's desired shade, store employees will mix two or more base colors. This process involves opening the…

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  • TPQ calculations for hazardous substances in molten form

    Facilities are subject to emergency planning and notification requirements under EPCRA (also known as SARA Title III) when an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) is present at a facility in an amount equal to or in excess of its TPQ. For some EHSs that are solids, two TPQs are given (e.g…

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  • What is the relationship between reportable quantities (RQs) and threshold planning quantities (TPQs)?

    The reportable quantity (RQ) that triggers emergency release notification (Section 304) was developed as a quantity that when released, poses potential threat to human health and the environment. The RQs were developed using several criteria, including aquatic toxicity, mammalian toxicity, ignitability, reactivity, chronic toxicity, potential carcinogenicity, biodegradation, hydrolysis, and photolysis…

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  • 311/312 - Retail gas station "not in compliance" with UST requirements

    For purposes of using the higher EPCRA gasoline and diesel fuel thresholds, when is a retail gas station considered "not in compliance" with UST requirements? A facility is not in compliance with the UST requirements (and therefore not eligible for the higher EPCRA thresholds) when it first fails to meet…

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  • EPCRA extremely hazardous substances and relationship to CERCLA hazardous substances

    How are EPCRA extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) related to CERCLA hazardous substances? There are currently about 360 EHSs defined under EPCRA section 302 ; over a third of them are also CERCLA hazardous substances. Aside from this overlap of listed substances, CERCLA and EPCRA also have closely related notification requirements…

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  • Reporting responsibility under EPCRA §302 for a facility with several unrelated companies?

    A public warehouse is used by several unrelated companies to store extremely hazardous substances (EHSs). For purposes of emergency planning notification, who is responsible, under EPCRA Section 302, for notifying the State Emergency Response Commission if a threshold planning quantity (TPQ) of an EHS is present at the warehouse? The…

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  • MSDS reporting for various blends of gasoline

    A service station stores both leaded and unleaded gasoline on-site. For the purpose of EPCRA 311 hazardous chemical inventory reporting, is the owner/operator of the facility required to submit separate material safety data sheets (MSDS) for each type of gasoline, or is a single MSDS sufficient? Section 311 of EPCRA…

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  • Two threshold planning quantities (TPQs)

    Several substances on the list of extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) have two threshold planning quantities (TPQs) listed in 40 CFR Part 355 , Appendix A . When would a facility use the higher TPQ? EHSs that are in solid form are subject to one of two different TPQs. A facility…

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  • EPCRA Section 312 applicability

    Who is required to submit a Section 312 Tier I Form? The requirements of Section 312 ( 40 CFR Part 370 ) apply to the owner or operator of any facility that is required to prepare or have available a material safety data sheet for a hazardous chemical under the…

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  • Reporting hydrofluoric acid as a mixture

    A facility has hydrofluoric acid which is a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and water. The MSDS specifies that the mixture is 50% hydrogen fluoride and 50% water. For purposes of reporting under Sections 311/312, should the facility report on the hydrofluoric acid mixture or the 50% hydrogen fluoride? Since the…

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  • Liability for damages that a release may cause

    Once a facility properly notifies the National Response Center (NRC) , is it exempted from any liability for damages that the release may cause? No. Proper and timely reporting of a release in accordance with Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) section 103 does not preclude liability for…

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  • Release Notification for Lead from Ammunition

    Pursuant to 40 CFR 302.6 , any person in charge of an onshore facility shall, as soon as he or she has knowledge of any release of a hazardous substance from a facility in a quantity equal to or exceeding the reportable quantity (RQ) in any 24-hour period, immediately notify…

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  • Determining EPCRA 311 / 312 Compliance After Modifying Solid Manufactured Item

    Under EPCRA section 311(e)(2), any substance present as a solid in any manufactured item to the extent exposure to the substance does not occur under normal conditions of use is exempt from the definition of hazardous chemical and therefore need not be reported under EPCRA sections 311 and 312. However…

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