EPCRA: Regulations for Reporting Procedures and Emergency Planning

Sarah Mueller, Senior Consulting Safety Officer, Safety Partners, Inc.
Denise Aronson, President, Safety Partners, Inc.
Kim Caserta, Consulting Safety Officer, Safety Partners, Inc.

Few people who recall the world's worst industrial disaster that took place almost 25 years ago, in Bhopal, India, would question the need for today's regulation of hazardous substances and emergency planning requirements.

On December 3, 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited plant, in Bhopal while most of its residents slept. The plume immediately killed approximately 3000 people and injured many more, leaving many with disabilities and lingering health problems. Less than a year later on Aug. 11, 1985, another release of MIC happened at another Union Carbide site – this time in Institute, West Virginia. Luckily, there were no deaths in Institute, but over 100 people were taken to the hospital. With these two accidents, emergency alarms began sounding in the halls of U.S. Congress.

Call for New Legislation

These incidences prompted Congress to pass legislation that requires companies to provide information about hazardous chemicals and address emergency planning and preparation. The resulting Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), was developed to provide communities with important information about the hazardous substances in use at companies so they can plan for possible emergencies involving them. ERCRA is also known as SARA (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act) Title III.

While large disasters make the big headlines, smaller incidents can also result in serious injuries, loss of life, and environmental damage. By responsibly following EPCRA regulations, your firm can assure that it follows proper chemical safety procedures and help emergency responders effectively and safely respond to any unpreventable incidents.

EPCRA Components

EPCRA's four components are in place to inform communities of the potentially hazardous chemicals in their communities. They establish requirements for:

• emergency planning (Sections 301-303);
• emergency release notification (Section 304);
• community right-to-know reporting (Sections 311 and 312); and
• toxic chemical release inventory (Section 313).

Under EPCRA, each state emergency response commission (SERC) designates local emergency response committees (LEPC) to cover specific districts within the state.

Emergency Planning

Emergency planning is covered in EPCRA sections 301-303 and specifies the details of what must be covered in these plans. Facilities must notify the LEPC and SERC within 60 days if they have any of the 356 extremely hazardous substances listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR 355) in amounts above the threshold planning quantities listed for each substance.

Emergency Release Notification

Section 304 addresses emergency notification and the reportable quantities for the 356 extremely hazardous substances, as well as more than 700 hazardous substances subject to emergency notification requirements under Section 103(a) of CERCLA. Immediate notification to the LEPC and SERC must be made if any of the listed substances are released above these reportable quantities.

Community Right-to-Know Requirements

Community right-to-know requirements under EPCRA apply to facilities with:

• more than 500 pounds of an extremely hazardous substance;
• more than 10,000 pounds for other listed chemicals; or
• greater than the threshold planning quantity for any listed chemical

Facilities with quantities above these amounts, at any one time, must submit to the LEPC, SERC, and local fire department copies of their material safety data sheets (MSDSs) for those chemicals. A list of chemicals present may be submitted in lieu of submitting every MSDS, but each MSDS must be available upon request.

Section 312 requires any facility meeting the thresholds under Section 311 to annually submit by March 1 emergency and hazardous chemical inventory forms (Tier I/II) to the LEPC, SERC, and local fire department.

Toxic Release Inventory Reporting

Section 313, Toxic Release Inventory Reporting, applies to facilities that fall under certain Standard Industrial classification (SIC) codes and employ ten or more people and manufacture or process more than 25,000 pounds, or otherwise use more than 10,000 pounds of a listed toxic chemical during any calendar year. Toxic Release Inventory Forms for the preceding year must be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of New Hampshire by July 1.

The EPA publishes a List of Lists to help firms handling chemicals determine whether they need to submit reports under sections 302, 304, or 313 or ERPCA and for what specific chemicals they need to submit reports. It is found at http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/pubs/title3.pdf.

EPCRA regulations apply to any facility, large or small, that uses hazardous substances. It is in place to protect your employees, emergency responders, and area residents. By complying with EPCRA, you help prevent incidents and give emergency responders and localities the critical information they need to manage any incidents that do take place. With today's growing chemical and biosciences industries, EPCRA is more important now than ever before.

More information about EPCRA is available at http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/epcra/index.htm and at the New Hampshire Department of Safety's web site at http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/bem/HazardousMaterials/.

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Safety Partners efficiently and cost-effectively implements hands-on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs at emerging life sciences companies. Safety Partners tailors its programs to each client's unique science, processes, procedures, and facilities, while reducing program implementation burdens. Its expertise is unmatched, clocking over 85,000 hours at over 120 New England life sciences firms.