EH-413 Tree Logo EPCRA Note Pad
 
Module 4:
 
Community Right-to-Know		 Module 4 graphic
 
     
 
Notes for: Step 1, Step 2, Step 4, Step 5, Step 7, Step 11, Step 13, Step 15, Step 16, Step 17, Step 18, Step 20, , Step 21, Step 22, and Step 30
  
 
 
 
Notes for Step 1        Back to Step 1    GOTO: Top of Page
 
 
DOE facilities are to comply with the reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) unless legitimate national security interests would be violated. If a question arises, consult the appropriate compliance coordinator for a determination.
 
Every HS and EHS present at the facility should already be recorded on the Optional Comprehensive Inventory Worksheets or an alternate facility-wide inventory system. If this has not yet been accomplished, please complete Module 1: Inventory of Chemicals. Module 1 guides you through the process of identifying all HCs and EHSs and collecting the necessary information on them.
 
Notes for Step 1 A
 
 
The following substances are excluded from the reporting requirements of Section 311 and 312 of EPCRA by EPA's exemption:
 
  1. Any food, food additive, color additive, drug, or cosmetic regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
     
  2. Any substance present as a solid in any manufactured item to the extent that the exposure to the substance does not occur under normal conditions of use.
     
  3. Any substance to the extent it is used for personal, family, or household purposes, or is present in the same form and concentration as a product packaged for distribution and use by the general public.
     
  4. Any substance to the extent it is used in a research laboratory or a hospital or other medical facility under the direction of a technically qualified individual.
     
  5. Any substance to the extent it is used in routine agricultural operations or is a fertilizer held for sale by a retailer to the ultimate customer.
 
 
 
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29 CFR Section 190.1200 (b) of the OSHA regulations currently provides the following exemptions:
 
  1. Tobacco or tobacco products.
     
  2. Wood or wood products.
     
  3. "Articles" - defined under Section 1910.1200 (b) as a manufactured item:
     
    • Which is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture;
       
    • Which has end use function(s) dependent in whole or in part upon that shape or design during end use; and
       
    • Which does not release, or otherwise result in exposure to a hazardous chemical under normal conditions of use.
       
  4. Food, drugs, cosmetics, or alcoholic beverages in a retail establishment which are packaged for sale to consumers.
     
  5. Food, drugs, or cosmetics intended for personal consumption by employees while in the workplace.
     
  6. Any consumer product or hazardous substance at to those terms are defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) and the Hazardous Substance Control Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) respectively, where the employer can demonstrate it is used in the same manner as normal consumer use, and which use results in a duration and frequency of exposure which is not greater than exposures experienced by consumers.
     
  7. Any drug as that term is defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), when it is in solid, final form for direct administration to the patient (i.e., tables or pills).
 
 
 
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Only one Optional Aggregation Worksheet A will be completed for each EHS present at the facility. Do not begin an Aggregation Worksheet A for each product (i. e., Ammonia may be present in five different products/mixtures and the facility. Information on all five of these products would be entered on the same Optional Aggregation Worksheet A). However a separate Aggregation Worksheet A must be started for each EHS (i. e., If the facility had both ammonia and chlorine on site, one Aggregation Worksheet A would be completed for ammonia, and a separate Aggregation Worksheet A would be completed for chlorine).
 
 
 
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The TPQs and the RQs for each EHS can be found in 40 CFR Part 355, Appendices A & B.
 
 
 
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Check both the names and the CAS numbers against EPA's EHS list. Manufactures often use synonyms which are different from EPA's regulatory chemical names.
 
Notes for Step 7 A
 
 
Examples of information sources include: purchase records, inventory data, or calculations made by you process engineer.
 
Notes for Step 7 B
 
 
Section 3 of the Aggregation Worksheet A "Identifying Products which are exempt from Section 311 and 312" is an optional section of the worksheet. It would only be used if you are using Aggregation Worksheets which have been prepared for Section 302 (where there are no exemptions) and the Aggregation Worksheets contain products which are exempt from Sections 311 and 312. In this case you may complete Section 3 and subtract the weight of the exempt products which are listed in Section 2 from the total weight of products listed in Section 2.
 
 
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The facility has the option of submitting a Tier I or a Tier II form (unless the state requires a Tier II). However, it is advisable to use the Tier II in this stage of reporting even if the facility has chosen to submit a Tier I, since the Tier II serves as an excellent worksheet for both the Tier I form for Section 312 and the list for Section 311.
 
 
 
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If the reporting is on each component of the mixture which is a hazardous chemical, then concentration of the hazardous chemical, in weight percent (greater than 1% or 0.1% if carcinogenic) is multiplied by the mass (in pounds) of the mixture to determine the quantity of the hazardous chemical in the mixture. If the reporting is on the mixture itself, the total quantity of the mixture shall be reported.
 
 
 
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Be careful to include products which might not be present in a great quantity in any one place, but when aggregated over the entire facility, may be present in a much higher quantity.
 
 
 
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EPA allows you to treat products with similar compositions and hazards as the same product for reporting under Sections 311 and 312 (i.e., green latex paint and red latex paint can be reported as one product. Therefore they can be included in a single Worksheet B for "Latex paint").
 
 
 
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Only one Aggregation Worksheet B will be completed for each HC present at the facility. Do not begin a worksheet for each product (i.e., Benzene may be present in five different products/mixtures at the facility. Information on all five of these products would be entered on the same Optional Aggregation Worksheet B for Benzene), however, a separate Aggregation Worksheet B must be started for each HC (i.e., Xylene may be present in three of the five products containing benzene. In this case, one Aggregation Worksheet B would be started for benzene and a separate Aggregation Worksheet B would be started for xylene).
 
 
 
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Some products may contain more than one HC. Be sure to include the information about each product on each Aggregation Worksheet B which has been prepared for a HC contained in that product (i.e., a solvent is composed of benzene and toluene. The solvent would be recorded on both the Aggregation Worksheet B prepared for benzene and also on the Aggregation Worksheet B prepared for toluene).
 
 
 
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The facility has the option of submitting a Tier I or a Tier II form (unless the state requires a Tier II). However, it is advisable to use the Tier II in this stage of reporting even if the facility has chosen to submit a Tier I form, since the Tier II form serves as an excellent worksheet for both the Tier I form for Section 312 and the list for Section 311.
 
 
 
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EPA provides facilities the option of complying with Section 311 by submitting either a list or a set of MSDSs which cover all reportable chemicals. The instructions explain some advantages and disadvantages of each form of compliance.
 
 
 
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The Section 311 requirements can be satisfied by a list of the reportable chemicals grouped by EPA's five hazard categories. The first 2 columns of the Tier II form: "Chemical Description" and "Physical and Health Hazards" contain all the information required for the list.
 
 
 
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This requirement does not apply to facilities which have only submitted lists. This is one advantage of choosing a list submission in lieu of an MSDS submission.
 
 
 
DOE Office of Environmental Policy and Guidance