Search Frequent Questions

Filter By:

Active filters:

Remove all filters

Displaying 1 - 15 of 49 results

  • What is a reactive and non-reactive solid EHS?

    Reactive solid means any extremely hazardous substance denoted with “a” in the “Notes” column in Appendix A or B of 40 CFR 355. Reactive solids are more likely than other solids to be dispersed into the air due to the energy or heat created from their reactivity with water or…

    • Last published:

  • How did states form their SERCs?

    How are States expected to form their State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) as required under Title III? States are required to establish a State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) under Title III. The SERC may consist of existing emergency response organizations or may be an entirely new mechanism to address this…

    • Last published:

  • Pesticide applicator quantity applied to threshold or transportation exemption

    A farmer contracts with an applicator to spray pesticides on his fields. The applicator drives a tank truck onto the farmers' field and sprays the pesticide from the truck onto the fields. For purposes of Section 302 emergency planning requirements, are the EHSs in the truck considered present at the…

    • Last published:

  • State refusing to comply with the emergency planning provisions

    What will happen if a State refuses to comply with the emergency planning provisions? A governor who does not designate a State emergency response commission becomes the commission by default. While the governor could choose not to fulfill any of the Title III provisions, the public could still request information…

    • Last published:

  • Section 302 notification requirements and mixtures with unknown components

    Are facilities exempt from Section 302 notification requirements if they produce, use, or store mixtures whose extremely hazardous substance component information is not available on the MSDS provided by the manufacturer? If the facility which produces, uses, or stores mixtures knows or reasonably should know the components of the mixture…

    • Last published:

  • Accidental releases from non-covered processes

    Should the owner or operator include accidental releases from processes containing listed substances below the threshold quantity in the five-year accident history required under the hazard assessment provisions of 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B, and in the incident investigation requirements under 40 CFR Part 68, Subparts C and D…

    • Last published:

  • Do I have to report accidents that resulted in medical treatment?

    I had a release where several people were treated at the hospital and released; they attributed their symptoms to exposure. We do not believe that their symptoms were in fact the result of exposure to the released substance. Do we have to report these as offsite impacts? Yes, you should…

    • Last published:

  • 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…

    • Last published:

  • 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…

    • Last published:

  • What is the definition of "offsite property damage?"

    I am working on the five-year accident history portion of the hazard assessment under the RMP. Section 68.42(a) tells me to include "all accidental releases from covered processes that resulted in deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on site, or known offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage…

    • Last published:

  • When does the accident history's five-year period begin?

    The hazard assessment requirements under 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B include provision of a five-year accident history, as specified at §68.42. When does the five-year period to be reported in the accident history begin? The five-year accident history must include information on all accidental releases from covered processes meeting…

    • Last published:

  • What is the definition of injury?

    Under the hazard assessment requirements of 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B, an owner or operator must document a five-year accident history including all accidental releases from covered processes that resulted in deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on site, or known offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property…

    • Last published:

  • Do Program Level 1 processes need to do five-year accident histories?

    What is the relationship between the accident history criteria for Program 1 and the five-year accident history? If my process is eligible for Program 1, do I still need to do a five-year accident history? The five-year accident history is an information collection requirement that is designed to provide data…

    • Last published:

  • Can states designate liquified petroleum gas facilities under Section 302

    Does the statute allow the state to designate facilities which produce, use, or store certain quantities of liquified petroleum gas as emergency planning facilities? EPA considers the designation of additional facilities to be accomplished through naming individual sites or companies, or by designation of certain classes of facilities as newly…

    • Last published:

  • Transportation exemption and EPCRA emergency planning

    To what extent is an LEPC/TEPC required to plan if there are only a few (or no) facilities having extremely hazardous substances present in excess of threshold planning quantities, but there is significant interstate transportation of these and other hazardous substances? While Section 327 of Title III generally exempts the…

    • Last published: