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| Emergency Management |
| Jeff Batten, Fire Marshal |
| 2422 Broad Street |
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| Durham, NC 27704 |
| Phone: 919-560-0660 |
| FAX: 919-560-0670 |
| Hours: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
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North Carolina and Federal Regulations
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NC Hazardous Chemical Reporting, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Durham County Local Emergency Planning Committee Online Brochure
| HazardousChemicalReporting,EmergencyPlanning, and CommunityRight-to-Know:
What is required in North Carolina
North Carolina Department of Labor
Right to Know Division
214 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603-5942
Distributed by:
Davidson County Emergency Management
|Phone: (336) 242-2280
& Chemical Planning Office Phone: (336) 853-8910 |
| This is a brief overview for owners and operators of large and small facilities (business, industry, or governmental agency) about the use of chemicals by employees in the workplace, emergency planning for hazardous chemical accidents, and community right to know. Because this brochure only summarizes the requirements, employers should consult with one of the agencies listed on the back panel to obtain details of the reporting requirements. |
This publication examines the following laws and regulations:
1--Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Title III, Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know, the federal hazardous chemicals planning and right to know law.
2--North Carolina Hazardous Chemicals Right to Know Act, the state reporting law.
3--North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Hazard Communication Standard, the regulation requiring employers to train employees about workplace chemicals.
4--North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Hazardous Waster Operations and Emergency Response Standard. The Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act(SARA) required the establishment of two emergency planning groups: the North Carolina Emergency Response Commission (NCERC) and the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). In North Carolina, there is one LEPC for each county and one for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. These two groups are specifically required under SARA, Title III, (1) to do planning for hazardous ma-terials emergencies and (2) to provide informa-tion about chemicals in the community to any citizen. |
Durham County Local Emergency Planning Committee Online Brochure
There are four different sets of hazardous chemicals and six reporting sections covered in SARA, Title III. Names of these sets of chemicals are shown below:
| Set of Chemicals. . . . . . . . . . No. of Chemicals*
EPA's List of Extremely Hazardous Substances . .366
CERCLA List of Hazardous Substances+. . . . . . .721
Toxic Chemical List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327
OSHA Hazardous Chemicals**. . . . . .500,000+/-
*Number of chemicals on lists varies as chemicals are added and deleted by EPA.
+Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (commonly called Superfund).
**Any chemical for which OSHA requires an MSDS sheet. No list exists. |
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| Chemical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TPQ*
Chlorine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 lbs.
Ammonia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 lbs.
Formaldehyde. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 lbs.
Sulfuric Acid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000 lbs.
* TPQ, Threshold Planning Quantity, is the amount of a specified chemical on hand at any time which triggers a particular reporting requirement of SARA. |
Under North Carolina Right to Know, all employers must also report each year to the fire department if they have 55 gallons or 500 pounds or more of any OSHA hazardous chemical. The OSHA Hazard Communi-cation Standard also requires that employers notify and train employees about the hazar-dous chemicals with which they work. OSHA defines "hazardous chemical" as any chemical with a health or physical hazard. Because the definition is so broad, there is no list of OSHA hazardous chemicals. OSHA estimates that there may be as many as 500,000 hazardous chemicals.
Section 303.
Comprehensive Emergency Response Plans
Each facility which has one or more chemicals on the EPA's List of Extremely Hazardous Substances at or above the TPQ must identify a representative who will participate with the LEPC in emergency planning. If this notice has been overlooked, do not delay -- send a letter to your LEPC.
This section specifies certain requirements that each LEPC's written hazardous chemical emergency plan must address. Among other things, the plan must include training for emergency responders at facilities and in the local emergency response community. The training must comply with the OSH Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard. The LEPC plans were completed in 1988 and are carefully re-examined once each year. |
| A brief summary of the six reporting sections follows. Both the North Carolina Hazard Communication Standard and the Right to Know Act are mentioned in places where they apply or to point out other re-porting requirements that presently exist.
Section 302
Emergency Planning Notification
If a facility has one of the chemicals on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) List of Extremely Hazardous Substances in excess of the Threshold Planning Quantity, then the owner or operator must announce this fact by mailing a brief written notice (only once) to the NCERC and the LEPC. This notice was first due by May 17, 1987, or within 60 days after one or more of the chemicals was acquired. If you missed this date, the notice (there is no special form) should be mailed without delay. Exam-ples of chemicals on the Extremely Hazardous Substance List and the Threshold Planning Quantities include: |
Durham County Local Emergency Planning Committee Online Brochure
| Additionally, employers with hazardous chemicals may be required by the OSH Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard to develop facility emergency plans. For information about OSHA requirements for employer emergency plans, contact the OSH Division.
Section 304
Emergency Release Notification
A facility must IMMEDIATELY notify both the agency designated by the LEPC and the NCERC (and later file a written report) if there is a hazardous substance release which exceeds the Reportable Quantity of chemicals on either of the following lists:
- 1---EPA's List of Extremely Hazardous Substances
- 2---CERCLA List of Hazardous substances*
*If a release exceeds the Reportable Quantity on this list, the facility must notify the National Response Center, 1-800-424-8802, plus the LEPC and the NCERC, (919)733-3867.
Call the LEPC to find out which agency should receive emergency release oral and written reports. If an employer has frequent releases of one of the Section 304 chemicals, continuous release reporting may be an op-tion to consider. Call the LEPC or NCERC for more information about continuous release reporting.
These three sections--302, 303, 304--make up the emergency planning segments of SARA, Title III. The next three reporting sections--311, 312, 313--are grouped under the Community Right to Know title because information about chemicals must be repor-ted for citizen information and use, as well as for emergency planning.
Section 311
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or List Submission
These hazardous chemical reports must be filed by any business, industry, state, or local |
government which has the triggering amount of chemicals. Under SARA there are two groups of chemicals that must be reported:
- 1---EPA's List of Extremely Hazardous Substances: 500 pounds or TPQ (whichever is lower)
- 2---OSHA's Hazardous Chemicals: 10,000 pounds
By October 17, 1987, each facility that had the triggering amount of OSHA hazardous chemicals or EPA Extremely Hazardous Substances was required to submit either a list of the chemicals or a copy of the MSDS for each chemical to three places: the fire department, LEPC, and NCERC. Most fire departments and LEPCs have expressed a preference for the list. This submission is required only once, unless chemicals are added to or deleted from the inventory. Employers who now have the trig-gering amount of these chemicals and have not previously reported should report as quickly as possible. Any citizen may obtain the list or MSDSs from the LEPC or the NCERC.
In addition, the North Carolina Right to Know Act requires that a list of OSHA hazar-dous chemicals be submitted yearly to the fire department. An important N.C. Right to Know difference from SARA is that the reporting level is generally lower; 55 gallons or 500 pounds or more of any OSHA hazardous chemical. The employer must provide this list to any citizen who makes a written request for the list.
There are several exemptions allowed in this section of SARA which are briefly reviewed below:
- legally permitted hazardous waste
- tobacco or tobacco products
- wood or wood products
- many manufactured articles
- food, drug, cosmetics, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration
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Durham County Local Emergency Planning Committee Online Brochure
- consumer products
- substance used in research or hospital/medical laboratory under direct supervision of a technically qualified individual
- any substance used in routine agricultural operations or fertilizer held for retail sale.
Sections 311 - 312
Reporting Levels
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EPA's List of
OSHA Hazardous. . Extremely Hazardous
. . . Chemicals. . . . . . . . . . . . Substances
. . . .10,000 lbs. . . . . . . Lower of 500 lbs. or
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Threshold Planning
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quantity
(NOTE: Contact your LEPC for assistance in reporting) |
Section 312
Annual Inventory of MSDS Chemicals
Annually on March 1, each facility with the triggering amount of chemicals must submit an inventory form to the fire department, LEPC, and NCERC. The sets of chemicals and triggering amounts are set out in the box above and are the same as those for Section 311. There are two forms: Tier I and Tier II. Tier II forms are preferred by most LEPCs. Form may be obtained from the LEPC or NCERC.
Almost all employers in North Carolina are covered by the Hazard Communication Standard and, therefore, by Sections 311 and 312. Under North Carolina's Right to Know Act, the Tier II form may be used to satisfy both SARA and Right to Know reporting to the fire department. Questions about how to use the Tier II reporting form for both SARA and N.C. Right to Know should be addressed to the Right to Know Division of the N.C. Department of Labor. (Note: Contact your LEPC for copies of EPA form and for assistance in reporting.) |
Section 313
Toxic Chemicals Release Forms
Every year since 1988, on July 1, each facility in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes 20-39, with 10 more full-time employees, has been required to submit a report to EPA and the NCERC on listed toxic chemicals used or manufactured. The amount of chemicals on the EPA Toxic Chemical List which triggers the annual July report depends on whether the facility "uses" the chemicals (10,000 pounds) or "manufac-tures or processes" the chemicals (25,000 pounds). The toxic release inventory forms cover emissions of the chemicals to air, water, and land, as well as pollution prevention infor-mation. These detailed toxic release reports are publicly available from the NCERC and the EPA. These reports are also available through an on-line computer database to anyone with a modem and a computer.
(Note: Contact the LEPC,NCERC or EPA for a copy of the form, or for information on getting public access to the information.)
For more information, contact:
- Your local Emergency Planning Committee
- NC Emergency Response Commssion, 1-800-451-1403, for SARA information. Staff support to the NCERC is provided by the Division of Emergency Management, Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.
NC Department of Labor:
- Right to Know Division,
(919) 733-2658
- Division of Occupartional Safety and Health, Bureau of Education, Training, and Technical Assistance, (919) 733-2486, for information about the OSHA workplace safety and health requirements, including the Hazard Communication Standard (worker's right to know and training about workplace chemicals) and the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard.
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REMEMBER: If you have missed a filing date, whether under state or federal law, don't delay any longer, just submit your report(s) as soon as possible. |
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