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Recent Additions
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May2004
EPA Alert
Chemical Safety Alert: Identifying Chemical Reactivity Hazards Preliminary Screening Method Issued: May 2004 (0.36MB) (PDF)
April 2004
Chemical Safety Alert: Failures of Excess Flow Valves In Hazardous Materials Service -- April 23, 2004.
A new alert Failures of Excess Flow Valves In Hazardous Materials Service was recently issued by EPA to highlight the hazards of relying on excess flow valves as the primary protection to control accidental chemical releases from tanks and piping. The Alert provides information on the circumstances that can lead to excess flow valve failures; important design and operational factors for enhancing their reliability; and alternate safeguards available for stopping uncontrolled releases.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Amendments to the Chemical Accident Prevention Rule -- April 19, 2004.
FAQs for the Amendments Rule have been approved and posted. Currently, there are 19 questions. More will be prepared as needed.
RULE PUBLISHED IN FEDERAL REGISTER -- April 9, 2004.
The amendments to the Chemical Accident Prevention Rule were published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2004. The full citation and link are given below.
Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Program Requirements Under Clean Air Act Section 112(r)(7); Amendments to the Submission Schedule and Data Requirements; Final Rule. 69 FR 18819, April 9, 2004.
A factsheet “Changes to the Chemical Accident Prevention Rule (Risk Management Program) in 2004" (March 2004) (PDF/ ) provides additional information about the reporting deadlines and the recent changes to the RMP reporting requirements.
RMP*Submit 2004 is now available.
For more information please visit the RMP webpage.
February 2004
New RMP Factsheet: A Checklist for Resubmitting Your Risk Managment Plan (RMP) for Chemical Accident Prevention
In 1996, EPA established a list of extremely hazardous substances and issued regulations for the prevention and mitigation of accidental releases of those substances under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act. Facilities covered by the regulations are required to implement a risk management program and submit a description of the program (called a risk management plan, or RMP) to EPA.
RMPs must be updated at least once every five years. The majority of facilities submitted their initial RMP's by the original June 21, 1999 deadline and have not resubmitted their RMPs since. This means that most RMP’s must be fully updated and resubmitted by June 21, 2004.
This factsheet (PDF/ 53 KB) provides a checklist for preparing a 5-year update. It is important that owners and operators responsible for RMP implementation review this information and take appropriate steps to update their RMPs.
November 2003
Direct Final Rule and Proposed Rule: Trade Secrecy Claims for Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Information; and Trade Secret Disclosures to Health Professionals; Amendment
On November 14, 2003, the trade secret regulations under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) were amended to remove an incorrect mailing address and an outdated substantiation form for trade secrecy claims. This amendment is effective on January 13, 2004, unless EPA receives adverse comments by December 15, 2003. The direct final amendment can be viewed in the November 14, 2003 Federal Register (68 FR 64719).
Published in parallel with the direct final rule, the proposed rule and public comments can also be viewed in the November 14, 2003 Federal Register (68 FR 64725). The comment period for the proposed rule will close on December 15, 2003. The docket number is SFUND-1988- 0002.
EPCRA requires facilities to report the presence, use and release of extremely hazardous substances and hazardous and toxic chemicals to State and local authorities and EPA. The trade secret regulations under EPCRA allow a submitter to claim chemical identity as a trade secret in these reports. The regulations also include procedures for interested persons to petition for the disclosure of specific chemical identity information.
The most current substantiation form and the correct addresses to mail the trade secret claims, petitions and appeals are posted on EPA website.
Reactive Chemical Hazards
The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the American Chemistry Council, and Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, has made available online, free of charge, the book Essential Practices for Managing Chemical Reactivity Hazards (2003). This book, intended for safety managers, chemists, and engineers alike, helps both small and large companies address safe handling, processing and storing of chemicals that might become involved in uncontrolled chemical reactions.
Persons wishing online access to this book will need to follow a one-time sign-up procedure through Knovel, CCPS's on-line book distributor, prior to gaining access to the document.
For free access to this book, register at the Knovel website. 
Regulatory Proposal to Delist Phosmet from the EPCRA List of Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS)
EPA is soliciting comment on a proposed rule which would delete phosmet from the list of extremely hazardous substances (EHS) under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). Phosmet is a organophosphate insecticide used on fruit, nut and certain field crops.
EPA is proposing this change in response to a petition submitted by Gowan Company, the registrant of the pesticide. EPA reviewed the original basis for listing phosmet and other available acute toxicity data and concluded that existing acute toxicity studies for phosmet do not support its inclusion on the EHS list.
Under this proposal, facilities with phosmet on-site would no longer be required to notify the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) that they have phosmet on-site or accidentally released phosmet, nor would they be required to provide to the LEPC a facility emergency coordinator or emergency plan information for phosmet. Additionally, facilities with phosmet would no longer have to file an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form and Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) under EPCRA for phosmet with their SERC, LEPC and local fire department for amounts less than 10,000 pounds.
The comment period for this proposed regulation will close on January 12, 2004. The proposed rule, support documents and public comments can be viewed online at the EPA docket website www.epa.gov/edocket under
Docket No. SFUND-2003-0007. The proposed rule can also be viewed in the November 12, 2003 Federal Register (68 FR 64041).
For additional information about the EPCRA List of Extremely Hazardous Substances, visit the our Chemical Emergency Prevention and Preparedness website.
September 2003
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act; Extremely Hazardous Substances List; Modification of Threshold Planning Quantity for Isophorone Diisocyanate (IPDI); FINAL RULE
This final rule amends the list of extremely hazardous substances (EHS) issued under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) by changing the threshold planning quantity for Isophorone Diisocyanate (IPDI) from 100 pounds to 500 pounds.
This rule corrects the original threshold planning quantity for IPDI which was based on a mistaken assumption that IPDI is a reactive solid at standard temperature, when in fact it is a liquid and not highly reactive. EPCRA required EPA to publish a list of Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) and to establish threshold planning quantities (TPQs) for each EHSs. Under EPCRA Section 302, a facility which has present an EHS in excess of its TPQ must notify the State Emergency Response Commission and Local Emergency Planning Committee, as well as participate in local emergency planning activities.
The final rule can be viewed in the September 8, 2003 Federal Register (68 FR 52978), or on the EPA website.
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