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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • What’s the difference between short-term and long-term chemical exposure levels?

    Acute or short-term exposure assumes that a person has been exposed to a chemical for a short period of time. Long term, also known as chronic, exposure assumes a person has been constantly exposed to a chemical for a lifetime, or approximately 70 years.

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  • Is our East Palestine City Park safe for activities?

    Yes. Results show that levels of dioxin and semi-volatile organic compounds are well below any levels that we would consider restricting activities, and all are either at or below typical background levels for soil in the United States. In addition, the village has cleaned all recreational equipment, including the pool…

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  • What is being done to control dust?

    Norfolk Southern contractors use engineering controls to reduce dust generated from cleanup activities and disturbed soil surfaces. All contaminated material leaving the derailment site is secured and tarped, and all contaminated material on site is tarped nightly. Trucks are decontaminated before they leave the site, and large water trucks are…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • Can I grow a garden at home or plant crops?

    Yes. You can continue to use your land as you normally would. Residential soil sampling results are within typical ranges for the area. Follow normal measures like peeling root vegetables and washing leafy greens.

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  • What are the terms used to describe the length of exposure to substances?

    Acute exposure is any contact with a substance that occurs once or for up to 14 days. Intermediate exposure is contact occurring for more than 14 days but less than one year. Chronic exposure is contact occurring for longer than one year.

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  • Can smoke from the Canadian wildfires cause health concerns?

    Most healthy adults and children will recover quickly from smoke exposure and will not have long-lasting health effects. But people with chronic diseases, such as asthma, other lung disease, or cardiovascular disease are at greater risk of experiencing more severe health effects. Children, pregnant people, and people over 65 also…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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