Everything You Need To Know About Spills

Emergency - no time to read this?  To report oil and hazardous chemical spills, call the National Response Center 1-800-424-8802

• Overview
   
• How to respond to Emergencies - Guide
  • General Spills regulations and guidance - below on this page
  • Awareness Level response
  • Operations Level response
  • Other response considerations
  • Resource contact list
  • Glossary of relevant terms
  • The Emergency Response Guidebook - free
  • Placard Table
    
• How the Regulations and Response System Work
  • ERNS - The Emergency Response Notification System
  • Related Information
  • Discharge of Oil Regulation: Summary of Key Provisions
  • The latest news about Chemical Accidents and Spills
• Oil Spill Information
   
• Chemical Spills
   
• SPCC Plans (Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasures)
   
• NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG)
  The NPG is a source of general industrial hygiene information on several hundred chemicals/classes for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals. It presents key information and data in abbreviated or tabular form for chemicals or substance groupings (e.g. cyanides, fluorides, manganese compounds) that are found in the work environment.
  You can download a free stand-alone HTML version of the NPG compressed as a ZIP file. The ZIP file contains a condensed version of the NPG. All non-Pocket Guide links were removed so that this set of files acts as a "stand-alone" database. These files can be used with a standard web browser or on some mobile devices.
  • NIOSH Pocket Guide - PDF version (6.04 MB)
    NIOSH publication number 2005-149
    (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing and printing)
  • NIOSH Pocket Guide - EXE - npg-only.exe (2 MB)
    (Self-extracting zip file for Windows)
  • NIOSH Pocket Guide - ZIP - npg-only.zip (2MB)
    (requires WinZip or other unzipping software)
• NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM)
  DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-113 (1994)
  NMAM is a collection of methods for sampling and analysis of contaminants in workplace air, and in the blood and urine of workers who are occupationally exposed.
• International Chemical Safety Cards (WHO/IPCS/ILO)
  IPCS cards summarize essential health and safety information on chemicals for their use at the "shop floor" level by workers and employers in factories, agriculture, construction and other work places.
• Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH)
  IDLHs document the criteria and information sources that have been used to determine immediately dangerous to life or health concentrations of workers.
• NIOSH Chemical Agent Information for Emergency Responders
  Includes NIOSH Emergency Response Cards, information on Cyanide, Sarin, Nitrogen Mustard, Sulfur Mustard, VX, other chemicals.
• Other NIOSH Databases
  Additional data resources on Chemical Hazards, Agriculture, Construction, Respirators, more...

   

Overview

There are four primary Federal statutes that require release reporting including CERCLA, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), the Hazardous Material Transportation Act of 1974 (HMTA), and the CWA (the Clean Water Act).

In addition, because CERCLA defines hazardous substances to include CWA hazardous substances and toxic pollutants, the Clean Air Act (CAA) hazardous air pollutants, the RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) hazardous wastes, and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) imminently hazardous chemical substances, releases of these substances are also subject to CERCLA reporting requirements.

Part or all of the information from these reports may be collected in ERNS. The four primary statutes and their resulting regulations, citations, and relationship to ERNS are shown below.

Statute (Cite for Reporting Requirements)

• CERCLA Section 103 (40 CFR Part 302.6, Part 300.405)

  Requires that the release of a CERCLA hazardous substance that meets or exceeds the reportable quantity (RQ) set forth in 40 CFR 302.4 must be reported to the NRC. These substances account for on average 19% of all the notifications in ERNS.

• EPCRA Section 304 (40 CFR Part 355.40)

  Requires that the release of an RQ or more of an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance or a CERCLA hazardous substance (one pound or more if a reporting trigger is not established by regulation) that results in exposure of people outside the facility boundary be reported to State and local authorities.

• HMTA Section 1808 (49 CFR Part 171.15)

  Requires that the release of a DOT hazardous material during transportation be reported to the NRC under certain circumstances such as death, injury, significant property damage, evacuation, highway closure, etc.

• CWA Section 311 (40 CFR Part 110.10, Part 300.300)

  Requires that the release of oil be reported to the NRC if the release: (1) violates applicable water quality standards; (2) causes a film, sheen or discoloration of the water or adjoining shoreline; or (3) causes a sludge or an emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon the adjoining shorelines. Oil notifications account for on average 57% of all notifications in ERNS.

Who Responds?

It depends upon the type and place of the spill.  Examples of Responding Agencies:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• United States Coast Guard (USCG)
• U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
• State Emergency Response Commission (SERC)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

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This page was updated on 23-Mar-2009