![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090510053737im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Substances Covered Under Reporting Requirements
Quickfinder
Frequent Question Topics
Questions by Topic
- Hazardous Substance Definitions
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) section 103 release reporting requirements apply to "hazardous substances." How are CERCLA hazardous substances defined?
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) section 304 release reporting requirements apply to CERCLA hazardous substances and EPCRA extremely hazardous substances (EHSs). What are EHSs?
- How are EHSs related to CERCLA hazardous substances?
- What are radionuclides and what reporting requirements apply to their release?
- What are the reporting requirements for discharges of oil?
- Would disposal of a hazardous substance into a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C permitted facility or interim status facility be reportable?
- Hazardous Substance Lists
- What is the relationship between the hazardous substance lists under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)?
- Are the Clean Water Act (CWA) broad generic categories for which no Reportable Quantity (RQ) has been established subject to other provisions of CERCLA?
- What is the relationship between CERCLA hazardous substances and the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations?
- Can releases of wastes that are not individually listed as CERCLA hazardous substances still be subject to CERCLA reporting requirements?
- What tests can be used to determine whether a waste exhibits the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) characteristic of toxicity?
- How do CERCLA reporting requirements apply to a compound if it is not individually listed but falls under a generic class of compounds?
- If a company has had its petition to delist a specific Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste granted by an EPA-approved State RCRA program, and that company releases this waste in excess of its Reportable Quantity (RQ), is it required to notify the National Response Center (NRC)?
- How does EPA choose the chemical name(s) to list for each substance on the List of Hazardous Substances at Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4?
- What determines whether a "Regulatory Synonym" is listed for a substance in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4?
- Petroleum Exclusion
- What is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) petroleum exclusion?
- What substances are specifically excluded from CERCLA regulation by the petroleum exclusion?
- Does blended (oxygenated) gasoline fall within the scope of the CERCLA petroleum exclusion?
- Are mineral spirits considered petroleum derivatives and therefore excluded from the CERCLA definition of hazardous substance?
- The Mixture Rule
- How are mixtures of hazardous substances (other than radionuclides) reported?
- Where there are several waste streams with the same identification number, is it sufficient to know the average quantities, or the maximum observed quantity, of hazardous constituents of the waste streams in order to apply the mixture rule to all of them?
- Are facilities required to determine the quantities or concentrations of hazardous constituents released within a waste stream that is listed under CERCLA?
- In determining whether a Reportable Quantity (RQ) has been released, are the quantities of different hazardous constituents additive under the mixture rule?
- How are mixtures of radionuclides reported if the composition of the mixture is known?
- How are mixtures of radionuclides reported if the composition of the mixture is unknown?
Hazardous Substance Definitions
CERCLA section 103 release reporting requirements apply to "hazardous substances." How are CERCLA hazardous substances defined?
CERCLA section 101(14), as amended, defines "hazardous substance" by referencing other environmental statutes, including:
- CWA sections 311 and 307(a);
- CAA section 112;
- RCRA section 3001; and
- TSCA section 7.
CERCLA section 102(a) also gives EPA authority to designate additional hazardous substances not listed under the statutory provisions cited above. There are currently about 800 CERCLA hazardous substances. In addition, there are approximately 1,500 known radionuclides, approximately 760 of which are listed individually.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) section 304 release reporting requirements apply to CERCLA hazardous substances and EPCRA extremely hazardous substances (EHSs). What are EHSs?
The EHS list was first compiled by EPA, and subsequently incorporated into EPCRA, to identify chemicals that could cause serious irreversible health effects from accidental releases. EHSs are listed in 40 CFR Part 355.
How are EHSs related to CERCLA hazardous substances?
There are currently about 360 EHSs defined under EPCRA section 302; over a third of them are also CERCLA hazardous substances. Aside from this overlap of listed substances, CERCLA and EPCRA also have closely related notification requirements when releases of CERCLA hazardous substances occur.
What are radionuclides and what reporting requirements apply to their release?
A radionuclide is a type of atom with an unstable nucleus. The atom releases energy by a process of decay called radioactivity. There are approximately 1,500 known radionuclides.
All radionuclides are hazardous substances because they are designated generically as hazardous air pollutants by CAA section 112 and CERCLA section 101(14)(E) defines the term "hazardous substance" to include CAA hazardous air pollutants. Even though the source of their listing is the CAA, releases of radionuclides to all media - not just to air - are covered by CERCLA's reporting requirements.
On May 24, 1989, EPA issued a final regulation adjusting the statutory RQ for radionuclides. The adjusted RQs for radionuclides are in units of curies (Ci), which provide a measure of the amount of radioactivity emitted by a radionuclide. EPA established the adjusted radionuclide RQs in units of curies rather than pounds (like the RQs for other hazardous substances) because curies better reflect the intrinsic hazard posed by radionuclides and because the unit is more commonly used by people who handle radionuclides. The final radionuclide RQ adjustment rulemaking establishes seven RQ categories: 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1,000 Ci. A total of approximately 760 radionuclides are listed individually and assigned to one of these RQ categories. All other radionuclides not listed individually are assigned an RQ of 1 Ci.
What are the reporting requirements for discharges of oil?
If a discharge of oil reaches waters of the United States, it is reportable to the NRC under 40 CFR Part 110, which was established under the authority of the CWA. Discharges of oil must be reported if they "(c)ause a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines or cause a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines."
Would disposal of a hazardous substance into a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C permitted facility or interim status facility be reportable?
No. The disposal of hazardous substances into a disposal facility in accordance with EPA regulations is not subject to CERCLA notification provisions. Where the disposal of wastes into permitted or interim status facilities is properly documented through the RCRA manifest system and RCRA regulations are followed, notification under CERCLA does not provide a significant additional benefit, if the facility is in compliance with all applicable regulations and permit conditions. For example, if a waste generator or building owner or operator properly disposes of lamps containing one pound or more of mercury into a RCRA-permitted facility during a 24-hour period, the generator or owner or operator would not be required to report the release under CERCLA. Where the person in charge knows that the facility is not in substantial compliance, that person must report the disposal of an RQ or more of a hazardous substance to the National Response Center. Of course, spills and accidents occurring during disposal that result in the release of an RQ or more of a hazardous substance must also be reported to the National Response Center.
Hazard Substance Lists
What is the relationship between the hazardous substance lists under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and under CERCLA?
All CWA hazardous substances are CERCLA hazardous substances (only some CERCLA hazardous substances are CWA hazardous substances). Table 117.3 in 40 CFR 117.3, which is entitled "Reportable Quantities of Hazardous Substances," lists substances that were designated as hazardous under section 311(b)(4) of the CWA. Table 117.3 provides the CWA RQs for the substances. Substances designated under this section of the CWA are automatically CERCLA hazardous substances because CERCLA section 101(14) defines "hazardous substance" chiefly by reference to lists under other statutes, including CWA section 311(b)(4). Therefore, all of the hazardous substances in Table 117.3 are also in the list of CERCLA hazardous substances.
Are the Clean Water Act (CWA) broad generic categories for which no Reportable Quantity (RQ) has been established subject to other provisions of CERCLA?
Yes. Releases of compounds within these categories, although not reportable under CERCLA section 103 (unless the compound is listed separately in 40 CFR 302.4, Table 302.4), would remain subject to response (section 104), abatement (section 106), and liability (section 107) provisions under CERCLA.
What is the relationship between CERCLA hazardous substances and the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations?
CERCLA section 306(a), as amended, requires the DOT to list and regulate as hazardous materials all CERCLA hazardous substances. Thus, all CERCLA hazardous substances are covered by the DOT's Hazardous Materials Regulations. The DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations require that when these materials are shipped in quantities equal to or greater than their RQs, and are present in a single package, above certain concentration thresholds, they must be identified as such on shipping papers and by package markings. More information on concentration cutoffs for RQs is available.
Can releases of wastes that are not individually listed as CERCLA hazardous substances still be subject to CERCLA reporting requirements?
Yes. CERCLA reporting requirements apply not only to all of the substances individually listed in 40 CFR 302.4, but also to wastes or waste streams exhibiting the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity under RCRA. The release of a non-designated substance exhibiting any of these four RCRA characteristics is a release of a hazardous substance if the substance is a waste prior to release or becomes a waste after release. Under RCRA regulations, a substance becomes a waste after release if it is not cleaned up or if it is cleaned up only for eventual disposal.
Wastes or waste streams exhibiting the characteristics of ignitability, reactivity, or corrosivity have RQs of 100 pounds. The RQs of wastes or waste streams that exhibit the characteristic of toxicity have the RQs of the contaminant on which the toxicity characteristics are based.
What tests can be used to determine whether a waste exhibits the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) characteristic of toxicity?
In 1990, EPA replaced the extraction procedure test for determining whether wastes exhibit the toxicity characteristic with the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Currently, a waste is considered toxic if an extract obtained from a sample of the waste using the TCLP contains any of 25 organic constituents listed in the regulation in concentrations at or above specified levels. Wastes that exhibit the RCRA toxicity characteristic are automatically RCRA hazardous wastes and, therefore, CERCLA hazardous substances.
How do CERCLA reporting requirements apply to a compound if it is not individually listed but falls under a generic class of compounds?
To date, the Agency has not established any RQs for the CWA broad generic classes of compounds that are CERCLA hazardous substances. Therefore, releases of substances that are not individually listed, but fall within these categories, currently do not have to be reported under section 103. Releases of these substances that are excluded from reporting requirements, however, would remain subject to other CERCLA provisions, including liability for cleanup costs, and natural resource damages.
If a company has had its petition to delist a specific Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste granted by an EPA-approved State RCRA program, and that company releases this waste in excess of its Reportable Quantity (RQ), is it required to notify the National Response Center (NRC)?
Under RCRA regulations, a person may petition to exclude a waste at a particular generating facility from the list of hazardous wastes. The petitioner must demonstrate that the waste produced by that facility does not meet any of the criteria under which the waste type was listed or characterized as hazardous. If granted, the exclusion applies only to the waste generated at the individual facility covered by the petitioner's demonstration. If the waste "has been shown not to contain constituents or exhibit characteristics that are considered hazardous under RCRA," and does not contain any other listed CERCLA hazardous substance, the exempted waste is not subject to CERCLA notification requirements.
How does EPA choose the chemical name(s) to list for each substance on the List of Hazardous Substances at Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4?
A single chemical may often be known by several different names. To avoid confusion, the Agency has limited the chemical names listed in 40 CFR 302.4, Table 302.4 to the name(s) used to identify each substance under the environmental statutes and implementing regulations incorporated in the definition of hazardous substance. If a substance has more than one chemical name listed under these other statutes or regulations, each chemical name will appear as a separate entry (with the same CAS Registry Number) in Table 302.4.
What determines whether a "Regulatory Synonym" is listed for a substance in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4?
In general, no entry is made in the "Regulatory Synonym" column of 40 CFR 302.4, Table 302.4 for a substance if only one chemical name is used to identify that substance under the environmental statutes and implementing regulations referred to in CERCLA section 101(14). If, however, a substance has more than one chemical name listed under these other statutes or regulations, then: (1) each chemical name will appear as a separate entry in Table 302.4 (as discussed above; and (2) each entry will include the other chemical name(s) (appearing as separate entries in Table 302.4) for that substance in the "Regulatory Synonym" column.
Petroleum Exclusion
What is the CERCLA petroleum exclusion?
The term "hazardous substance" is defined in CERCLA section 101(14) to include substances listed under four other environmental statutes (as well as those designated under CERCLA section 102(a)). The definition excludes "petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof," unless specifically listed or designated under CERCLA. See the following question.
What substances are specifically excluded from CERCLA regulation by the petroleum exclusion?
EPA interprets CERCLA section 101(14) to exclude crude oil and fractions of crude oil - including the hazardous substances, such as benzene, that are indigenous in those petroleum substances - from the definition of hazardous substance. Under this interpretation, petroleum includes hazardous substances that are normally mixed with or added to crude oil or crude oil fractions during the refining process. This includes indigenous hazardous substances, the levels of which are increased as a normal part of the refining process. However, hazardous substances that are added to petroleum or that increase in concentration as a result of contamination of the petroleum during use are not considered part of the petroleum, and are therefore regulated under CERCLA. For example, releases of oils that have had hazardous substances added to them subsequent to the petroleum refining process are not excluded from CERCLA regulation. In addition, some oils are regulated under CERCLA because they are specifically listed. For example, 40 CFR 302.4, Table 302.4 specifically lists a number of waste oils (e.g., F010, and K048 through K052) and their RQs. If these waste oils are released in quantities equal to or greater than their RQs, the release must be reported. The definition of hazardous substance also excludes natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquified natural gas, and synthetic gas usable for fuel. Oil discharges have their own reporting requirements under the Clean Water Act.
Does blended (oxygenated) gasoline fall within the scope of the CERCLA petroleum exclusion?
Historically, the Agency has interpreted the CERCLA section 101(14) petroleum exclusion to cover crude oil and the crude oil constituents that are indigenous to the petroleum (e.g., xylene), or that are normally mixed with or added to crude oil or crude oil fractions during the refining process (e.g., tetraethyl lead). In 1983, EPA issued a memorandum indicating that gasoline blended during the refining process is within the scope of the petroleum exclusion. In particular, the 1983 memo stated that "[b]ecause virtually all of the gasoline which is sold as motor transportation fuel is blended gasoline rather than raw gasoline, a reasonable interpretation of the petroleum exemption is that it applies to the blended gasoline product as well as raw gasoline." Under this interpretation, oxygenated gasoline, which may involve the blending of a CERCLA hazardous substance into gasoline, whether the blending takes place at a refinery or a terminal, would fall within the petroleum exclusion. Therefore, the blended gasoline would not be a hazardous substance and would not be subject to CERCLA reporting, response, or liability requirements.
Are mineral spirits considered petroleum derivatives and therefore excluded from the CERCLA definition of hazardous substance?
In most cases, yes. CERCLA section 101(14) specifically excludes petroleum from the definition of hazardous substance, consequently petroleum releases are not subject to CERCLA reporting and liability provisions. The petroleum exclusion includes "crude oil or any fraction" of petroleum unless the fraction is specifically listed or designated under the statute.
Mineral spirits, also known as Stoddard solvent, naphtha, or white spirits, are usually derived from refined petroleum distillates from the light end of crude oil but could possibly be derived from coal. Mineral spirits that are distilled from petroleum are considered petroleum for the purpose of CERCLA section 101(14) and, therefore, are excluded from the definition of hazardous substance.
Mineral spirits often contain substances, such as toluene, that are CERCLA hazardous substances. If these substances are present naturally or are added to petroleum-derived mineral spirits in the normal refining process, then they would be excluded as petroleum. However, hazardous substances added to mineral spirits outside the refining process, or that increase in concentration solely as a result of contamination during use, are not part of the "petroleum" and, thus, are not excluded from CERCLA regulation. In such cases, EPA may respond to releases of the added substance, but not the mineral spirits.
There are circumstances in which mineral spirits could be regulated as a hazardous substance. For instance, coal-derived mineral spirits would not qualify for the petroleum exclusion and potentially could be regulated as a hazardous substance. In addition, the exclusion would not apply if the mineral spirits were "specifically listed or designated" under one of the statutory provisions cited in section 101(14) of CERCLA.
The Mixture Rule
How are mixtures of hazardous substances (other than radionuclides) reported?
EPA issued the "mixture rule" (40 CFR 302.6(b), developed in connection with CWA section 311 regulations, as a method for determining when to report releases of mixtures or solutions. Under the mixture rule, if the quantities (or concentrations) of all the hazardous constituents of the waste stream are known, notification is required only where an RQ or more of any hazardous constituent is released. However, if the quantity of one or more of the hazardous constituents of the waste is not known, notification is required where the total amount of the waste released equals or exceeds the RQ for the hazardous constituent with the lowest RQ (i.e., the RQ for the waste stream). Other Frequently Questions provide additional information on how radionuclides are reported.
Where there are several waste streams with the same identification number, is it sufficient to know the average quantities, or the maximum observed quantity, of hazardous constituents of the waste streams in order to apply the mixture rule to all of them?
No. The mixture rule provision applies only to the particular waste stream for which the quantities of all the hazardous constituents are known. Thus, knowledge that the average quantities of hazardous constituents - or the maximum observed quantity in a waste stream with the same identification number - are below their respective hazardous constituent RQs is not a sufficient basis for applying the mixture rule to all waste streams with that identification number. In such a case, the provision could be applied only to the individual waste streams for which the quantities of hazardous constituents are known.
Are facilities required to determine the quantities or concentrations of hazardous constituents released within a waste stream that is listed under CERCLA?
No. The determination of the exact quantities of hazardous substances released in a mixture, solution, or waste stream may be difficult; such a determination is not required by CERCLA. Potential releasers may choose instead, to report waste stream releases when the total amount of the waste stream released equals or exceeds the RQ listed for the waste stream constituent with the lowest RQ.
In determining whether a Reportable Quantity (RQ) has been released, are the quantities of different hazardous constituents additive under the mixture rule?
No. RQs of different substances are not additive under the mixture rule; releasing a mixture containing half an RQ of one hazardous substance (other than radionuclides) and half an RQ of another hazardous substance does not require a report.
How are mixtures of radionuclides reported if the composition of the mixture is known?
The requirements for reporting mixtures of radionuclides depend on whether the composition of the mixture is known or unknown. If the identity and quantity (in curies) of each radionuclide involved in a release is known, the decision whether to report the release must be made in the following manner: for each radionuclide in the mixture, determine the ratio between the quantity released and the RQ for the radionuclide. If the sum of the ratios for all radionuclides is less than one, the release need not be reported. If the sum of the ratios is equal to or greater than one, the release must be reported to the National Response Center.
How are mixtures of radionuclides reported if the composition of the mixture is unknown?
If the composition of the radionuclide mixture is unknown, there are two main possibilities: (1) the identity of the radionuclides is known but the quantities of one or more of the radionuclides released are not; or (2) the identity of one or more of the radionuclides released is not known. In the first situation (identity known, but quantity unknown), the RQ for the mixture is the lowest RQ of any radionuclide in the mixture. In the second situation (identity of radionuclides unknown), the release must be reported if the total release is equal to or greater than 1 Ci, or if the total release is equal to or greater than the lowest RQ of any known radionuclide in the mixture, whichever is lower.