Where Am I: Rubber and Plastics Guidance Document
Compile lists of all chemicals and mixtures at your facility. For facilities with many different chemicals and mixtures it is often helpful to prepare two lists: one with the pure (single ingredient) chemicals (including chemical compounds) and one with the mixtures and trade name products. On the second list, under the name of each mixture/trade name product, write the names of all chemicals in that product. Next, compare the chemicals and chemical categories on both lists to the current EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories list found in the TRI Forms and Instructions (remember that chemicals and chemical categories may be periodically added and deleted and you should use the current reporting year’s instructions). Highlight the EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories that are on your lists.
Review the lists to be sure each chemical and chemical category is shown by its correct EPCRA Section 313 name. For example, a common EPCRA Section 313 chemical found in rubber and plastics manufacturing operations is toluene. Toluene (Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry No. 108-88-3) has several synonyms including methylbenzene, methylbenzol, phenylmethane, and toluol. It must be reported on Form R (or Form A), Item 1.2, by its EPCRA Section 313 chemical name, toluene. Synonyms can be found in the U.S. EPA document Common Synonyms for Chemicals Listed Under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPA 745-R-95-008).
While you must consider every chemical on the EPCRA Section 313 chemical and chemical category list, you should be aware of the chemicals and chemical categories typically used in rubber and plastics manufacturing. As a guide, the most frequently reported EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories for reporting year 1995 by rubber and plastics manufacturing facilities, SIC Codes 301, 302, 305, 306, and 308, and the processes they are typically used in, are listed in Table 2-3.
COMMON ERROR - Vinyl Chloride
Vinyl chloride (CAS Registry No. 75-01-4) is an EPCRA Section 313 reportable chemical. Polyvinyl chloride is a polymer of vinyl chloride but it is NOT an EPCRA Section 313 reportable chemical. However, any unreacted vinyl chloride monomer mixed with the polymerized material, in excess of the 0.1% de minimis concentration, must be included in activity threshold determinations.
A computerized spreadsheet may be helpful in developing your facility’s chemical and chemical category list and performing threshold calculations. The spreadsheet could show the chemical, chemical category, or chemical mixture with corresponding component concentrations; the yearly quantity manufactured, processed, or otherwise used; and the CAS Registry number. The spreadsheet could also be designed to identify the total quantity by activity category (amounts manufactured, processed, and otherwise used) for each EPCRA Section 313 chemical or chemical category in every mixture, compound, and trade name product.
An initial investment of time will be required to develop this spreadsheet; however, the time and effort saved in threshold calculations in subsequent years will be significant. Such a system will also reduce the potential of inadvertently overlooking EPCRA Section 313 chemicals or chemical categories present in mixtures purchased from off-site sources.
To develop the chemical and chemical category list and the associated activity categories you may want to consult the following:
C Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs);
C Facility purchasing records;
C New Source Performance Standards (NSPS);
C Inventory records;
C Air and water discharge permits;
C Individual manufacturing/operating functions; and
C Receipts of manifests associated with the transfer of each EPCRA Section 313 chemical and chemical category in waste to off-site locations.
The following is suggested useful information needed to prepare your EPCRA Section 313 reports and should be included for each chemical and chemical category on your spreadsheet:
C The mixture name and associated EPCRA Section 313 chemical and chemical category names;
C The associated Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) Registry numbers;
C The trade name for mixtures and compounds;
C The throughput quantities; and
C Whether the chemical or chemical category is manufactured, processed, or otherwise used at the facility (be sure to include quantities that are coincidentally manufactured and imported, as appropriate).
MSDSs provide important information for the type and composition of chemicals and chemical categories in mixtures, and for determining whether you have purchased raw materials that contain EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories. As of 1989, chemical suppliers to facilities in SIC Major Group Codes 20 through 39 are required to notify manufacturing customers of any EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories present in mixtures or trade name products distributed to facilities. The notice must be provided to the receiving facility and may be attached or incorporated into that product’s MSDS. If no MSDS is required, the notification must be in a letter that accompanies the first shipment of the product to your facility each year. This letter must contain the chemical name, CAS Registry number, and the weight or volume percent (or a range) of the EPCRA Section 313 chemical or chemical category in mixtures or trade name products.
Carefully review the entire MSDS. Although new MSDSs must list whether EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories are present, the language and location of this notification is not currently standardized. Depending on the supplier, this information could be found in different sections of the MSDS. The most likely sections of an MSDS to provide information on EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories are:
C Physical properties/chemical composition section;
C Regulatory section;
C Hazardous components section;
C Labeling section; and
C Additional information section.
Also, many EPCRA Section 313 chemicals or chemical categories are present as impurities in mixtures. These quantities must also be considered in threshold determinations unless the concentration is below the de minimis value (see Section 3.2.2.1).
COMMON ERROR - Mixture Components
Facilities often overlook EPCRA Section 313 chemicals that are present in small quantities of bulk solutions. For example, a common chemical used in rubber and plastics manufacturing is xylene. Xylene is often purchased in large quantities for use as a solvent, among other things. Most facilities correctly report for xylene; however, ethylbenzene is typically present at up to 15% in solutions of xylene commercially available. Many facilities have historically overlooked the ethylbenzene in their bulk xylene purchases.
Several chemicals on the EPCRA Section 313 chemical and chemical category list include qualifiers related to use or form. Some chemicals are reportable ONLY if manufactured by a specified process or classified in a specified activity category. For example, isopropyl alcohol is only reportable if it is manufactured using the strong acid process and saccharin is reportable only if it is manufactured. Some other chemicals are only reportable if present in certain forms. For example, only yellow or white phosphorus is reportable, while black or red phosphorus is not reportable.
The qualifiers and associated chemicals and chemical categories are presented below. Please make special note of the discussion pertaining to vanadium and vanadium compounds.
C Aluminum oxide (fibrous) - Aluminum oxide is only subject to threshold determination and release and other waste management calculations when it is handled in fibrous forms. U.S. EPA has characterized fibrous aluminum oxide for purposes of EPCRA Section 313 reporting as a man-made fiber commonly used in high-temperature insulation applications such as furnace linings, filtration, gaskets, joints, and seals.
C Ammonia - (includes anhydrous ammonia and aqueous ammonia from water dissociable ammonium salts and other sources) On June 26, 1995, U.S. EPA qualified the listing for ammonia (CAS Registry No. 7664-41-7) and deleted ammonium sulfate (solution) (CAS Registry No. 7783-20-2) from the EPCRA Section 313 chemical list. Both the qualification and the deletion were effective as of reporting year 1994. The qualifier for ammonia means that anhydrous forms of ammonia are 100% reportable while only 10% of the total aqueous ammonia is reportable. Any evaporation of ammonia from aqueous ammonia solutions is considered anhydrous ammonia. This qualifier applies to both activity threshold determinations and release and other waste management calculations. Note that while ammonium sulfate is no longer an EPCRA Section 313 chemical, 10% of the aqueous ammonia formed from the dissociation of ammonium sulfate (and all other ammonium salts) is reportable, and must be included in both activity threshold determinations and release and other waste management calculations. Additionally, any ammonium nitrate must also be included in the threshold determination and the nitrate portion included in the release and other waste management calculations, for the nitrate compounds category. U.S. EPA has published guidance on reporting for ammonia and ammonium salts in Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know, EPCRA Section 313, Guidance for Reporting Aqueous Ammonia, EPA 745-R-95-012 (see Appendix D).
C Asbestos (friable) - Asbestos only needs to be considered when it is handled in the friable form. Friable refers to the physical characteristics of being able to crumble, pulverize, or reduce to a powder with hand pressure. Please refer to EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers, Revised 1998 Version (EPA 745-B-98-004) for more information on asbestos, if applicable.
C Fume or dust - Two metals (aluminum and zinc) are qualified with "fume or dust." This definition excludes "wet" forms such as solutions or slurries, but includes powder, particulate, or gaseous forms of these metals. There is no particle size limitation for particulates. For example, use of zinc metal as a paint component is not subject to reporting unless the zinc is in the form of a fume or dust. However, even though elemental zinc is reportable only in the fume or dust form, all forms of zinc compounds are reportable. Note that the entire weight of all zinc compounds should be included in the threshold determination for zinc compounds, while only the metal portion of metal compounds is reported in the release and other waste management amounts. Prior to reporting year 2000, vanadium was also qualified with "fume or dust." As of reporting year 2000 the qualifier has been removed for vanadium such that all physical forms are now reportable unless the vanadium is contained in an alloy. Please see the discussion on vanadium and vanadium compounds below, if applicable.
C Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols) - On July 25, 1996, U.S. EPA promulgated a final rule delisting non-aerosol forms of hydrochloric acid (CAS Registry No. 7647-01 0) from the EPCRA Section 313 chemical list (effective for the 1995 reporting year). Therefore, threshold determinations and release and other waste management estimates now apply only to the aerosol forms. Under EPCRA Section 313, the term aerosol covers any generation of airborne acid (including mists, vapors, gas, or fog) without any particle size limitation. Therefore, any process that sprays hydrochloric acid "manufactures" hydrochloric acid aerosol and should include this quantity in the manufacturing threshold determination.
C Manufacturing qualifiers - Two chemicals, saccharin and isopropyl alcohol, contain qualifiers relating to manufacture. The qualifier for saccharin means that only manufacturers of the chemical are subject to the reporting requirement. The qualifier for isopropyl alcohol means that only facilities that manufacture the chemical by the strong acid process are required to report. Facilities that only process or otherwise use these chemicals are not required to report. Thus, a facility that uses isopropyl alcohol as a solvent should not report for isopropyl alcohol.
C Nitrate Compounds (water dissociable; reportable only in aqueous solution) - A nitrate compound is covered by this listing only when in water and if water dissociable. Although the complete weight of the nitrate compound must be used for threshold determinations for the nitrate compounds category, only the nitrate portion of the compound must be considered for release and other waste management calculations. One issue recently raised by industry is how to report nitrate compounds in wastewater and sludge that is applied to farms as a nitrogen source (either on site or off site). Although during such use, nitrate compounds may be taken up by plants and cycled back into the ecosystem, U.S. EPA considers the nitrate compounds in wastewater/sludge to be managed as waste. In this scenario, nitrate compounds should be reported as being disposed to land (either on site or off site as appropriate). U.S. EPA has published guidance for these chemicals in List of Toxic Chemicals Within the Water Dissociable Nitrate Compounds Category and Guidance for Reporting, EPA 745-R-96-004 (see Appendix C).
C Phosphorus (yellow or white) - Only manufacturing, processing, or otherwise use of phosphorus in the yellow or white chemical forms require reporting. Black and red phosphorus are not subject to EPCRA Section 313 reporting.
C Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols) - On June 26, 1995, U.S. EPA promulgated a final rule delisting non-aerosol forms of sulfuric acid (CAS Registry No. 7664-93-9) from the EPCRA Section 313 toxic chemical list (effective for the 1994 reporting year). Therefore, threshold determinations and release and other waste management estimates now apply only to the aerosol forms. Under EPCRA Section 313, the term aerosol covers any generation of airborne acid (including mists, vapors, gas, or fog) without any particle size limitation. Therefore, any process that sprays sulfuric acid "manufactures" sulfuric acid aerosol and should include this quantity in the manufacturing threshold determination. U.S. EPA has published guidance for acid aerosols in Guidance for Reporting Sulfuric Acid, EPA 745-R-97-007.
C Vanadium and vanadium compounds - Note that prior to reporting year 2000 (December 31, 1999 for EPCRA Section 313 reports that must be filed by July 1, 2001), the fume or dust qualifier also applied to vanadium. As of December 31, 1999, U.S. EPA removed this qualifier for vanadium for reporting year 2000 and beyond. Concurrently, U.S. EPA exempted all physical forms of metallic vanadium that are present in alloys. Therefore, vanadium that is present in any physical forms of alloys should not be considered for EPCRA Section 313 reporting. However, if vanadium is separated from the alloy, all physical forms of the vanadium are considered to be manufactured and the quantity manufactured should be applied to the 25,000-pound manufacturing threshold. If the vanadium is subsequently processed or otherwise used, the applicable quantity should also be applied to the processing or otherwise use threshold(s). If a threshold is exceeded, all quantities released or otherwise managed as waste must be reported as appropriate.
Concurrent with this rulemaking, U.S. EPA also added vanadium compounds to the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under EPCRA Section 313. U.S. EPA specifically excluded vanadium compounds from the fume or dust qualifier and from the alloy exemption. Therefore, all physical forms of vanadium compounds must be included in threshold determinations and release and other waste management activities estimates.