United  States
              Environmental  Protection
              Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and  Emergency Response
(.51.01)
                                                                                 November  1993
              Accidental   Release   Information
              Program   (ARIP)   Fact   Sheet
 BACKGROUND

"The Chemical Emergency Preparedness and-
 Prevention Office (CEPPO) within  the. Office of Solid
 Waste and Emergency  Response (OSWER) leads the
 Environmental Protection Agency's ,(EPA) effort to
 prepare for and prevent chemical accidents.   The
 Agency began  its chemical accident prevention
 program in 1986.  To  identify the steps, that could be
 taken  by  industrial facilities to prevent .releases, the
 Agency needed information on the causes of accidents
 and industry prevention practices.   At that time, the
 only data available focused on  the  quantities
 released rather than causes.

 To develop new information on accident causes,.EPA
 initiated  the Accidental Release Information
 Program (ARIP).   The program involves collecting
 questionnaire  information from facilities that have
 had significant releases of hazardous substances,
 developing a  national accidental  release database,
 analyzing the collected information,, and
 disseminating  the results of the analysis to those
 involved  in chemical  accident  prevention activities,
 ARIP also helps to focus industry's attention on the
 causes of accidental  releases  and the means to prevent
 them.
  ELEMENTS OF ARIP    '  ,


  Authority

  EPA is authorized to collect information on
  accidental releases under: section 3007(a) of the
  Resource Conservation and Recovery Act'(RCRA);
  section 101(b)(l) and (e) of the Comprehensive
  Environmental Response Compensation and Locality
  Act (CERCLA); section 308(a) of the Clean Water  .
  -Act; and section 114 of the amended Clean Air Act.
  These statutes require that the information be
  furnished either to develop regulations, conduct
  ^enforcement, or determine the need to respond to or
  prevent accidental chemical releases.
   Selection of Facilities to Survey

   U.S. facilities are required by law to report non-
   routine releases of certain substances when those
   releases exceed a reportable 'quantity (RQ). These
   reports are called into the National Response Center,
   the U.S. Coast Guard, and EPA regional offices. EPA
   compiles the reports into the Emergency Response
   Notification System (ERNS) database. EPA then
   uses ERNS data to select releases for the ARIP '
   .questionnaire.

   The ERNS database includes a wide range of releases
   from both fixed facilities and transportation. Since
   the Department of Transportation is responsible for
   transportation accidents and OSHA is responsible for
   accidents affecting workers, ARIP targets those
   accidental releases at fixed facilities that resulted
   in off-site consequence or environmental damage.  Off-
   site consequence includes any casualty, evacuation,
   shelter-in-place, or any other necessary precaution
   taken by individuals off-site as a i  "iuh'of the
   release. Environmental damage includes  wildlife
   kills, significant vegetation damage, soil
   contamination, and ground and surface water
   contaminatio'n. Not all non-routine releases reported
   in ERNS result from accidents. To focus on significant
   accidents, an ARIP questionnaire is sent to all releases
   that resulted in death or injury.  If the release also
   resulted in off-site consequence or environmental
   damage, then -the facility is required  to complete ,the
   questionnaire.

   ARIP Questionnaires

    The ARIP questionnaire consists of'23 questions about
   the facility, the circumstances and  causes  of the
   incident, and the accidental release prevention
   practices and technologies in place prior to, and
   • added or changed as a result of, the event. The.
   questionnaire fqcu-es on several areas of accident
   prevention including hazard assessments, training,
   emergency response, public notification procedures,
   mitigation techniques, and prevention equipment and
   controls.

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The EPA regions send each selected facility a
package that contains a cover letter explaining the
ARIP program, the criteria for completing the
questionnaire, and directions for completing the ARIP
questionnaire.  Part A of the questionnaire contains
the available EPA information about the event from
the ERNS database. Part B of the questionnaire
contains questions concerning, the facility, substance
released, and prevention practices. The facility is
asked to verify and correct the ERNS information  in
Part A, to complete Part B of the questionnaire, and to
return both parts to the regional office.  The regional
office then forwards a copy of the completed
questionnaire to EPA headquarters. Verified ERNS
information is used to validate the ERNS database
for these events.

ARIP Database

When EPA headquarters receives the questionnaire,
the responses are entered into a database. EPA also
files copies of the questionnaire for future reference.
 USES OF ARIP DATA

 The ARIP information has been collected into a
 national database that provides data on the causes of
 accidental releases and the ways to prevent them
 from recurring. EPA has used the database to define
 areas where further information is needed, to
 disseminate information about accident causes, and to
 help  develop program and regulatory initiatives.
 ARIP data help to focus attention on accidents and.
 prevention methods and technologies.

 Analysis of ARIP information and the resulting
 insights into the nature of chemical accidents are
 published in EPA reports that are shared with
 interested individuals and organizations. In June
 1989, EPA published  a chemical accident prevention
 bulletin entitled, "Why Accidents Occur:  Insights
 from the Accidental Release Information Program,"
 which summarized the results and lessons learned
 from initial analyses  of the ARIP data. This
 publication was targeted to State Emergency Response
 Commissions (SERCs) and Local Emergency Planning
 Committees (LEPCs) and was designed to enhance
 their understanding of accident causes and steps used
 to prevent accidents.

 ARIP also builds understanding of accident prevention
 issues in EPA regions and verifies the information in
 the ERNS database for use in other EPA efforts.  For
 example, EPA regions use ARIP data as background
 material to assist in Chemical Safety Audits and
 investigations.
In addition, ARIP provides a means of focusing the
attention of industry management on chemical
accident prevention. Through trade groups and
associations, facility managers can be informed about
ARIP findings on common types of releases and ways
to prevent them. Further, when provided with ARIP
information, SERCs and LEPCs become more
knowledgeable about chemical accident prevention
and can more effectively communicate with facilities.

ARIP data have also been supplied to the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development to support international analysis of
accidents.  Currently, ARIP data and findings are
being used by EPA in support of the development of
the regulations for  chemical accident prevention as
mandated by section 112(r) of the  amended Clean Air
Act.                      '      •
DEVELOPMENT AND STATUS OF ARIP

EPA conducted a pilot.test of the" ARIP survey in early
1987 and instituted the program nation-wide later
that year. The facility selection was based on  •
casualty, quantity of material,-type of chemical, and
frequency of releases.  During late fall of 1988, 'EPA
refined and expanded the survey questions to
emphasize prevention concepts, and  the selection ,
criteria were modified to target facilities better.

In January 1989, EPA prepared a draft interim report
on the ARIP analysis.  The report suggested that
facility management should encourage further use of
technologies and practices to prevent chemical
accidents. For example,,one of the report's findings
indicated tha_t inspection and preventive
maintenance on equipment and instruments should
become more widespread, especially on piping
systems.                         |

In July 1991, changes in the information collection
effort were instituted to streamline the data- •
gathering process and verify accidental release
information in the ERNS database.  In July 1993,  the
basis for selecting facilities  was changed from a
quantity of material released to off-site impact and
environmental damages to focus the survey more
appropriately on significant, accidents. The ARIP
 survey has been approved by the Office of
 Management and Budget through September 30,1995.
    For more information, contact the Emergency
    Planning and Community Right-to-Know
    Information Hotline at (800) 535-0202, Monday
    through Friday, 8:30 am to 7:30 pm, Eastern Time.
    Please note: This is NOT an emergency number.

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