vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5101)
550-F-96-002
May 1996
RISK MANAGEMENT PLANNING:
ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION
Final Rule: Clean Air Act section 112(r)
Preventing accidental releases of hazardous chemicals is the shared
1V/T A XT A r^TTVTr^ resP°nsib'!'ty of industry, government, and the public. The first steps
1VJL ANAGING toward accident prevention are identifying the hazards and assessing the
risks. Once information about chemicals is openly shared, industry, gov-
ernment, and the community can work together toward reducing the risk
to public health and the environment. Important new provisions in the
Clean Air Act advance the process of risk management planning and pub-
Section 112(r) of the ''c disclosure of risk. These requirements will affect facilities that pro-
amended Clean Air duce, handle, process, distribute, or store certain chemicals. The final p.lie
for risk management planning was promulgated on 20 June 1996.
CHEMICALS
SAFELY
Iectionll2(r)ofthe
amended Clean Air
Act (CAA), signed into
law on 15 November
1990, mandates a new federal focus on the preven-
tion of chemical accidents. The objective of section
112(r) is to prevent serious chemical accidents that
have the potential to affect public health and the
environment. Under these requirements/ industry
has the obligation to prevent accidents, operate
safely, and manage hazardous chemicals in a safe
and responsible way. Government, the public, and
many other groups also have a stake in chemical
safety and must be partners with industry for acci-
dent prevention to be successful.
The risk management planning requirements of
CAA section 112(r) complement and support the
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). A milestone in federal
actions, EPCRA helps local communities prepare
for and respond to chemical accidents. It requires
communities to develop emergency response
plans, based on information from industry con-
cerning hazardous chemicals. Under the new
CAA requirements, stationary sources (facilities)
must identify and assess their chemical hazards
and carry out certain activities designed to reduce
the likelihood and severity of accidental chemical
releases. Information summarizing these activities
will be available to state and local governments,
the public, and all other stakeholders. Using this
information, citizens will have the opportunity to
work with industry to reduce risks to the commu-
nity from chemical accidents.
In the broadest sense, risk management planning
relates to local emergency preparedness and
response, to pollution prevention at facilities, and
to worker safety. In a more focussed sense, it forms
one element of an integrated approach to safety
and complements existing industry codes and
standards. The risk management planning require-
ments build on OSHA's Process Safety
Management Standard, the chemical safety guide-
lines of the Center for Chemical Process Safety of
the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and
Chemical Emergency Preparedness ami Prevention Office
Printed on recycled paper
-------
Risk Maiagcinenl Planning Final Rnk
Mat/1996
similar standards of the American Petroleum
Institute and Chemical Manufacturers
Association, as well as the practices of many
other safety-conscious companies.
works, ammonia refrigeration systems, utilities,
and federal facilities. Sources with at least one
covered process must comply with the rule by
June 20,1999.
IT'S THE LAW...
CAA section 112(r) mandates that EPA pub-
lish rules and guidance for chemical acci-
dent prevention. These rules must include
requirements for sources to develop and imple-
ment risk management programs that incorpo-
rate three elements: a hazard assessment, a pre-
vention program, and an emergency response
program. These programs are to be summarized
in a risk management plan (RMP) that will be
made available to state and local government
agencies and the public.
WHO'S COVERED
Any source with more than a threshold quan-
tity of a listed "regulated substance" in a
single process must comply with the regulation.
"Process," in terms of the regulation, means
manufacturing, storing, distributing, handling,
or using a regulated substance in any other way.
Transportation, including pipelines and vehicles
under active shipping orders, is excluded. On 31
January 1994, EPA promulgated a final list of 139
regulated substances: 77 acutely toxic sub-
stances, 63 flammable gases and volatile liquids,
and Division 1.1 high explosives as listed by
DOT. The final list rule established threshold
quantities for toxics ranging from 500 to 20,000
pounds. For all listed flammables, the threshold
quantity is 10,000 pounds. EPA proposed modifi-
cations to the final list on 15 April 1996. These
modifications would exclude facilities handling
explosives, exploration/production facilities for
oil and gas, and gasoline.
EPA estimates that approximately 66,000 sources
will be covered by the rule, assuming the pro-
posed list amendments are adopted. The uni-
verse includes chemical manufacturers, other
manufacturers, certain wholesalers and retailers,
drinking water systems, wastewater treatment:
THREE LEVELS OF
COMPLIANCE
The final risk management planning regula-
tion (40 CFR part 68) defines the activities
sources must undertake to address the risks
posed by regulated substances in covered
processes. To ensure that individual processes
are subject to appropriate requirements that
match their size and the risks they may pose,
EPA has classified them into three categories
("Programs").
Program 1 requirements apply to processes for
which a worst-case release, as evaluated in the
hazard assessment, would not affect the public.
These are sources or processes that have not had
an accidental release that caused serious offsite
consequences. Remotely located sources and
processes using listed flammables are primarily
those eligible for this program.
Program 2 requirements apply to less complex
operations that do not involve chemical process-
ing (e.g., retailers, propane users, non-chemical
manufacturers, and other processes not regulat-
ed under OSHA's PSM Standard).
Program 3 requirements apply to higher risk,
complex chemical processing operations and to
processes already subject to the OSHA.PSM.
RMP BASICS
Sources with processes with a regulated sub-
stance above a threshold quantity will be
required to carry out the following elements of
risk management planning:
4 An offsite consequence analysis that
evaluates specific potential release scenar-
ios, including worst-case and alternative
-------
Risk Management Planning Filial Rule
May 1996
scenarios
4 A 5-year history of certain accidental
.releases of regulated substances from covered
processes
+ An integrated prevention program to man-
age risk
An emergency response program
Contingency Plan Guidance to assist sources sub-
ject to multiple regulations in preparing a consoli-
dated emergency response plan. Further, EPA
believes that many of the prevention program
requirements for Program 2 processes and the
emergency response program requirements can be
satisfied without additional effort because of exist-'
ing compliance with other federal and state regula-
tions, industry standards and codes, and good
engineering practices.
4 An overall management system to supervise
the implementation of these program elements
4 A risk management plan (RMP), revised at
least once every five years, that summarizes '
and documents these activities for all covered
processes
Based on their limited potential for serious offsite
consequences, sources are not required to imple-
ment a prevention program, an emergency
response program, or a management system for
Program 1 processes. Sources with processes in
Program 2 and Program 3 must address each of
the above elements.
LINKS
The OSHA PSM Standard (29 CFR 1910.119)
reflects the key elements that the petrochemical
industry, trade associations, and engineering soci-
eties have deemed essential to safe management of
hazardous substances for complex, chemical-pro-
cessing operations. EPA has adopted OSHA's PSM
requirements as the Program 3 prevention pro-
gram, with only minor changes in terminology.
With few exceptions, processes assigned to
Program 3 are already subject to the OSHA.PSM
Standard; the remaining Program 3 processes are in
industry sectors that have a significant accident
history.
EPA has also worked closely with other regulatory
programs that focus on risk management issues for
hazardous chemicals in order to foster co-ordina-
tion and reduce burden. EPA and the National
Response Team have prepared Integrated
MAKING IT WORK
To document compliance with the rule and pro-
vide risk information, all sources must submit
to a central location a risk management plan that
includes a registration, an executive summary, a 5-
year accident history, and offsite consequence
analysis information. Sources with Program 2 and
3 processes also must submit information in the
RMP regarding compliance with requirements for
the prevention program and the emergency
response program.
EPA is developing a reporting mechanism and
form to collect RMPs in a way that encourages elec-
tronic submission. This will make risk management
planning information available far more widely to
the public and at a far lower cost than would tradi-
tional reporting. To support electronic submission
and reduce the reporting burden, EPA has stan-
dardized the RMP requirements. With the excep-
tion of the executive summary, data elements will
be primarily check-off boxes, yes/no answers, or
numerical entries.
An "implementing agency" will oversee these
requirements and receive the RMPs. It will audit
and inspect a percentage of sources each year and
require whatever revisions to the RMPs are neces-
sary. Under CAA section 112(1), states may request
that EPA delegate the authority to serve as the
implementing agency to a state or local agency
with the appropriate expertise, resources, and
authority. States may implement their own pro-
grams, although the law demands that program
requirements must be as stringent as EPA's and
must include all EPA-regulated substances and
processes. Approximately 30 per cent of the
sources subject to the risk management program
-------
Risk Management Planning Final Rule
May 1996
requirements must also comply with Title V of the
Clean Air Act, which requires permits for emis-
sions of air pollutants. Section 112(r) is an applica-
ble requirement for Title V permits.
HELP FOR SMALL
BUSINESS
Small and medium-sized enterprises may receive
information about CAA section 112(r) through
the Small Business Assistance Program in each
state, through the Federal Small Business
Assistance Program, through the network of Small
Business Development Centers across the country,
through the EPCRA Hotline, and through a range
of electronic ou tlets.
through a variety of educational outlets. .
Workshops, in co-operation with industry and
engineering societies, will also be presented around
the country, as well as teleconferences to introduce
the new risk management planning requirements
to a diversity of stakeholders.
With risk management planning as the basis for
accident prevention, everybody wins.
Industry has an opportunity to demonstrate excel-
lence in safety. Government can show effective,
efficient leadership in developing sensible require-
ments. And communities will have a powerful
right-to-know tool, as citizens work together
toward reducing chemical risks to public health
and the environment.
To make compliance easier for small businesses,
EPA is working with industry groups to develop
model risk management programs. Initially, these
model programs will be developed for ammonia
refrigeration, propane handling, and water treat-
ment operations. The RMP Offsite Consequence
Analysis Guidance will eliminate the need for cov-
ered small operations to invest in computer model-
ing programs and to answer complex technical
questions (e.g., how to model liquefied gases) relat-
ed to this element of the hazard assessment.
LOOKING AHEAD.,
As this final rule is implemented, EPA plans to
publish general technical guidance, guidance
for states on implementation, guidance for Local
Emergency Planning Committees on ways to use
RMP information in the community, and additional
model plans for certain industry sectors and regu-
lated substances. In addition, the Agency will pro-
duce training packages and disseminate training
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
CONTACT THE EMERGENCY PLANNING AND
COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW HOTLINE
(800) 424-9346 OR (703) 412-9810
TDD (800) 553-7672
MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9 AM TO 6 PM, EASTERN TIME
VISIT THE CEPPO HOME PAGE ON THE WORLD
WIDE WEB AT:
http://www.epa.gov/swercepp/
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office
------- |