vvEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response
Publication 9360.0-23FS
April 1992
CERCLA Notifications
Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS)
Fact Sheet
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Emergency Response Division OS-210
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
The Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS) provides a mechanism for documenting and verifying
release notification information as initially reported to the National Response Center (NRG), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and, to a limited extent, to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for response
decisions. This initial notification data may be followed up by various Federal, State and local response authorities,
as appropriate. ERNS contains data that can be used to analyze release notifications and spills, support emergency
planning efforts, and assist decision makers in developing spill prevention programs. This fact sheet provides
summary information on notifications of releases of hazardous substances regulated under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended.
CERCLA Section 103 requires that the release of a CERCLA hazardous substance, meeting or exceeding the
CERCLA reportable quantity, be reported to the NRC. There are currently 783 substances designated as CERCLA
hazardous substances under 40 CFR Part 302. These CERCLA notifications account for approximately 17 percent of
the total number of notifications found in ERNS.
RELEASE NOTIFICATIONS IN ERNS*
Notification Type:
CERCLA
Oil
Other
Total for Year
1987
4,582
15,577
8,518
28,677
1988
5,060
15,167
9,647
29,874
1989
6,554
16,074
11,476
34,104
1990
6.174
18,846
9,239
34,259
1991
5,885
19,264
10,504
35,653
CERCLA: Substances designated as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980, as amended, section 103.
Oil: As defined by section 311 of the CWA, any oil discharge which: 1) causes a sheen to appear on the surface of the water, 2) violates applicable
water quality standards; or 3) causes sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon the adjoining shorelines. This
includes both petroleum and non-petroleum oil products.
Other This category includes non-CERCLA, non-oil substances along with substances that could not be identified at the time of the release.
The following table shows the size distribution of CERCLA notifications from 1987 to 1991. Notifications
involving releases of less than 1,000 pounds account for approximately 71 percent of all CERCLA releases, while
releases of greater than 100,000 pounds account for slightly more than 1 percent of these notifications.
Number of CERCLA Notifications by Quantity*
No quanity reported
Less than 1,000 IDS
1,000 -9,999 IDS
10,000- 99,999 Ibs
1.00,000 Ibs or
greater
1987
715
2.750
748
313
56
1988
775
2.992
846
373
74
1989
0
5.082
1.001
379
92
1990
0
4,774
945
383
72
1991
0
4.588
875
355
67
•All numbers are based on initial notification* to the Federal government and may not have been verified.
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The primary purpose of ERNS is to collect and standardize notifications made to the Federal government of
releases of oil and hazardous substances. These notifications are used by Federal On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs)
during, before, and after data are entered into ERNS to determine appropriate Federal response action. These data
aid decision makers involving emergency response and release prevention issues. The following map shows the
number and percentages of CERCLA hazardous substance releases found in ERNS for each of the ten U.S. EPA
Regions. The data used in preparing the map are cumulative from 1987 to 1991.
CERCLA Notifications (1987 - 1991)
by U.S. EPA Region*
REGION 1
CERCLA: 1,074
4% of US. total
REGION 5
CERCLA- 3.810
13% Of US.
REGION
: 1.612
6% of US. total
REGIONS
CERCLA: 1.014
4% of U.S. total
CERCLA: 1.703
6% of U.S. total
REGION 9
CERCLA: 4.488
16% of US. total
REQION3
CERCLA: Z76S
10% of U.S. total
REGION 4
CERCLA: 4.313
15% of U.S. tofel
22% of U.S. total
ERNS may be used to examine the characteristics of hazardous substance release notifications. The bar chart
provides an analyses of CERCLA hazardous substance releases sorted according to the reported cause of release.
The six categories are: transportation accident, equipment failure, operator error, natural phenomenon, dumping
and unknown.
CERCLA Hazardous Substance fTsHaaai by Cause*
(1967-1901)
2.000
1.500
1,000
500
TRANS EQUIP OP NAT
emoii PHBN
UNK
For further information regarding ERNS, call the ERNS information line at (202) 260-2342, or write the ERNS
Manager, U.S. EPA, at OS-210, 401 M St., SW, Washington DC 20460.
•All numbers are based on initial notification* to the Federal government and may not have been verified.
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