Background information if you
have been contacted by a
manufacturer of an oil spill
clean up product.
• Members of Congress, State, and local
officials may be contacted by
manufacturers and vendors who develop
and market oil spill clean up products,
• These products range from simple
absorbents that soak up the oil for
collection and removal to complex
chemical and biological agents intended to
disperse or bioremediate the oil.
• There is an established process that
manufacturers must follow to have an oil
spill product listed and evaluated by EPA
and Regional Response Teams (RRTs). An
RRT consists of the federal On-Scene
Coordinator (FOSC), state and local
representatives to the RRT, and appropriate
federal trustees. The RRT plans for and
may respond to oil spills when the OSC
wants to use an alternative countermeasure
described below. Fifteen different federal
agencies may also provide assistance.
• A product must be listed on the National
Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution
Contingency Plan (NCP) Subpart J Product
Schedule (40 CFR 300.900) before it can
be used for oil spill cleanup. RRTs
convene to determine the appropriateness
of using an oil spill cleanup technology at a
particular oil spill site.
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Answers
on the
National Oil and
Hazardous Substances
Pollution Contingency Plan,
Subpart J,
Product Schedule
40 CFR 300.900
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What is the Product Schedule?
Section 311(d)(2) of the Clean Water Act, as
amended by section 4201 (a) of the Oil Pollution Act
of 1990, requires the President to prepare a
"schedule of dispersants, other chemicals, and other
spill mitigating devices and substances, if any, that
may be authorized for use on oil discharges..."
(40 CFR 300.905(a)).
The EPA prepares and maintains this schedule,
known as the NCP Product Schedule. The Product
Schedule contains five product categories:
Dispersants—used to break up oil on the water's
surface, causing it to disperse down into the water
column where natural forces can degrade the oil
droplets. (Marine/Coastal waters only)
Surface washing agents—used on solid surfaces
only to lift and float oil to better absorb or vacuum
it up.
Surface collecting agents—used to control the
thickness layer of oil to aid mechanical recovery.
Also know as "herding agents."
Bioremediation agents—microbes, nutrients,
enzymes, or a combination intended to encourage
the degradation of the oil.
Miscellaneous oil spill control agents—any other
spill mitigating agents, such as chemical or
biological based sorbents and elastizers.
can one find the procedures
for listing a product on the NCP
Product Schedule?
W general requirements are found at 40 CFR
30'u.900, and the required toxicity and effectiveness
protocols are found in Appendix C to Part 300 of the
NCP (40 CFR 300.920). You can also call 202-260-
2342 or visit the Oil Program website at:
www. epa. go v/oilspill
What testing must be conducted for
different types of products?
iN order to be listed on the Product Schedule, a
dispersant must obtain an effectiveness value of
50% + or - 5% for the Dispersant Effectiveness Test.
Most products must be tested using a standard
toxicity test.
Bioremediation agent submissions must include the
successful results of a 28 day Bioremediation Agent
Effectiveness Test.
WAO may submit data on a product
for listing?
'^e owner and/or manufacturer of the product, or
auuiorized representative.
does EPA decide whether to list
a product?
J^A's Oil Program Center conducts a review of the
ra\v data and required information to confirm that
the data are complete and valid.
EPA will inform the submitter, in writing within 60
days, after receipt of complete technical product
data, of its decision on adding the product to the
Schedule. Additional information or a sample of the
product may be required (300.920(a)(2)).
The data requirements are designed to provide
sufficient information to FOSCs and RRTs to
determine whether, and in what quantities, a product
may be used to control a particular oil discharge.
What does having a product listed on
the Schedule mean?
i 'elusion of a product on the NCP Product Schedule
means only that the data submission requirements
have been satisfied. The product may then be
authorized for use on a particular oil spill by FOSCs
and RRTs. To prevent possible misrepresentation or
misinterpretation, all product labels, literature, or
advertisements that refer to placement on the
Schedule must either reproduce the entire EPA letter
announcing the placement on the Schedule or
include the disclaimer set forth in Section
300.920(e). This disclaimer stresses that EPA does
not endorse the product.
W.io manages the data?
t"°A has a designated Product Schedule Manager
who receives requests and data as described above.
Referring companies to this EPA representative can
save time and ensure that they are given the most
accurate and useful information. If the product is
listed, EPA will post the company's product
information on the Oil Program Center website and
share the information with RRTs and OSCs in all
regions. The RRTs and FOSCs can then use this
information when determining the appropriateness
of using a listed product.
The Product Schedule Manager is William Nichols.
If you want to refer a vendor to him, or if you have
further questions regarding the NCP Product
Schedule, he can be reached at 202-564-1970 or by
e-mail at nichols.nick@epa.gov.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
9360.8-35
540-N-01-008
April 2005
Oil Program Center
Please note: Once a product is listed, the NCP
does not mandate the use of that product by the
RRT, state, industry, or any oil spill response
organization.
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