The next submission period for the U.S. EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirement under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is from June 1, 2016, through September 30, 2016, and will cover the 2012 – 2015 reporting years. The previous CDR submission was in 2012 for the 2010 and 2011 reporting years.
Manufacturers and importers of TSCA inventory-listed chemical substances that exceed either the reduced reporting threshold (2,500 lbs/yr for certain chemical-specific TSCA Actions) or the standard reporting threshold (25,000 lbs/yr for all other listed chemicals) for any calendar year from 2012 through 2015 must prepare a CDR for each chemical exceeding the respective thresholds and submit to U.S. EPA. Note that a CDR must be submitted covering all four reporting years if a facility exceeds an applicable threshold in any year.
For chemicals that are imported to the U.S., note that only the primary importer of a chemical (generally the entity responsible for payment of import tariffs) has the TSCA CDR responsibilities. A facility that purchases an imported chemical from the primary importer (or other down-stream entity) is not responsible for preparation of a TSCA CDR for that chemical.
The report must be filed electronically using the U.S. EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) and must include production quantities for calendar years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the following information for 2015:
- Manufacturing Related Data
- Chemical ID,
- Production quantity,
- Number of workers on site who are likely to be exposed to the chemical,
- Maximum concentration, and
- Physical forms and relative production of each form.
- Processing Related Data
- Types of processes / use (up to 10),
- Sectors,
- Industrial function categories,
- Percent of production,
- Number of sites, and
- Number of workers off site who are likely to be exposed to the chemical.
- Consumer and Commercial Use Related Data
- Product categories,
- Sectors,
- Whether the product is intended for use by children,
- Percent of production,
- Concentration range, and
- Number of commercial workers who are likely to be exposed to the chemical.
For the 2016 submission, calendar year 2015 is the principal reporting year, which requires the presentation of enhanced manufacturing / processing and use data.
Whether a chemical substance is covered or not covered by TSCA can be determined by searching the U.S. EPA’s Substance Registry Services (SRS) web page.
Note that the current TSCA list includes more than 60,000 chemicals.
Chemicals applicable to CDR submission are identified as “TSCA Inv” in the chemical-specific search tables.
Common chemical substances (by industry sector) included on the TSCA inventory that may be subject to CDR requirements include:
- Primary Metals – Steel, Slag, Baghouse Dust, Copper, Zinc, Manganese and Chromium;
- Secondary Metals – Mill Scale, Zinc Oxide and Ferro Manganese;
- Aggregates – Lime, Hydrated Lime, Bentonite and Kaolin;
- Power – Coal Ash;
- Paper – Secondary Treatment Sludge;
- Refineries – Gasoline and Diesel Fuel;
- Industrial Gases – Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen; and
- Miscellaneous – Glass, Tanning Waste and Cement.
TSCA includes a number of important exemptions from CDR reporting, including:
- Byproducts that are disposed (i.e., not released to commerce) need not be reported;
- A chemical present as an impurity (unintentionally present in another chemical substance) is exempt from reporting;
- Polymers have a full reporting exemption;
- Naturally occurring chemical substances have a full reporting exemption; and
- Certain listed forms of natural gas and natural gas liquids have a full reporting exemption.
In addition, partial exemptions are available for certain petroleum process streams and for other common chemical substances (e.g., limestone, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen).
Additional information on the TSCA CDR program is provided on the U.S. EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting web page.
If you have any questions about the 2016 TSCA Chemical Data Reporting, please contact us at 412-429-2324.
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