Ordinance No. 20518 - Laserfiche WebLink

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If the SDS of a purchased material identifies a contaminant as belonging to a SARA 313 Chemical Category and that material represents less than 1% of the total weight of the purchased material, reporting of that contaminant is not required. Chemical categories are defined in SARA 313 (EPCRA). These are groups of materials such as "copper compounds" or certain "glycol ethers" that are not definable by a discrete CAS number. Use of Ranges In estimating the amounts of hazardous substances to report, a business may consider the range of compositions that it receives as articles during the year, and choose an average value within the range. For example, if the stainless steel that a business uses for manufacturing contains, among other substances, chromium, and the business generated 900 pounds of fumes, dust, filings or grindings from such articles, and the chromium content ranged from 6 -8 %, the business could choose 7% (or another percentage they feel is more justifiable) and then report 63 pounds of chromium in the appropriate output category(ies). Likewise, when an SDS gives ranges of components of mixtures, the business may report the midpoint of the range, or be prepared to See Appendix F, Question 49 explain their rationale for any other choice used for reporting. Example: An SDS gives the following composition: Reasonable Reporting: Material 1 50 -60% 55% Material 2 10 -20% 15% Material 20 -30% 25% Material 5 -10% 5% TOTAL 85 -120% 100% Administration Enforcement Actions The law gives the Toxics Board broad powers to enforce violations. See Appendix F, Question 44 However, it is the intent of the Toxics Board to assist companies in their efforts to comply with the law. Companies that make an honest and conscientious effort to comply with the law and that work with the Toxics Board to continuously improve the quality of their reporting are unlikely to face enforcement actions. Blatant disregard for the law or the truth, or an unwillingness to provide adequate information as directed by the Toxics Board, however, is likely to result in enforcement actions. There will be intermediate cases of reporting errors involving gross inaccuracies and /or omissions and /or data accumulation process errors. Whether or not these errors result in enforcement actions will be a decision of the Toxics Board, which will take into account the factors listed in Section 8.2.0 of the law. Concerning companies that are required to report but have not reported, the Toxics Board will consider the merits of each case that comes to its attention. Companies voluntarily coming forward, even years late, are unlikely to face the level of penalties that may be assessed against companies identified by the Toxics Board through other means. -23-