Ordinance No. 20499 - Laserfiche WebLink

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C. CHARACTERISTIC CHEMICALS Characteristic chemicals include any chemicals that do not appear on the Federal lists comprising the majority of Eugene's definition of "hazardous substance" (see Appendix A, Article III -E), but that are known by the reporting facility that "if it were in a container, would possess the characteristics of a hazardous waste, as defined in 40 CFR 261.20 through §261.24, authorized by RCRA." Substances that possess the characteristics of hazardous waste are commonly referred to as "characteristic chemicals" or "characteristic substances. "(see Appendix D). Characteristic chemicals are reportable. Reporting entities are not expected to take extraordinary steps to determine whether substances are characteristic, but often this can be determined either by examining the MSDS for a substance or by observing the substance's behavior. 24. QUESTION: Some paints, stains, dyes, and inks may contain petroleum distillates that have ignitable characteristics (flash point <140 degrees Fahrenheit), but when combined with the pigments may raise the flash point to more than 140 degrees Fahrenheit, as stated on the MSDSs. If the CAS numbers are not on the Eugene list, are these products exempt from reporting? ANSWER: If the MSDS lists a flash point above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, then the business using the material does not need to report the material as a characteristic material, if the material's CAS number is not in the list already, and if the flash point of the material does not fall below 140 degrees during its life cycle in Eugene. This answer follows the principle of using MSDS information and not having to obtain information that is not already available to the business; i.e., flash point information for the component must be (a) on the MSDS from the supplier of the product they are using, (b) be their own information on the material because that business has manufactured the product from its component parts, for which it would have an MSDS showing the under 140 degrees Fahrenheit flash point of the component, or (c) be otherwise known by the manufacturer, or else the material is not reportable. Thus, even if the information exists in a reference book, the business is not obligated to look for the information in a book that they may or may not have, or do other research into the flash points. If the flash point of a substance is known and /or documented, and it is below 140 degrees Fahrenheit, the business is expected to report that substance or its reportable components. 25. QUESTION: My business uses a substance whose composition is a trade secret of the supplier, but which I know to be hazardous and reportable as a characteristic chemical. How should I report this? ANSWER: Report the substance in your regular materials balance accounting report under the appropriate generic characteristic substance category. You do not need to -61-