[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14415]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 14, 1994]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part IV
Environmental Protection Agency
_______________________________________________________________________
40 CFR Part 710
Partial Updating of TSCA Inventory Data Base; Production and Site
Reports; Technical Amendment; Final Rule
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 710
[OPPTS-62140; FRL-4869-7]
Partial Updating of TSCA Inventory Data Base; Production and Site
Reports; Technical Amendment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the 1994 reporting period for the
Inventory Update Rule, and amends the rule to update the reporting
address.
DATES: This document is effective June 14, 1994. The 1994 reporting
period is from August 25, 1994 to December 23, 1994.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan B. Hazen, Director,
Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. E-545, 401
M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, (202) 554-1404, TDD: (202) 554-0551.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In the Federal Register of June 12, 1986 (51 FR 21438), EPA
promulgated a rule (40 CFR part 710, subpart B), referred to as the
Inventory Update Rule (IUR), under the authority of section 8(a) of the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2607(a), requiring
manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances included on
the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory to report current data on the
production volume, plant site, and site-limited status of the
substances. After the initial reporting during 1986, recurring
reporting is required every 4 years. A second reporting cycle took
place in 1990. The third reporting period will be in 1994.
II. 1994 Reporting Period
The initial reporting period was August 25, 1986 to December 23,
1986. Reporting periods recur every 4 years from August 25 to December
23, so that the next reporting period is August 25, 1994 to December
23, 1994. Persons subject to the rule must submit the required
information during this period.
III. Update of the Information
A. The TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory
As an aid to submitters reporting during 1986, EPA published a 1985
edition of the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. This publication,
available from the Government Printing Office (GPO), superseded the
1979 edition and supplements prior to 1985. To aid reporters during
1990, EPA published a 1990 supplement to the 1985 edition. Copies of
both the ``TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory: 1985 Edition'' and the
``TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory: 1990 Supplement'' may still be
obtained by writing or calling: Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, (202) 783-3238. The 1990
Supplement costs $15.00 in the U.S., $18.75 outside the U.S., and
should be ordered by its Document Control Code, S/N 055-000-00361-1.
The 1985 Edition costs $161.00 ($201.00 outside the U.S.), and its
Document Control Code is S/N 055-000-00254-1.
In support of the 1994 reporting, EPA is publishing a revised TSCA
Chemical Substances Inventory in a set of floppy diskettes for use in a
personal computer instead of the hard copy form. These diskettes will
contain information for all nonconfidential chemical substances added
to the TSCA Inventory data base before May 1, 1994. The types of
information contained in the diskettes will be similar to that found in
the computer tape form of the TSCA Inventory that EPA has been
disseminating to the public biannually through the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS). Specifically, each of the chemical
substances included in the diskettes is identified by a Chemical
Abstracts (CA) Index or Preferred Name, the corresponding Chemical
Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number, molecular formula, and if
applicable, the chemical definition and appropriate EPA special flags
as found in the printed Inventory. The substances are sequenced in
ascending order of the corresponding CAS Registry Numbers. The
diskettes will not include chemical synonyms that are copyrighted by
the Chemical Abstracts Service. Furthermore, generic names or EPA
Accession Numbers for substances with confidential chemical identities
will not be included.
The diskette version includes over 62,000 records and requires 12
megabytes of disk space for installation. Installation software that
will automatically uncompress the file is included with the diskettes.
However, users will have to furnish their own data base management
software to perform searches. Both tapes and diskettes will be
available for sale from: National Technical Information Service (NTIS),
5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, (703) 487-4650 or (800)
553-NTIS. The diskettes cost $195.00 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico,
and $390.00 for all other addresses. The NTIS Order Number for the
diskettes is PB94-501731GEI. The tapes cost $360.00 in the U.S.,
Canada, and Mexico, and $720.00 for all other addresses. The NTIS Order
Number for the tapes is PB94-501749GEI.
B. Reporting Address and Instructions
40 CFR 710.39 is being amended to reflect new addresses and
telephone numbers, as follows:
Reporting Packages Address: TSCA Hotline (7408), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St.,
SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 554-1404, ATTN: Inventory
Update Rule.
Mailing Address for Completed Forms: Document Control Officer (7407),
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, ATTN:
Inventory Update Rule.
EPA will automatically mail out a reporting package to those
facilities that reported in 1990. This package will include the manual
entitled ``Instructions for Reporting for the Partial Updating of the
TSCA Chemical Inventory Data Base,'' a new Form U, and a copy of the
Federal Register Notice. If you did not report in 1990, but need to
report in 1994, the reporting package will be available from the TSCA
Hotline at the address referenced above. Additional reporting forms
will also be available from the TSCA Hotline.
IV. Reporting Form
Section 710.39 requires submitters to report using EPA's Form U. In
1990, EPA made changes in the form to assist submitters in completing
it and facilitate processing of the form; none of the changes resulted
in substantive revisions to the reporting requirements of the rule. New
printed forms will be made available for reporting during 1994. Neither
the 1986 nor the 1990 form is acceptable for 1994 reporting.
A. Reporting Errors
Several types of reporting errors occurred frequently enough in the
past to merit discussion. One of the most frequent type of errors
concerns the submitter reported Dun & Bradstreet number. Numerous
submitters reported numbers with extra or missing digits, numbers which
belonged to their parent companies (rather than the Dun & Bradstreet
number assigned to the plant site for which the submitter was
reporting), or no number at all. This problem required EPA to send a
large number of requests to the submitters for correction of submitter
error. To avoid this error, all submitters should verify the accuracy
of the Dun & Bradstreet number they are reporting. Those plant sites
without Dun & Bradstreet numbers may obtain them, free of charge, by
calling their local Dun & Bradstreet office.
Reporting of substances that are not required to be reported is
another common error. Polymers, inorganics, microorganisms, and
naturally occurring chemical substances are generally excluded from the
reporting requirements. This exclusion does not however apply if the
chemical substance is the subject of a rule proposed or promulgated
under section 4, 5(a)(2), 5(b)(4), or 6 of TSCA or is the subject of an
order issued under section 5(e) or 5(f) of TSCA or is the subject of
relief that has been granted under a civil action under section 5 or 7
of TSCA. See Sec. 710.26. Hydrates of chemicals which are on the TSCA
Inventory in the anhydrous form are not reportable; however, the
corresponding anhydrous form is subject to the reporting requirements.
Furthermore, substances that have been delisted from the TSCA Inventory
should not be reported.
Another significant source of errors is the manner in which
chemical identifying numbers and names are entered in the reporting
forms. Several types of identifying numbers (e.g., Chemical Abstracts
Service Registry Numbers, Premanufacture Notification Numbers, and
Accession Numbers) are allowed for reporting. Confusion on the
appropriate way to identify a chemical substance and report an
identifier has created many problems in the past. Note that the correct
format for any CAS Registry Number being reported is six digits,
hyphen, two digits, hyphen, one digit, e.g., XXXXXX-XX-X. Leading zeros
on the left may be omitted. If the chemical identifier is a CAS
Registry Number (ID Code = C), then this format must be used.
If the chemical substance name extends beyond the space provided on
the report line, do not continue the name on the following report line.
Instead, truncate the name at the end of the line with a series of
three dots (ellipsis) or continue the name on a separate sheet of
paper. This avoids the insertion of a new reporting line without a
production volume.
When reporting the production volume, report the amount to the
nearest whole number. Do not include decimal points. Scientific
notation is also unacceptable.
A large number of errors are made in plant site and technical
contact information. Please make sure that the correct information goes
in the correct box. One common mistake is the lack of a signature in
the signature box. The Form U will be returned if the signature is
missing. In addition, the signature must match the name of the person
in the Name/Title Field.
Lastly, persons who export chemicals found on the TSCA Chemical
Substance Inventory are reminded that they may have reporting
obligations under this rule. Section 12(a) of TSCA provides that
chemicals manufactured for export are subject to the requirements of
TSCA section 8. Persons who manufacture a chemical substance on the
TSCA Inventory solely for export, are considered a manufacturer and are
subject to all IUR requirements of the rule.
B. Confidentiality Claims
Since 1990, EPA has allowed submitters to report both confidential
and nonconfidential substances on the same form, and to indicate which
substances on a form have confidential identities. However, note that a
submitter may only claim the identity of a chemical substance as
confidential if that substance is already included on the TSCA
Inventory with a confidential chemical identity. Furthermore, no
confidentiality claim for chemical identity will be accepted unless
accompanied by a separate written substantiation for the individual
chemical substance claimed as confidential, with detailed answers to
the 11 questions prescribed in Sec. 710.38 of the Inventory Update
Rule. As provided in Sec. 710.38(d), failure to provide the necessary
substantiation at the time of filing may result in the chemical
identity reported being made available to the public without further
notice to the submitter.
V. Electronic Reporting
Section 710.32(b) provides that magnetic media submitted in
response to the IUR must meet the EPA specifications, as described in
the ``Instructions for Reporting for the Partial Updating of the TSCA
Chemical Inventory Data Base'' available from the TSCA Hotline. In the
1986 rule, submitters were to report by paper or computer tape. Because
of the ready availability of microcomputers, in 1990 EPA modified this
section of the Instructions to allow reporting using floppy diskettes.
The major change in 1994 is that magnetic tape submissions will not be
accepted. For the 1994 reporting period, ASCII diskette submissions
from IBM and compatible personal computers are permissible. EPA's
specifications for the format and detailed instructions for electronic
reporting can be found in ``Instructions for Reporting for the 1994
Partial Updating of the TSCA Chemical Inventory Data Base.'' Because of
TSCA security considerations, reporting via telecommunication lines is
not accepted.
The 1986 rule required that chemical substances whose identities
are confidential be reported by hard copy means only. This was amended
in 1990 to allow reporting of such substances via magnetic media. In
the 1994 reporting period, chemical substances whose identities are
confidential may again be reported via magnetic media.
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection requirements in this rule have been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and have been assigned
control number OMB No. 2070-0070.
This collection of information has an estimated reporting/
recordkeeping burden averaging 1.2 hours per chemical report per
respondent. These estimates include time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of
this collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to
Chief, Information Policy Branch (Mail Code 2136); U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; and to the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503, marked ``Attention: Desk Officer for
EPA.''
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 710
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 6, 1994.
Mark A. Greenwood,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
Therefore, 40 CFR part 710 is amended as follows:
PART 710--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 710 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2607(a).
2. Section 710.39 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 710.39 Instructions for submitting information.
(a) All persons submitting written information in response to the
requirements of this subpart must use original copies of Form U
available from EPA at the address set forth in paragraph (b) of this
section.
(b) Complete instructions for completing the reporting form and
preparing a magnetic media report are given in the EPA publication
entitled ``Instructions for Reporting for 1994 Partial Updating of the
TSCA Chemical Inventory Data Base.'' Reporting forms and instruction
booklets may be obtained from the following address: TSCA Hotline
(7408), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, ATTN:
Inventory Update Rule, (202) 554-1404.
(c) Completed reporting forms and magnetic media must be submitted
to: Document Control Officer (7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW.,
Washington, DC 20460, ATTN: Inventory Update Rule.
[FR Doc. 94-14415 Filed 6-13-94; 8:45 am]
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