EPA has found that major chemical accidents continue to occur from facilities that are not adequately managing the risks they pose to ensure the safety of their facilities and protect surrounding communities. Many of these communities have environmental justice concerns or face climate change-related hazards or both.
Thousands of facilities nationwide make, use, and store extremely hazardous substances. Failure to implement risk management programs as required under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at facilities handling these substances can result in catastrophic accidents that cause fatalities and serious injuries, evacuations, and shelter-in-place orders.
Goals
This Chemical Accident Risk Reduction National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative (NECI) seeks to reduce risks to human health and the environment by decreasing the likelihood of chemical accidents.
Work under this NECI will focus on inspecting and addressing noncompliance at facilities using two extremely hazardous substances that pose high risk to communities:
- Anhydrous Ammonia, predominantly used as an agriculture fertilizer or refrigerant, and
- Hydrogen Fluoride, predominantly used in petroleum refineries and in chemical manufacturing
While the bulk of the activities under this NECI are focused on the CAA Section 112(r) Risk Management Program requirements, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act include release reporting requirements, which, in conjunction with CAA Section 112(r), create the overall accident prevention program and are also included under this initiative.