Who at your place of business calls the National Response Center after your business has experienced a chemical incident. Not many people have ever had to call this center (luckily!) but if your business ever does have a “reportable release” a call just like this one MUST BE MADE within 30 minutes after you have determined that the release exceeds the “Reportable Quantity”.
PLEASE CLICK HERE for more on EPA’s Reportable Quantities.
I want to point out a VERY SERIOUS matter that you will hear in this drill call… HEADCOUNT is a MUST HAVE when making this call. The NRC is well aware that you will be dealing with this incident first and then calculating the amount released. A facility should WITHOUT A DOUBT be able to obtain an accurate headcount by the time this call is being made. If you do not, you have serious troubles coming your way!!! You will notice, even though this is a drill call, her tone changes when she ask for the headcount number and the instructor stated it was underway.
MANY THANKS to the team at Garden City Ammonia Program for doing this drill call!
Click Here to listen to the call.
More about the NRC…
The NRC maintains a 24-hour-per-day, 7-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year Operations Center where all information is
- received via the toll-free number — (1-800-424-8802)
- entered directly into an on-line database system, and
- electronically disseminated as part of the National Response System.
Once contacted, the NRC Duty Officer will guide the caller through a detailed series of questions based on the Standard Report Form to gather as much information as possible concerning the spill or release. Standard Report Forms are also available on-line at http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reporttxt.htm. The information is immediately entered into the Incident Reporting Information System (IRIS) and based on several pre-established criteria including material involved, mode of transportation, injuries, damage, and fatalities, select federal agency notification will take place within 15 minutes of receipt. When any of the following incidents occur, the NRC should immediately be contacted by the responsible party via the toll free number. If you see or discover an oil spill or release of chemicals and are NOT the responsible party, you should contact the NRC with whatever information you have.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Oil Spills
Section 311(b)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Section 306(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and Section 16(b) of the Deepwater Ports Act of 1974, require that the responsible party notify the National Response Center as soon as knowledgeable of an oil spill from a vessel or facility operating:
- In or along U.S. navigable waters;
- On the Outer Continental Shelf;
- In a deepwater port; or
- From a vessel transporting oil from the Outer Continental Shelf
Chemical Releases
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CRCLA) requires that all releases of hazardous substances (including radionuclides) exceeding reportable quantities, be reported by the responsible party to the National Response Center. Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 302 promulgates reportable quantities and reporting criteria. All the Extremely Hazardous Chemicals (EHS) which overlap with the CERCLA listed chemicals table (40 CFR Part 302.4) should be reported to NRC as well as to the LEPC and SERC.
Transportation Accidents
Transportation accidents involving hazardous materials, including radioactive substances, must be reported to the National Response Center immediately by the carrier when, as a direct result of the materials:
- A person is killed;
- A person receives injuries requiring hospitalization
- Property damage exceeds $50,000; or
- Fire, breakage, or spillage of an etiologic agent occurs.
Further details can be found in 49 CFR 171.15.
Liquid Pipeline Releases
The responsible party must call the National Response Center when a pipeline system failure releases a hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide which causes any of the following:
- An explosion or fire;
- An escape to the atmosphere of more than five barrels a day of highly volatile liquid or carbon dioxide;
- A death or injury;
- Property damage exceeding $50,000
- Pollution of any body of water; or
- An incident deemed significant by the operator
Further details can be found in 49 CFR 195.52.
Gas Pipeline Releases
Releases of any toxic, corrosive or flammable gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) or gas from an LNG facility must be reported to the National Response Center by the responsible party when:
- A death or injury involving patient hospitalization occurs;
- More than $50,000 damage occurs (including cost of lost gas)
- The release results in the emergency shutdown of an LNG facility; or;
- An incident is deemed significant by the operator.
Further details can be found in 49 CFR 191
Other Releases
Discharges from a hazardous waste treatment or storage facility must be reported by the emergency coordinator at the facility. Abandoned dump or waste sites should be reported by anyone having knowledge of such a site.
Try this “Fixed Incident” TEST REPORT to get your feet wet. A FIXED Incident is the widest-ranging incident type and includes the release of material from non-mobile machinery, refineries, manufacturing plants, and numerous other fixed facilities. By the way, the is the EXACT INFORMATION you will need when calling the NRC, so this test form could be used as your internal data collection form BEFORE making the call.