Reporting Under Section

To date, the labeling issues addressed by the Commission have principally arisen under Sections 7 and 27(e). Nevertheless, manufacturers should recognize that Section 15 of the CPSA also has important implications for product labeling. 

Section 15, unlike Section 7 and 9, seeks to provide protection against dangerous products already manufactured and in the hands of consumers. The Section authorizes the Commission to take two measures against such products. The first measure, authorized by subsection (c), is to require notification of the dangers which the product may present. This notification may be directed to the general public (presumably in the form of radio or television broadcasts or newspaper announcements), to manufacturers, distributors and retailers of the product, or to all identifiable purchasers and users of the product. 

The second (and considerably more burdensome) measure, authorized under subsection (d), is to require that the dangerous product be repaired or replaced or its purchase price refunded. Once the Commission has determined that repair, replacement or refund is necessary, the persons (manufacturers, retailers or distributors) it has designated to take action may elect which of these remedies will be pursued. To insure that repair, replacement or refund is satisfactorily carried out, the Commission may require the advance submission of a corrective action plan for its approval. 

Paragraph (d)(1) of Section 15 provides that consumers who avail themselves of repair, replacement or refund cannot be directly charged therefor and will receive reimbursement for any reasonable and foreseeable expenses which 

The principal requirement for both notification under subsection (c) and repair, replacement or refund under subsection (d) is a determination that the product in question presents a substantial product hazard. Section 15(a) defines a substantial product hazard as  

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Your facility uses 20,000 pounds of a solvent that your supplier has told you contains 80 percent "chlorinated aromatic," their generic name for a chemical subject to reporting under section 313. You therefore know that you have used 16,000 pounds of some listed toxic chemical which exceeds the "othenwise use threshold. You would file a Form R and enter the name chlorinated aromatic in the space provided in Part III, Section 2. 

To determine whether you are required to report under section 313, you must ascertain whetherthe total quantity of any listed chemical orchemical compound manufactured, processed, or used at your facility over the course of the calendar year exceeds any applicable threshold. For the facility described above, determination of reporting requirement would proceed as follows. (Note In determining eligibility, you will generate Information you need to complete several portions of the form.)... 

Both lead (CAS number 7439-92-1) and lead compounds (a chemical category) are listed substances subject to reporting under section 313. You have decided that if any of the... 

Failure to consider listed chemical qualifier. Aluminum, vanadium and zinc are qualified as fume or dust." Isopropyl alcohol and saccharin have manufacturing qualifiers. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate are qualified as solutions. Phosphorus is qualified as yellow or white. Asbestos is qualified as friable. Only chemicals meeting the qualifiers require reporting under section 313 and should be reported on Form R with the appropriate qualifier in parenthesis. 

Because manufacturers reporting under section 313 must know the toxic chemical composition of the products they use to be able to accurately calculate releases, EPA requires some suppliers of mixtures ortrade name products containing one or more of the listed section 313 chemicals to notify their customers. This requirement has been in effect since January 1, 1989. 

A facility that must report under section 313 or... 

Monsanto s experience with information-gathering and reporting under section 8(d) - Health and Safety Studies - has not been as rewarding as the inventory activity. On July 8, 1978 EPA issued a Final Rule requiring submission of lists and copies of... 

Since your facility employs more than 10 people and falls within SIC codes 20-39, yourfacility must report under section 313. INote Once any of the applicable thresholds for lead compounds are exceeded, you are required to identify all manufacturing, processing, and use activities. You must report all releases of all lead compounds present at your facility, regardless of the activity from which they originate unless there Is a specifically exempted use, such as the use of an article or use of intake water naturally containing lead.]... 

In determining whether a possible safety problem is reportable under Section 15, the first question is whether a product defect may exist. The Act itself does not define this term. Nevertheless, the legislative history suggests that Congress intended the concept of defectiveness under the CPSA to be at... 

Checklist to Determine Whether Non-Emergency Incidents of Environmental itvimincition are Reportable Under Section V(b)( ) of EPA s 2003 Policy Statement... 

The Administrator shall compile, keep current, and publish a list of each chemical substance which is manufactmed or processed in the United States. Such list shall at least include each chemical substance which any person reports, under section 2604 of this title or subsection (a) of this section, is manufactured or processed in the United States. Such Kst may not include any chemical substance which was not manufactmed or processed in the United States within three years before the effective date of the rules promulgated pursuant to the last sentence of subsection (a)(1) of this section. In the case of a chemical substance for which a notice is submitted in accordance with section 2604 of this title, such chemical substance shall be included in such fist as of the earhest date (as determined by the Administrator) on which such substance was manufactured or processed in the United States. 

EPA has proposed a rule to require electronic reporting under Section 313 of EPCRA. While the rule hasn t been finalized, EPA now makes all TRI forms, instructions, guides, and other compliance documents available online at www.epa.gov/tri. 

Section 313 None of the chemicals in this product are reportable under Section 313. 

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