Most environmental, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) professionals are used to annual chemical data reporting, including TRI, Tier II and SARA reports. 2020 has been full of unexpected events, and for some, an additional chemical management report may be the latest unwelcome surprise. In this post, we’ll walk through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule and what you need to know before the November 30th deadline.
Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule: What is It?
Every four years, under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), manufacturers and importers are required to provide information to the EPA regarding the production and use of chemicals as part of the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The deadline is fast approaching this year – November 30, 2020.
Under CDR, manufacturers and importers must file reports for all chemicals manufactured or imported above certain volume thresholds. CDR reports are required to include total annual product/import volume, volumes used onsite/exported, chemical identities of substances and risks to onsite workers. The CDR report due on November 30, 2020 should cover calendar years 2016 through 2019.
Under the Chemical Data Reporting rule, the EPA collects basic exposure-related information including information on the types, quantities and uses of chemical substances produced domestically and imported into the United States. This information is used to create the CDR database – a comprehensive source of exposure-related information, used by the EPA to protect the public from potential chemical risks.
Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule Revisions
Normally, CDR reports are due on September 30th every four years. This year the EPA extended the deadline to November 30th in order to give companies some additional time to incorporate some of the revisions made to the requirements this year. Companies should also anticipate seeing some updates to the US EPA’s e-CDR web reporting tool.
Some of the changes this year revolve around limiting Confidential Business Information claims (CBIs). This year, to claim a CBI, companies will need to provide substantiation for the claim upfront and provide more detailed information than what was expected in previous years. Upfront substantiation is not required for some exempt categories such as manufacturing/processing information, marketing/sales information, information that identifies suppliers or customers, full composition of mixtures, and specific product/import volumes.
In 2020, the EPA’s final rule did create an exception for small manufacturers. Manufacturers with total annual sales of less than $12 million are exempt. As well, if total annual sales (and those of any parent company) are under $120 million and the company manufactures no more than 100,000 pounds of one chemical at a site the exemption applies.
If you need additional guidance to complete your Chemical Data Reporting, the EPA website has a help email, a TSCA Hotline, and additional guidance and recordings to help.
Learn How to Run a Best-in-Class Chemical Management Program
Running an effective chemical management program remains a challenge for many organizations. From knowing which chemicals are on-site across your locations to keeping up with the latest reporting requirements like the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule – it can become complicated and complex to manage.
That’s why we got together with our friends at Verisk 3E to answer some of the most common questions we get about streamlining and standardizing chemical management programs:
