Chemical Safety Board Rule

On March 23, 2020 a new accidental chemical release reporting rule issued by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) went into effect.

This reporting rule applies to all printing operations and is in addition to rules currently in place at the federal level, such as those under the Clean Water Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Section 304(a) of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and state level.

Background

The CSB was created in 1990 as a result of the Clean Air Act and ever since that time it was required to issue a rule requiring reporting of accidental releases. The CSB relied upon other sources for information until 2017 when Environmental groups sued the CSB in federal district court seeking to compel CSB to issue the reporting rule required by the statute. In February 2019, the court ordered the CSB to promulgate a final reporting rule by February 5, 2020.

Requirements Under the New Rule

Under the new Accidental Release Reporting Rule, the CSB is requiring facilities to report certain accidental chemical releases. The purpose of this report is to give the CSB the information it needs to decide whether to initiate an investigation of the accident, and, ultimately, to provide a public account.

The rule requires owners or operators of stationary sources, which includes printing operations, to report any accidental release of a regulated substance or other extremely hazardous substance, which results in a fatality, serious injury, or substantial property damage.

Such reports must be submitted to the CSB within eight hours of the release. While some of these terms may seem familiar, because these same terms are found in many other federal reporting rules, it is important to understand that this rule is a separate rule and the terms have different meanings. This means that a printing operation may be required to report under this rule, but not other ones, as the thresholds are lower.

PRINTING United Alliance Resources

In order to provide more details on the reporting rule, PRINTING United Alliance has prepared a fact sheet.

PRINTING United Alliance's OSHA Compliance Resource Center provides technical assistance and services designed to allow printing operations to manage compliance and stay informed. For more information on CSB Reporting or PRINTING United Alliance’s EHS services, email govtaffairs@printing.org or call 888-385-3588.