[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14415]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 14, 1994]


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Part IV





Environmental Protection Agency





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40 CFR Part 710




Partial Updating of TSCA Inventory Data Base; Production and Site 
Reports; Technical Amendment; Final Rule
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 710

[OPPTS-62140; FRL-4869-7]

 
Partial Updating of TSCA Inventory Data Base; Production and Site 
Reports; Technical Amendment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the 1994 reporting period for the 
Inventory Update Rule, and amends the rule to update the reporting 
address.

DATES: This document is effective June 14, 1994. The 1994 reporting 
period is from August 25, 1994 to December 23, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan B. Hazen, Director, 
Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. E-545, 401 
M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, (202) 554-1404, TDD: (202) 554-0551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In the Federal Register of June 12, 1986 (51 FR 21438), EPA 
promulgated a rule (40 CFR part 710, subpart B), referred to as the 
Inventory Update Rule (IUR), under the authority of section 8(a) of the 
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2607(a), requiring 
manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances included on 
the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory to report current data on the 
production volume, plant site, and site-limited status of the 
substances. After the initial reporting during 1986, recurring 
reporting is required every 4 years. A second reporting cycle took 
place in 1990. The third reporting period will be in 1994.

II. 1994 Reporting Period

    The initial reporting period was August 25, 1986 to December 23, 
1986. Reporting periods recur every 4 years from August 25 to December 
23, so that the next reporting period is August 25, 1994 to December 
23, 1994. Persons subject to the rule must submit the required 
information during this period.

III. Update of the Information

A. The TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory

    As an aid to submitters reporting during 1986, EPA published a 1985 
edition of the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. This publication, 
available from the Government Printing Office (GPO), superseded the 
1979 edition and supplements prior to 1985. To aid reporters during 
1990, EPA published a 1990 supplement to the 1985 edition. Copies of 
both the ``TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory: 1985 Edition'' and the 
``TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory: 1990 Supplement'' may still be 
obtained by writing or calling: Superintendent of Documents, Government 
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, (202) 783-3238. The 1990 
Supplement costs $15.00 in the U.S., $18.75 outside the U.S., and 
should be ordered by its Document Control Code, S/N 055-000-00361-1. 
The 1985 Edition costs $161.00 ($201.00 outside the U.S.), and its 
Document Control Code is S/N 055-000-00254-1.
    In support of the 1994 reporting, EPA is publishing a revised TSCA 
Chemical Substances Inventory in a set of floppy diskettes for use in a 
personal computer instead of the hard copy form. These diskettes will 
contain information for all nonconfidential chemical substances added 
to the TSCA Inventory data base before May 1, 1994. The types of 
information contained in the diskettes will be similar to that found in 
the computer tape form of the TSCA Inventory that EPA has been 
disseminating to the public biannually through the National Technical 
Information Service (NTIS). Specifically, each of the chemical 
substances included in the diskettes is identified by a Chemical 
Abstracts (CA) Index or Preferred Name, the corresponding Chemical 
Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number, molecular formula, and if 
applicable, the chemical definition and appropriate EPA special flags 
as found in the printed Inventory. The substances are sequenced in 
ascending order of the corresponding CAS Registry Numbers. The 
diskettes will not include chemical synonyms that are copyrighted by 
the Chemical Abstracts Service. Furthermore, generic names or EPA 
Accession Numbers for substances with confidential chemical identities 
will not be included.
    The diskette version includes over 62,000 records and requires 12 
megabytes of disk space for installation. Installation software that 
will automatically uncompress the file is included with the diskettes. 
However, users will have to furnish their own data base management 
software to perform searches. Both tapes and diskettes will be 
available for sale from: National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 
5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, (703) 487-4650 or (800) 
553-NTIS. The diskettes cost $195.00 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, 
and $390.00 for all other addresses. The NTIS Order Number for the 
diskettes is PB94-501731GEI. The tapes cost $360.00 in the U.S., 
Canada, and Mexico, and $720.00 for all other addresses. The NTIS Order 
Number for the tapes is PB94-501749GEI.

B. Reporting Address and Instructions

    40 CFR 710.39 is being amended to reflect new addresses and 
telephone numbers, as follows:
Reporting Packages Address: TSCA Hotline (7408), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., 
SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 554-1404, ATTN: Inventory 
Update Rule.
Mailing Address for Completed Forms: Document Control Officer (7407), 
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, ATTN: 
Inventory Update Rule.
    EPA will automatically mail out a reporting package to those 
facilities that reported in 1990. This package will include the manual 
entitled ``Instructions for Reporting for the Partial Updating of the 
TSCA Chemical Inventory Data Base,'' a new Form U, and a copy of the 
Federal Register Notice. If you did not report in 1990, but need to 
report in 1994, the reporting package will be available from the TSCA 
Hotline at the address referenced above. Additional reporting forms 
will also be available from the TSCA Hotline.

IV. Reporting Form

    Section 710.39 requires submitters to report using EPA's Form U. In 
1990, EPA made changes in the form to assist submitters in completing 
it and facilitate processing of the form; none of the changes resulted 
in substantive revisions to the reporting requirements of the rule. New 
printed forms will be made available for reporting during 1994. Neither 
the 1986 nor the 1990 form is acceptable for 1994 reporting.

A. Reporting Errors

    Several types of reporting errors occurred frequently enough in the 
past to merit discussion. One of the most frequent type of errors 
concerns the submitter reported Dun & Bradstreet number. Numerous 
submitters reported numbers with extra or missing digits, numbers which 
belonged to their parent companies (rather than the Dun & Bradstreet 
number assigned to the plant site for which the submitter was 
reporting), or no number at all. This problem required EPA to send a 
large number of requests to the submitters for correction of submitter 
error. To avoid this error, all submitters should verify the accuracy 
of the Dun & Bradstreet number they are reporting. Those plant sites 
without Dun & Bradstreet numbers may obtain them, free of charge, by 
calling their local Dun & Bradstreet office.
    Reporting of substances that are not required to be reported is 
another common error. Polymers, inorganics, microorganisms, and 
naturally occurring chemical substances are generally excluded from the 
reporting requirements. This exclusion does not however apply if the 
chemical substance is the subject of a rule proposed or promulgated 
under section 4, 5(a)(2), 5(b)(4), or 6 of TSCA or is the subject of an 
order issued under section 5(e) or 5(f) of TSCA or is the subject of 
relief that has been granted under a civil action under section 5 or 7 
of TSCA. See Sec. 710.26. Hydrates of chemicals which are on the TSCA 
Inventory in the anhydrous form are not reportable; however, the 
corresponding anhydrous form is subject to the reporting requirements. 
Furthermore, substances that have been delisted from the TSCA Inventory 
should not be reported.
    Another significant source of errors is the manner in which 
chemical identifying numbers and names are entered in the reporting 
forms. Several types of identifying numbers (e.g., Chemical Abstracts 
Service Registry Numbers, Premanufacture Notification Numbers, and 
Accession Numbers) are allowed for reporting. Confusion on the 
appropriate way to identify a chemical substance and report an 
identifier has created many problems in the past. Note that the correct 
format for any CAS Registry Number being reported is six digits, 
hyphen, two digits, hyphen, one digit, e.g., XXXXXX-XX-X. Leading zeros 
on the left may be omitted. If the chemical identifier is a CAS 
Registry Number (ID Code = C), then this format must be used.
    If the chemical substance name extends beyond the space provided on 
the report line, do not continue the name on the following report line. 
Instead, truncate the name at the end of the line with a series of 
three dots (ellipsis) or continue the name on a separate sheet of 
paper. This avoids the insertion of a new reporting line without a 
production volume.
    When reporting the production volume, report the amount to the 
nearest whole number. Do not include decimal points. Scientific 
notation is also unacceptable.
    A large number of errors are made in plant site and technical 
contact information. Please make sure that the correct information goes 
in the correct box. One common mistake is the lack of a signature in 
the signature box. The Form U will be returned if the signature is 
missing. In addition, the signature must match the name of the person 
in the Name/Title Field.
    Lastly, persons who export chemicals found on the TSCA Chemical 
Substance Inventory are reminded that they may have reporting 
obligations under this rule. Section 12(a) of TSCA provides that 
chemicals manufactured for export are subject to the requirements of 
TSCA section 8. Persons who manufacture a chemical substance on the 
TSCA Inventory solely for export, are considered a manufacturer and are 
subject to all IUR requirements of the rule.

B. Confidentiality Claims

    Since 1990, EPA has allowed submitters to report both confidential 
and nonconfidential substances on the same form, and to indicate which 
substances on a form have confidential identities. However, note that a 
submitter may only claim the identity of a chemical substance as 
confidential if that substance is already included on the TSCA 
Inventory with a confidential chemical identity. Furthermore, no 
confidentiality claim for chemical identity will be accepted unless 
accompanied by a separate written substantiation for the individual 
chemical substance claimed as confidential, with detailed answers to 
the 11 questions prescribed in Sec. 710.38 of the Inventory Update 
Rule. As provided in Sec. 710.38(d), failure to provide the necessary 
substantiation at the time of filing may result in the chemical 
identity reported being made available to the public without further 
notice to the submitter.

V. Electronic Reporting

    Section 710.32(b) provides that magnetic media submitted in 
response to the IUR must meet the EPA specifications, as described in 
the ``Instructions for Reporting for the Partial Updating of the TSCA 
Chemical Inventory Data Base'' available from the TSCA Hotline. In the 
1986 rule, submitters were to report by paper or computer tape. Because 
of the ready availability of microcomputers, in 1990 EPA modified this 
section of the Instructions to allow reporting using floppy diskettes. 
The major change in 1994 is that magnetic tape submissions will not be 
accepted. For the 1994 reporting period, ASCII diskette submissions 
from IBM and compatible personal computers are permissible. EPA's 
specifications for the format and detailed instructions for electronic 
reporting can be found in ``Instructions for Reporting for the 1994 
Partial Updating of the TSCA Chemical Inventory Data Base.'' Because of 
TSCA security considerations, reporting via telecommunication lines is 
not accepted.
    The 1986 rule required that chemical substances whose identities 
are confidential be reported by hard copy means only. This was amended 
in 1990 to allow reporting of such substances via magnetic media. In 
the 1994 reporting period, chemical substances whose identities are 
confidential may again be reported via magnetic media.

VI. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements in this rule have been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and have been assigned 
control number OMB No. 2070-0070.
    This collection of information has an estimated reporting/
recordkeeping burden averaging 1.2 hours per chemical report per 
respondent. These estimates include time for reviewing instructions, 
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data 
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
    Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of 
this collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to 
Chief, Information Policy Branch (Mail Code 2136); U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency; 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; and to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Washington, DC 20503, marked ``Attention: Desk Officer for 
EPA.''

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 710

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: June 6, 1994.
Mark A. Greenwood,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

    Therefore, 40 CFR part 710 is amended as follows:

PART 710--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 710 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2607(a).

    2. Section 710.39 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 710.39   Instructions for submitting information.

    (a) All persons submitting written information in response to the 
requirements of this subpart must use original copies of Form U 
available from EPA at the address set forth in paragraph (b) of this 
section.
    (b) Complete instructions for completing the reporting form and 
preparing a magnetic media report are given in the EPA publication 
entitled ``Instructions for Reporting for 1994 Partial Updating of the 
TSCA Chemical Inventory Data Base.'' Reporting forms and instruction 
booklets may be obtained from the following address: TSCA Hotline 
(7408), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, ATTN: 
Inventory Update Rule, (202) 554-1404.
    (c) Completed reporting forms and magnetic media must be submitted 
to: Document Control Officer (7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, ATTN: Inventory Update Rule.

[FR Doc. 94-14415 Filed 6-13-94; 8:45 am]
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