[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44107-44109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21198]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 372

[OEI-100006; FRL 6722-7]
RIN 2025-AA00


Report on the Corrosion of Certain Alloys; Community Right-to-
Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of a document titled 
``Report on the Corrosion of Certain Alloys'' (``Alloys Report''). The 
Alloy Report contains information on the corrosion of stainless steel, 
brass, and bronze alloys and the availability of chromium, nickel, and 
copper from these alloys. Chromium, nickel, and copper contained in 
stainless steel, brass, and bronze alloys are listed toxic chemicals 
under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know 
Act of 1986 (EPCRA), and therefore may be reportable pursuant to EPCRA 
section 313 and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 
(PPA). EPA is requesting comments on the technical contents of this 
document and its conclusions. Depending upon the comments received, EPA 
may propose to delist chromium, nickel, and copper when contained in 
some or all physical forms of stainless steel, brass and bronze alloys 
from the EPCRA section 313 list of toxic chemicals.

DATES: Written comments, identified by the docket control number OEI-
100006, must be received by EPA on or before December 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail, electronically, or in 
person. Please follow the detailed instructions for each method as 
provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel R. Bushman, Petitions 
Coordinator, (202) 260-3882, e-mail: [email protected], for 
specific information on this document, or for more information on EPCRA 
section 313, the Emergency Planning and

[[Page 44108]]

Community Right-to-Know Hotline, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail 
Code 5101, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Toll 
free: 1-800-535-0202, in Virginia and Alaska: (703) 412-9877 or Toll 
free TDD: 1-800-553-7672. Information concerning this notice is also 
available on EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/tri.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does This Notice Apply to Me?

    You may be interested in this notice if you manufacture, process, 
or otherwise use metal alloys. Potentially interested categories and 
entities may include, but are not limited to:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Examples of Potentially Interested
             Category                             Entities
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Industry                            SIC major group codes 10 (except
                                     1011, 1081, and 1094), 12 (except
                                     1241), or 20 through 39; industry
                                     codes 4911 (limited to facilities
                                     that combust coal and/or oil for
                                     the purpose of generating power for
                                     distribution in commerce); or 4931
                                     (limited to facilities that combust
                                     coal and/or oil for the purpose of
                                     generating power for distribution
                                     in commerce); or 4939 (limited to
                                     facilities that combust coal and/or
                                     oil for the purpose of generating
                                     power for distribution in
                                     commerce); or 4953 (limited to
                                     facilities regulated under the
                                     Resource Conservation and Recovery
                                     Act, subtitle C, 42 U.S.C. section
                                     6921 et seq.), or 5169, or 5171, or
                                     7389 (limited to facilities
                                     primarily engaged in solvent
                                     recovery services on a contract or
                                     fee basis)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Government                  Federal facilities
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in this 
notice. Other types of entities not listed in the table could also be 
interested. To determine whether your facility may be interested in 
this notice, you should carefully examine the applicability criteria in 
part 372, subpart B of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If 
you have questions regarding the applicability of this notice to a 
particular entity, consult the person listed in the preceding FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information or Copies of This Document, the 
Alloys Report, or Other Support Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this 
document from the EPA internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. On the 
Home Page select ``Laws and Regulations'' and then look up the entry 
for this document under the ``Federal Register--Environmental 
Documents.'' You can also go directly to the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/. The Alloys Report is 
available for downloading at http://www.epa.gov/tri/.
    2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for 
this action under docket control number OEI-100006. The official record 
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any 
public comments received during an applicable comment period, and other 
information related to this action, including any information claimed 
as confidential business information (CBI). This official record 
includes the documents that are physically located in the docket, as 
well as the documents that are referenced in those documents. The 
public version of the official record does not include any information 
claimed as CBI. The public version of the official record, which 
includes printed, paper versions of any electronic comments submitted 
during an applicable comment period, is available for inspection in the 
TSCA Nonconfidential Information Center, North East Mall Rm. B-607, 
Waterside Mall, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC. The Center is open from 
noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number of the Center is (202) 260-7099.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?

    You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or 
electronically. Be sure to identify the appropriate docket control 
number (i.e., ``OEI-100006'') in your correspondence.
    1. By mail. Submit written comments to: Document Control Office 
(7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    2. In person or by courier. Deliver your comments to: OPPT Document 
Control Office (DCO) in East Tower Rm. G-099, Waterside Mall, 401 M 
St., SW., Washington, DC. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the 
DCO is: (202) 260-7093.
    3. Electronically. Submit your comments electronically by e-mail 
to: ``[email protected].'' Please note that you should not submit any 
information electronically that you consider to be CBI. Electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be 
accepted on standard computer disks in WordPerfect 6.1/8.0 or ASCII 
file format. All comments and data in electronic form must be 
identified by the docket control number OEI-100006. Electronic comments 
on this document may also be filed online at many Federal Depository 
Libraries.

D. How Should I Handle CBI Information That I Want to Submit to the 
Agency?

    You may claim information that you submit in response to this 
document as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as CBI. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that does 
not contain CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public record. 
Information not marked confidential will be included in the public 
docket by EPA without prior notice. If you have any questions about CBI 
or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult with the technical 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

II. Background Information

A. What Is the Purpose of This Notice?

    The purpose of this notice is to make available for comment a 
document titled ``Report on the Corrosion of Certain Alloys.'' The 
Alloys Report contains information on the corrosion of stainless steel, 
brass, and bronze alloys. The report discusses the major types of 
environmental conditions and how these environmental conditions can 
affect the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel, brass, and 
bronze alloys. The Alloys Report focuses on the

[[Page 44109]]

availability of chromium, nickel, and copper from stainless steel, 
brass, and bronze alloys as a result of corrosion under environmental 
conditions. EPA requests comments on the technical contents and 
conclusions of the Alloys Report. Depending upon the comments received, 
EPA may propose to delist, pursuant to EPCRA section 313(d)(2), 
chromium, nickel, and copper when contained in some or all physical 
forms of stainless steel, brass, and bronze alloys from the EPCRA 
section 313 list of toxic chemicals.

B. Why Has EPA Prepared the Alloys Report?

    Because alloys are solid-solid mixtures, chromium, nickel, copper, 
and other EPCRA section 313 listed toxic metals contained in alloys are 
subject to EPCRA section 313 and PPA section 6607 reporting. As with 
all mixtures in the EPCRA section 313 program, the weight percent of 
any listed toxic chemical in an alloy must be factored into threshold 
determinations and release and other waste management calculations.
    In 1992 EPA received three petitions requesting the delisting of 
chromium, nickel, and copper when found in stainless steel, brass, and 
bronze from the EPCRA section 313 list of toxic chemicals. The 
petitions were from Russell Harrington Cutlery, Inc. (June 12, 1992), 
Bath Iron Works Corporation (September 25, 1992), and Stillwater 
Fasteners Inc. (October 1, 1992). EPA denied these petitions on June 
29, 1993 (58 FR 34738) based on the Agency's determinations that: 1) 
Chromium, copper, and nickel meet the listing criteria of EPCRA section 
313(d)(2), and 2) corrosion of certain forms (e.g., dusts, grindings, 
and shavings) of stainless steel, brass, and bronze alloys can be 
reasonably be anticipated to occur under some processing, use, or 
disposal situations yielding available forms of these constituent 
metals. EPA concluded that the petitioners failed to provide, nor did 
EPA possess, any data to support the petitioners' contention that 
manufacturing, processing, use, or other activities involving the metal 
alloys subject to the petitions would not lead to availability of these 
metals.
    In the 1993 denial notice EPA requested further comments on the 
reporting of chromium, nickel, and copper in stainless steel, brass, 
and bronze alloys. Recognizing that certain forms of alloys which have 
high surface to volume ratios might corrode more rapidly, EPA 
specifically requested comment on whether the reporting of chromium, 
copper, and nickel in forms of the alloys with low surface to volume 
ratios (e.g., blocks) should be exempted from the reporting 
requirements of EPCRA section 313 (58 FR 34741). EPA stated that 
depending upon the nature of the information submitted, EPA would 
consider proposing a qualification to the EPCRA section 313 listing to 
exempt from reporting those forms of an alloy for which data can be 
provided that indicate corrosion will not occur. In the comments 
received EPA did not receive sufficient information to propose to 
delist chromium, nickel, or copper pursuant to EPCRA section 313(d)(2) 
when contained in an alloy, regardless of the form of the alloy (i.e., 
add a qualifer). In addition, on October 15, 1993, several months after 
the petition denial was published in the Federal Register, a letter was 
received by the EPA, from Independent Nail Company requesting that the 
Agency delist chromium and nickel when found in Type 304/316 stainless 
steel. EPA continued to review this issue, and subsequently developed 
the Alloys Report which is being made available today for public 
comment.
    EPA's evaluation of whether chromium, nickel, and copper in an 
alloy may be delisted pursuant to EPCRA section 313(d)(2) entails an 
evaluation of all chemical and biological processes that may lead to 
the metal's availability from the alloy, as well as on the toxicity 
exhibited by the intact species. In this instance, the effects induced 
by these metals meet the toxicity criteria under section 313(d)(2). In 
order to delist these metals when contained in an alloy, or specific 
physical forms of an alloy, competent scientific evidence that 
demonstrates that the alloy does not corrode, or specific forms of the 
alloy do not corrode, and thereby generate the toxic metal at a level 
that can be expected to induce toxicity is required. Depending on the 
comments received on this report, EPA will determine whether or not 
there are sufficient data to propose to delist, pursuant to EPA's 
authority in EPCRA section 313(d)(2), chromium, copper, or nickel when 
contained in some or all physical forms of stainless steel, brass, and 
bronze alloys (i.e., ``add'' a qualifier to the listing of these toxic 
chemicals).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 372

    Environmental protection, Community right-to-know, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, and Toxic chemicals.

    Dated: August 2, 2001.
Elaine G. Stanley,
Director, Office of Information Analysis and Access.
[FR Doc. 01-21198 Filed 8-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F