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Myths & Misconceptions Archive
ANSWER: This
is actually good news, to a degree.
Your compliance responsibilities will be reduced because you’re
not a manufacturer.
However, government agencies – federal, state, county, and
local - regulate
EHS compliance by chemical hazards, processes, and human exposure to
hazards in the workplace, rather than the nature of your business
activity. For
instance, EPA’s SARA Title III (1986) established compliance
requirements for manufacturers to begin by March of 1987 reflective of
the previous calendar year.
Then, the same requirements, with very few exemptions, were
established for NON-MANUFACTURERS to begin by March of 1988 (the very
next year) for the previous calendar year.
But also, please remember the regulatory umbrella phrase, “If you USE, STORE, PROCESS, PRODUCE, MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTE, OR IMPORT" a chemically-oriented product – as reflected in your facility’s Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) – then you’re definitely accountable for many EPA, OSHA and DOT laws with further regulatory offshoots at the state, county and local levels. Frankly,
there are not many OSHA laws that will carry any compliance relief for
non-manufacturers.
But true, the hazards will probably be less which, in turn,
probably reduces your overall compliance responsibilities.
Generally speaking, almost any facility in which a chemical
inventory is reflected in the company’s MSDSs can count on executing
the necessary due diligence for, and satisfying compliance on at least 3
laws: EPA
SARA Title III/EPCRA, Sec. 301-312 (In California, satisfied as a part
of Hazardous Materials Business Plan);
OSHA Hazard Communication Training;
and DOT Hazmat Employee Training.
VANGUARD ENVIRONMENTAL, INC.
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