Home Table of Contents

§ 7303. Hazardous substance list

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and Safety

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes
Title 35 P.S. Health and Safety (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 41. Worker and Community Right-to-Know Act (Refs & Annos)
35 P.S. § 7303
§ 7303. Hazardous substance list
(a) Hazardous substance list.--The department shall, no later than 180 days subsequent to the effective date of this act, compile a list of hazardous substances which shall include, but not be limited to, the substances found in the latest compilation or issue of any one of the following lists:
(1) Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of toxic pollutants and hazardous substances prepared pursuant to sections 307 and 311 of the Federal Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. §§ 1317, 1321).
(2) EPA list of hazardous air pollutants prepared pursuant to section 112 of the Federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7412).
(3) EPA list of restricted use pesticides found at 40 CFR 162.30 (relating to optional procedures for classification of pesticide uses by regulation).
(4) EPA Carcinogen Assessment Group's List of Carcinogens.
(5) OSHA list of toxic and hazardous substances found in 29 CFR 1910, subpart Z (relating to toxic and hazardous substances).
(6) International Agency for Research on Cancer sublist, entitled “Substances found to have at least sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in animals.”
(7) National Toxicology Program's list of substances published in their latest Annual Report on Carcinogens.
(8) National Fire Protection Association list found in “Hazardous Chemicals Data (NFPA 49).”
(9) National Fire Protection Association list found in “Fire Hazard Properties of Flammable Liquids, Gases, Volatile Solids (NFPA 325M),” but only those substances found on sublists for health items, categories 2, 3 and 4; sublists for reactivity items, categories 3 and 4; sublists for flammability, categories 3 and 4.
(10) American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' list found in Threshold Limit Value for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents in the Workplace.
(11) National Cancer Institute sublist, entitled “Carcinogens bioassays with at least evidence suggestive of carcinogenic effect,” but including only those substances which satisfy criteria of the National Toxicology Program indicating significant carcinogenic effect.
The list shall further include any other substance or mixture designated by the department as hazardous because of its known or probable adverse human or environmental effect. This list shall be updated, reduced or expanded by the department as necessary in light of new scientific evidence and knowledge. A copy of the list and any modifications thereof shall be transmitted to every employer subject to this act.
(b) Additions to hazardous substance list.--Any chemicals which appear on any future compilation or issue of any of the lists contained in subsection (a) shall automatically be added to the hazardous substance list. Prior to adding any other chemicals to the list of hazardous substances enumerated in subsection (a)(1) through (11), the department shall, after giving proper notice, hold hearings on the proposed additions to allow for comment by interested parties. Upon conclusion of the hearings, the department shall, if it determines the propriety of including the chemicals, amend its regulations to reflect additions and publish the additions thereto in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and notify employers regarding the additions.
(c) Deletions from hazardous substance list.--Any chemicals which are removed from any future compilation or issue of the lists contained in subsection (a), or any chemicals that have been added to the hazardous substance list under subsection (b), may be deleted from the hazardous substance list. Prior to deleting any chemical from the hazardous substance list, the department shall, after giving proper notice, hold hearings on the proposed deletions to allow for comment by interested parties. Upon conclusion of the hearings, the department, if it determines the propriety of deleting the chemical, shall amend its regulations to reflect deletions and publish the deletions therefrom in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and notify employers regarding the deletions.
(d) Special hazards and environmental hazards.--The department shall designate those hazardous substances which shall be considered special hazardous substances and those which shall be considered environmental hazards. The department shall compile separate lists of the special hazardous substances and the environmental hazards. These lists shall be updated, transmitted to employers and posted by employers in the same manner as the hazardous substance list. The department shall, by regulation, specify those special hazardous substances which, because of their particular or extreme properties, must be identified at concentrations of less than 0.01%.
(e) Hazardous substance survey form.--Every employer shall, upon a form supplied by the department, fill out a hazardous substance survey for each workplace, providing information on the hazardous substances present during the prior year. A listing of the hazardous substances shall be posted by the employer as required by section 7.1 Upon the written request of any person in Pennsylvania, the department shall require the employer to forward a copy of the completed survey form to the department within 20 days. The department shall, in turn, keep a copy of the survey form on file, and shall immediately transmit a copy of the form to the original requestor. The employer shall update the hazardous substance survey for each workplace every two years.
(f) Access of police, fire and emergency response agencies.--Upon the request of a local police, fire or emergency response agency, within whose jurisdiction an employer falls, an employer shall provide a copy of its latest hazardous substance survey, and, if requested, copies of all relevant Material Safety Data Sheets. The employer shall further provide, upon the request of said agency, all relevant and available information concerning any environmental hazards pertaining to the workplace in question.
(g) Environmental hazard survey.--Upon the written request of any person in Pennsylvania, the department shall require an employer to complete an environmental hazard survey for a particular workplace upon a form supplied by the department. The environmental survey shall include those substances emitted, discharged or disposed of from that workplace, and shall provide the following information to the extent that such information or reports are made under current provisions of Federal, State, county or municipal law:
(1) The total known or estimated stack or point-source emissions of the substance.
(2) The total estimated fugitive or nonpoint-source emissions of the substance.
(3) The total known or estimated discharge of the substance into the surface or groundwater, the treatment methods and the known or estimated raw wastewater volume and loadings.
(4) The total known or estimated discharge of the substance into publicly owned treatment works.
(5) The known or estimated quantity and methods of disposal of any wastes containing the substance, the method of onsite storage of these wastes, the location or locations of the final disposal sites for these wastes and the identity of the hauler of the wastes.
Within 30 days of the department's request, the employer shall return the completed environmental survey form to the department, which shall in turn keep a copy on file and shall immediately transmit a copy to the original requestor. The employer shall also keep a copy of the environmental hazard survey on file at that workplace and at its principal place of business in the Commonwealth.
(h) Onsite testing.--Upon the request to the department, and for good cause shown and upon consultation with the interested parties involved, the department may conduct at its expense onsite testing or use such other methods as will provide more exact information concerning the environmental hazards reported in the environmental hazards survey under subsection (g). The site owner may conduct onsite testing instead of the department. Upon the written request of the employer, the department shall detail in writing the type and methods of testing and provide technical assistance to aid the employer who chooses to conduct testing instead of the department. In an emergency, the department may undertake said testing at the Commonwealth's expense. The department shall not conduct onsite testing which has already been conducted by OSHA.
(i) Authority to modify filing requirements.--The department may, by regulation, require certain classes or groups of employers to automatically file with the department the completed hazardous substance survey and/or environmental hazard survey every two years, taking into account the nature and quantity of the hazardous substances and/or environmental hazards involved, the likely danger to the surrounding community, the number of employees affected or the importance of said information to future epidemiological or other health studies.
(j) Retention of materials.--The department shall maintain a file of all completed hazardous substance surveys and environmental hazard surveys for 30 years. The department shall also retain at least one Material Safety Data Sheet for each hazardous substance and hazardous mixture, together with revisions thereof.

Credits

1984, Oct. 5, P.L. 734, No. 159, § 3, effective in 180 days.

Footnotes

35 P.S. § 7307.
35 P.S. § 7303, PA ST 35 P.S. § 7303
Current through the end of the 2023 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document