Hazardous material classification system

Details Hazardous material classification system Hazardous material classification system

1999-10-08

2002-05-28

Gordon, Paul P. (Department: 2121)

Data processing: generic control systems or specific application

Generic control system, apparatus or process

Having operator control interface

C700S266000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06397115

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to transportation and regulatory compliance of compounds and other materials. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method to classify and provide the specifications, documentation and instructions to properly process, package and transport regulated and non-regulated materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generation and use of hazardous materials and/or substances in the United States has grown steadily in the last 45 years and is now estimated to be about 270 million metric tons per year. According to one definition, a “hazardous substance” is any substance or mixture of substances that may cause substantial personal injury or substantial illness during or as a proximate result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion by children, if the substance: (1) is a toxic agent or reproductive toxin; (2) is corrosive; (3) is an irritant; (4) is a strong sensitizer; (5) is flammable, combustible or explosive; (6) is pyrophoric; (7) is a carcinogen, hepatoxin, neprotixin or neurotoxin; (8) is an agent that acts on the hematopoietic system; (9) is an agent that damages the lungs, skin, eyes or mucous membranes; (10) is a compressed gas; (11) is an organic peroxide; (12) is an oxidizer; (13) is unstable, reactive or water-reactive; (14) generates pressure through decomposition, heat or other means; (15) is sufficiently radioactive to require labeling as such; (16) is a toy or other article intended for use by children and presents an electrical, mechanical or thermal hazard; or (17) is specially listed as a hazardous substance by a state or federal agency having jurisdiction over such substances.
Monitoring or tracking of the receipt, handling and disposition of hazardous materials in the workplace is now standard in most businesses that handle one or more such materials. Such tracking often requires submission of prescribed reports to an appropriate federal, state or local agency that monitors compliance with the workplace standards. Many software packages and associated protocols deal with individual or narrowly defined groups of tasks, such as preparation and promulgation of Materials Safety Data Statements (MSDS), monitoring of accumulation and disposal of hazardous wastes, and the like. These packages do not, however, offer an integrated package that addresses classifying, packaging and transporting regulated materials and/or substances.
There are numerous federal mandates relating to the use, handling and/or transportation of hazardous materials. Illustrative are the following.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), originally passed in 1965, together with the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (“FHSA”), passed in 1966, and the Resource Recovery Act (“RRA”), passed in 1970, were the initial federal laws governing generation and handling of toxic and other hazardous materials. Under TSCA, the Environmental Protection Agency (“E.P.A.”) is responsible for reviewing any chemical substance that is or will be produced in sufficient quantity that it may cause significant acute or chronic human exposure. Testing is performed with respect to human health and the environment and focuses particularly on possible risk of serious harm to humans from (i) cancer, (ii) genetic mutations and (iii) birth defects.
If the EPA finds that the risk to human health or to the environment is sufficiently great, the E.P.A. may: (i) limit the amount of the chemical to be manufactured or used; (ii) prohibit a particular use; (iii) require placement of warning labels on all containers of the chemical; (iv) require placement of public notices of use; and (v) regulate commercial use and/or disposal of the chemical.
Any person, including a company, that manufactures or imports more than 10,000 pounds or more of a chemical named on an E.P.A. Chemical Substances Inventory List is subject to the reporting requirements under TSCA. These reporting requirements include: (i) updating of a list of all chemicals present on a site, at four-year intervals or more frequently; (ii) submission (to the E.P.A.) of a Premanufacture Notice and relevant test data for any new chemical, at least 90 days before manufacturing or importing the chemical; (iii) submission of a Notice Of Intent To Import or To Export a listed chemical, within seven days after entering into a contract to import or export the chemical, if the chemical is known to be mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic or is known to cause chronic health or environmental problems; (iv) reporting of a significant new use for a chemical already on the E.P.A. list; (v) reporting of known significant adverse reactions caused by handling or discharge of any chemical used by the reporting entity; (vi) submission of any unpublished health and/or safety studies on certain chemicals used by the reporting entity; (vii) notification of any substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment, due within 15 days after the reporting entity first receives information on the risk; (viii) submission of information on production of, use of and exposure to certain chemicals to an Interagency Testing Committee for analysis by the Committee; (xi) submission of specified comprehensive information on a fixed format reporting form; (x) submission of results of test, if any, performed by the reporting entity on certain heptahalogenated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, within 90 days after a test, if a positive result is obtained; and (xi) submission of a Notification of PCB Activity form by any storer, transporter or disposer of polychlorinated biphenyl (“PCB”) waste. TSCA also sets forth certain requirements for labeling of, disposal of and recordkeeping for certain chemicals, such as PCBs.
The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (“HMTA”), passed in 1974, is administered jointly by the Department of Transportation (“D.O.T.”), established in 1966, and the E.P.A., established in 1969. The HMTA sets forth 15 “hazard classes” of hazardous materials (e.g., flammable liquids, high explosives, poisons), plus five classes of “other regulated materials,” and sets forth laws and corresponding regulations relating to: (i) identification, listing, labeling and placarding of hazardous materials; (ii) recordkeeping requirements for handling hazardous materials, including Uniform Hazardous Material Manifests for shipment of hazardous wastes; (iii) requirements for generators and transporters of hazardous materials and for owners and operators of specially defined treatment, storage and disposal facilities (“TSDFs”); (iv) permit and pre-transport notification requirements and transportation routing for all facilities that generate or transport hazardous materials; (v) requirements for tracking the movement of hazardous materials; (vi) containers to be used for transport; (vii) incident notification and other procedures for handling and reporting accidental and intentional discharges of hazardous materials; and (viii) testing and standards for operators of hazardous material transport vehicles. Under the HMTA, a “generator” of a hazardous waste is defined simply as “any person whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation.”
Transportation modes covered under the HMTA include movement of a hazardous material by air, rail, water and highway. The D.O.T. is also authorized to inspect generator and transporter facilities, vehicles and records to insure compliance.
The federal mandates, with their demanding regulatory requirements, have created a need for sophisticated information and transportation management solutions to assist industry and other impacted entities in the compliance process. In recent years, software applications have emerged that attempt to manage selected aspects of compliance, such as MSDS or Hazardous Waste Manifest information. The limited scope of these applications, coupled with the limitations of the software supporting such applications, has led to a plethora of limited solutions.
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