EHS & chemical compliance glossary
39 terms from EPCRA, RCRA, GHS and safety data sheets, explained in plain English: what each one means, what triggers it, and how it connects to the rest.
EPCRA & Tier II
- EPCRAEmergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know ActThe 1986 federal law requiring facilities to report the hazardous chemicals they store so communities and responders know what is there.
- EPCRA Section 302Requires a facility to notify state and local planners when it holds an Extremely Hazardous Substance at or above its Threshold Planning Quantity.
- EPCRA Section 311Requires a facility to submit safety data sheets, or a list of the chemicals they cover, to state and local authorities.
- EPCRA Section 312The annual hazardous chemical inventory requirement, the section the Tier II report is filed under.
- EPCRA Section 313The Toxics Release Inventory: annual reporting of releases and transfers of listed toxic chemicals.
- Extremely Hazardous SubstanceEHSA substance on EPA's Section 302 list, subject to lower reporting thresholds and emergency planning notification.
- LEPCLocal Emergency Planning CommitteeThe local body that develops emergency response plans using the chemical data facilities report.
- List of ListsEPA's consolidated table of chemicals regulated under EPCRA and CERCLA, with their thresholds.
- March 1 deadlineThe annual due date for Tier II reports covering the previous calendar year.
- Reporting thresholdThe quantity at which a chemical becomes reportable: 10,000 lb for most, lower for Extremely Hazardous Substances.
- SARA Title IIIAnother name for EPCRA: the title of the 1986 act under which it was enacted.
- SERCState Emergency Response CommissionThe state body that receives EPCRA filings and oversees local emergency planning committees.
- Threshold Planning QuantityTPQThe amount of an Extremely Hazardous Substance at which emergency planning obligations begin.
- Tier II reportThe annual inventory of hazardous chemicals a facility held during the previous calendar year, filed under EPCRA Section 312.
- Tier2 SubmitEPA's free desktop software for preparing Tier II reports.
Safety data sheets
- CAS numberChemical Abstracts Service Registry NumberA unique numeric identifier for a chemical substance, used to match inventories against regulatory lists.
- MSDSMaterial Safety Data SheetThe pre-GHS predecessor to the safety data sheet, replaced in the United States in 2015.
- Safety Data SheetSDSThe 16-section document a manufacturer must supply describing a hazardous chemical's hazards, handling and properties.
- SDS Section 2Hazard identification: the GHS classification, signal word, hazard statements and pictograms.
- SDS Section 3Composition: the ingredients, their CAS numbers, and concentration ranges.
- Trade secret claimA withheld chemical identity or concentration on a safety data sheet, permitted under defined conditions.
GHS & hazard classification
- GHSGlobally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of ChemicalsThe UN system that standardises how chemical hazards are classified, labelled and described on safety data sheets.
- GHS pictogramOne of nine standard symbols in a red diamond indicating a category of chemical hazard.
- Hazard classThe nature of a chemical hazard under GHS: flammable liquid, skin corrosion, carcinogenicity and so on.
- Hazard statementStandard phrasing describing the nature of a hazard, such as "Causes serious eye damage".
- HazComHazard Communication StandardOSHA's standard requiring that chemical hazards be classified, labelled, documented and communicated to workers.
- HNOCHazard Not Otherwise ClassifiedAn adverse effect that does not meet the criteria for any defined GHS hazard class but still warrants warning.
- Secondary container labelThe label required when a chemical is transferred out of its original manufacturer container.
- Signal wordEither Danger or Warning, the GHS indicator of relative hazard severity.
Waste & RCRA
- e-ManifestEPA's electronic system for submitting and tracking hazardous waste manifests.
- Generator statusA facility's RCRA category (VSQG, SQG or LQG) is determined by how much hazardous waste it generates monthly.
- Hazardous waste manifestThe tracking document accompanying hazardous waste from the generator to its final treatment or disposal facility.
- RCRAResource Conservation and Recovery ActThe federal law governing hazardous waste from generation through transport, treatment and disposal.
General EHS
- Chemical inventoryThe record of what hazardous chemicals a facility holds, in what quantities, and where.
- EHS (the acronym)Environment, Health and Safety, but also Extremely Hazardous Substance, which is a common source of confusion.
- Form R and Form AThe two TRI reporting forms: full reporting, and an abbreviated certification.
- July 1 deadlineThe annual due date for Toxics Release Inventory reports.
- Right-to-KnowThe principle that workers and communities are entitled to know what hazardous chemicals they may be exposed to.
- Toxics Release InventoryTRIThe annual public reporting of releases and transfers of listed toxic chemicals, under EPCRA Section 313.
These are plain-English explanations, not legal advice. Figures cited are the federal baseline; states routinely add their own requirements, which is what the state-by-state pages cover.