Supplier notification

Scope

A facility is covered by the supplier notification requirements if it owns or operates a facility which meets all of the criteria listed below:

• The facility is in a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code that corresponds to Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 20-39;
• The facility manufactures (including imports) or processes an EPCRA Section 313 chemical; and
• The facility sells or otherwise distributes a mixture or other trade name product containing the EPCRA section 313 chemical to either:
  • A facility in a covered NAICS code, or
  • A person that then may sell the same mixture or other trade name product to a firm in a covered NAICS code.
  Note: A facility may be covered by the supplier notification requirements even if it is not covered by the TRI reporting requirements. For example, even if the facility has fewer than 10 full-time employees or does not manufacture or process any of the EPCRA section 313 chemicals in sufficient quantities to trigger the release and other waste management reporting requirements, the facility may still be required to provide supplier notification to certain customers.

Regulatory citations

• 40 CFR 372.10 — Recordkeeping
• 40 CFR 372.45 — Supplier notification
• 42 U.S.C. 11023 — Toxic chemical release forms

Key definitions

• Article: A manufactured item: (1) Which is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture; (2) which has end use functions dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end use; and (3) which does not release a toxic chemical under normal conditions of processing or use of that item at the facility or establishments.
• Facility: All buildings, equipment, structures, and other stationary items which are located on a single site or on contiguous or adjacent sites and which are owned or operated by the same person (or by any person which controls, is controlled by, or under common control with such person). A facility may contain more than one establishment.
• Import: To cause a chemical to be imported into the customs territory of the United States. For purposes of this definition, to cause means to intend that the chemical be imported and to control the identity of the imported chemical and the amount to be imported.
• Manufacture: To produce, prepare, import, or compound a toxic chemical. Manufacture also applies to a toxic chemical that is produced coincidentally during the manufacture, processing, use, or disposal of another chemical or mixture of chemicals, including a toxic chemical that is separated from that other chemical or mixture of chemicals as a byproduct, and a toxic chemical that remains in that other chemical or mixture of chemicals as an impurity.
• Mixture: Any combination of two or more chemicals, if the combination is not, in whole or in part, the result of a chemical reaction. However, if the combination was produced by a chemical reaction but could have been produced without a chemical reaction, it is also treated as a mixture. A mixture also includes any combination which consists of a chemical and associated impurities.
• Otherwise distributes: Includes, but is not limited to, intra-company transfers.
• Process: The preparation of a toxic chemical, after its manufacture, for distribution in commerce: (1) In the same form or physical state as, or in a different form or physical state from, that in which it was received by the person so preparing such substance, or (2) As part of an article containing the toxic chemical. Process also applies to the processing of a toxic chemical contained in a mixture or trade name product.
• Toxic chemical: A chemical or chemical category listed in 372.65.
• Trade name product: A chemical or mixture of chemicals that is distributed to other persons and that incorporates a toxic chemical component that is not identified by the applicable chemical name or Chemical Abstracts Service Registry number listed in 372.65.

Summary of requirements

• Determine if you own or operate a facility that meets the three criteria to be covered by the supplier notification requirement.
• If covered by the supplier notification requirement:
  • Check to see if your mixture or trade name product is exempted at 372.45(d).
  • Consider the chemical name or the specific concentration of the EPCRA section 313 chemical in a mixture or other trade name product to be a trade secret, if you meet 372.45(e) and (f) and you have documentation that provides the basis for your claim.
  • If the mixture or trade name product is not exempted, ensure the supplier notification includes the required information for the mixture or trade name product.
  • Provide the supplier notification in writing. If you are required to prepare and distribute a safety data sheet (SDS) for the mixture under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200, then your supplier notification must be attached to the SDS or the SDS must be modified to include the required information.
  • Notify each customer receiving a mixture or other trade name product containing a Section 313 chemicals with the first shipment of each calendar year. Once customers have been provided with an SDS containing the section 313 information, you may refer to the SDS by a written letter in subsequent years (as long as the SDS is current).
  • Send a new or revised notification within 30 days of a change in the product or the discovery of misidentified EPCRA section 313 chemical(s) in the mixture or incorrect percentages by weight.
  • Watch EPCRA Section 313 and 40 CFR 372.65 for any newly added chemicals. If a chemical is added, notify your customers with the first shipment made during the next calendar year following EPA’s final decision to add the chemical to the list.
  • Retain the records specified at 372.10(b) for a period of three years from the date of the submission of a supplier notification.
• If your facility receives supplier notifications from your suppliers about EPCRA Section 313 chemicals in mixtures or other trade name products, forward the notifications with the EPCRA Section 313 chemicals you send to other covered users.