CERCLA Hazardous Substance List Now Includes 1-bromopropane

Effective April 8, 2022, US EPA added 1-bromopropane (also known as n-propyl bromide or nPB) to the list of hazardous substances under CERCLA/Superfund.

Important things to note now that 1-bromopropane (CAS 106–94–5) is on the CERCLA hazardous substances list include:

• Release reporting will be required for 1-bromopropane
• Sites contaminated with 1-bromopropane can be listed as Superfund sites.
• Money from Superfund can be used to cleanup sites contained with 1-bromopropane
• A reportable quantity value (RQ) is added under CERCLA (40 CFR 302.4)
• Authorities may seek damages or cleanup costs from parties responsible for contamination.

In addition to adding 1-bromopropane to the CERCLA list, the recent rulemaking makes numerous technical amendments to the list. Revisions include deleting vacated K-codes, re-ordering the categories and chemicals listed, removing duplicates, correcting spelling, revising specific list entries, and more.

See the Final Rule in the April 8 Federal Register.

CERCLA Release Reporting

The final rule establishes a reportable quantity (RQ) of 1 pound for 1-bromopropane. Any facility that releases one pound or more (in a single release or multiple releases within 24 hours) must make an immediate phone report to the National Response Center (NRC).

An RQ of 1 pound is the “default” value for substances added to the CERCLA hazardous substances list. To change the RQ, a separate EPA rulemaking would be needed.

EPCRA Release Reporting

The addition of 1-bromopropane also has implications for release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

A facility that releases 1 pound or more (in a single release or multiple releases within 24 hours) must make an immediate phone report to all potentially affected Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) and State Emergency Response Commissions (SERC) (40 CFR 355.43).  

As soon as practicable after the release, a follow-up written report must be submitted to any LEPC and SERC that the facility called.

Addition to Clean Air Act HAP List

The addition of 1-bromopropane to the CERLCA list has been a forgone conclusion since February of 2022. That month, EPA added the substance to a different list—the list of Hazardous Air Pollutants or HAPs in the Clean Air Act.

The Clean Air Act HAP list is one of a few lists that, together, comprise the CERCLA list of hazardous substances. So, it was a matter of time before EPA officially added 1-bromopropane as a hazardous substance.

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Tags: CERCLA, hazardous substances, Superfund