Federal program for regulating highly hazardous materials finally takes off

The Risk Management Program (RMP) rule, Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), was signed on May 24 and finalized on June 20. RMP is one of the most comprehensive, technically based regulatory programs for preventing, detecting and responding to accidental hazardous materials releases to have been issued in recent times. Although facilities have three years to comply, EPA estimates that the rule will affect an estimated 66,000 facilities that store highly hazardous or acutely toxic materials. The 1990 CAA Amendments are designed to prevent accidental releases of highly hazardous chemicals from stationary sources. Two significant regulatory programs that have emerged from the revised CAA are the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard and RMP. PSM is designed to protect employees and regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. RMP`s purpose is to protect the public and the environment from highly hazardous chemicals. It authorizes EPA to create a list of substances (distinct from the list generated under PSM) known to cause serious adverse effects and to implement a program for accidental chemical release prevention.