Chemical accident prevention under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

Abstract

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 enacted recently contain provisions for the prevention of chemical accidents under Title III—Hazardous Air Pollutants. Some of these provisions include: a general duty clause, preparation of a list of substances and thresholds, requirements for the preparation of risk management plans by industry, specific accident prevention regulations, establishment of a Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, and requirements for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to promulgate a process safety management standard. These provisions, approaches with respect to process safety management by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and coordination with OSHA will be discussed.