Hazardous Substances in the United States

Hazardous Substances in Environmental Law

Chemicals, pollutants, mixtures, or wastes regulated by the federal government under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The list of hazardous substances includes hazardous waste, toxic or hazardous water pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, imminently hazardous substances and mixtures subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act, and any other substance listed due to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund).

Petroleum, crude oil, and natural gas are three major exclusions from the definition of hazardous substances. The EPA takes the position that the exclusion covers petroleum as it is being refined, extracted, transported, and stored. However, if it is used and picks up contaminants during the use, the end product may no longer fall under the exclusion.

Before the EPA may intervene in a cleanup under Superfund, a hazardous substance must be released or the threat of release must exist. The list of potentially hazardous substances is very long, but other facts limit the EPA’s authority to act. For example, a release that occurs inside a workplace is excluded, as is engine exhaust. Normal use of fertilizer is also carved out of the definition, although land applications of other hazardous substances would be considered releases.

Since Superfund was enacted for the purpose of responding to abandoned hazardous waste sites and emergency releases, Congress placed additional restrictions on the EPA’s use of its Superfund powers, even though the substances involved are hazardous substances. The agency may use Superfund, however, if an emergency exists.

The EPA is not permitted to use Superfund to respond to naturally occurring substances in their unaltered forms or those that are altered solely through naturally occurring processes, excluding naturally occurring radioactive materials. Another constraint involves products that are part of the structure of buildings, such as asbestos. Yet another is a release into public or private drinking water supplies due to deterioration of the system through normal use, a provision that covers potential lead contamination.

Although Congress decided in the situations specified that the EPA would not use Superfund powers or money to deal with a release, it did not eliminate the hazardous substances from regulation. So if asbestos, lead, or radioactive material is disposed of, the EPA can react to the situation. It cannot, however, enter a building or a public utility and demand the removal of asbestos or lead pipes, nor can it dig up areas with naturally occurring radon and force a cleanup.

Many statutes regulate the discharges of hazardous substances. Superfund is a tremendously powerful statute, but it is not the only one with teeth. For example, petroleum is not included in the definition of hazardous substance, but petroleum stored in tanks is regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Releases in workplaces that do not affect the outside environment are subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Based on “Environment and the Law. A Dictionary”.

Finding the law: Hazardous Substances in the U.S. Code

A collection of general and permanent laws relating to hazardous substances, passed by the United States Congress, are organized by subject matter arrangements in the United States Code (U.S.C.; this label examines hazardous substances topics), to make them easy to use (usually, organized by legal areas into Titles, Chapters and Sections). The platform provides introductory material to the U.S. Code, and cross references to case law. View the U.S. Code’s table of contents here.