Ink Spills
Part of EPA Regs
by Allen Cooley
The ink coursing through newspaper presses contains enough petroleum to fall under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules governing spill control. That, however, is news to many publishers, and few newspapers have spill-prevention plans in place.
Inks and other solutions in sufficient volume and proximity to a body of water can trigger the requirements of EPA’s Spill Prevention Control and Counter-measures plan, or SPCC (40 CFR 112). Inks are subject because of EPA’s definition of petroleum oil, which includes “petroleum in any form, including but not limited to crude oil, fuel oil, mineral oil, sludge, oil refuse and refined products.”
According to Gene Starky, Region III EPA SPCC coordinator, it’s the “any form” part of the definition that pulls newspapers into the SPCC requirements. The SPCC trigger also includes solvents that are petroleum based or derived. Examples of petroleum or petroleum-derived products include, but are not limited to inks, lubrication oil, gasoline, diesel fuel and some solvents.
According to EPA regulations, a combined storage total of more than 42,000 gallons of petroleum or petroleum-derived products in under-ground tanks, 1,320 gallons in above-ground tanks, or just 660 gallons in a single container could trigger SPCC regulations, intended to protect “navigable waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines.”
An SPCC plan must be certified by a professional engineer and reviewed every three years by management. It is important that a newspaper determine whether a release of some or all of its stored ink would be able to flow into and contaminate a creek, stream, river, lake or ocean. Even if the newspaper exceeds SPCC’s quantity trigger, a plan may not be required if it can be shown that stored ink, if released, can not travel to a waterway. In evaluating flow scenarios, the newspaper is not allowed to take into account any man-made structures. For example, if the tank is in a building, then the evaluation has to ignore the presence of the building in terms of its ability to stop or hinder the flow of released ink.
An SPCC plan includes a written, site-specific plan, spill prevention and control measures, tank-material requirements, record-keeping requirements, training, spill-containment structure requirements, and secondary and diversionary structure requirements. To see the EPA requirements for bulk storage facilities, visit www.epa.gov/oilspill/spcc.
EPA also offers a pamphlet (EPA 540-K-98-003) that provides a good overview
of the regulations. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/oilspill.
Cooley is an NAA industrial hygienist. E-mail, coola@naa.org.
OSHA Activity Falls Again
by Allen Cooley
A total of 113 U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration inspections were conducted at newspapers in 2000, reflecting a steady decline from previous years.
Only 38 resulted in fines being paid. Newspapers paid nearly $57,000 in 2000 to federal and state OSHA programs for citations issued during inspections. That’s down from the 68 inspections generating $87,000 in fines in 1999, and the 72 inspections generating $105,000 in fines in 1998 (TechNews, May/June 2000, p. 34).
Of the 38 inspections that led to fines in 2000, $40,362.50 involved citations by federal OSHA programs, and $16,616 involved state OSHA programs.
Newspapers were most commonly cited for personal protective equipment and guarding issues (see table). In some cases, newspapers negotiated with the agencies to reduce initial citation amounts resulting from inspections.
Top Federal OSHA Citations at Newspapers
| Standard | Cited | Number of Citations |
Amount
Paid |
| Personal Protective Equipment | 1910.132, 1910.133, 1910.138 | 10 |
$8,483.00
|
| Guarding | 1910.215,
1910.242 1910.219, 1910.212, 1910.23 |
9 |
$6,812.50
|
| Hazard Communication | 1910.1200 | 8 |
$5,687.50
|
| Means of Egress | 1910.37, 1910.38 | 4 |
$4,650.00
|
| Occupational Noise | 1910.95 | 1 |
$3,150.00
|
| Electrical | 1910.303, 1910.305, 1910.333 | 6 |
$3,067.00
|
| OSHA Annual Survey | 1904.17 | 5 |
$1,950.00
|
| Fire Protection | 1910.156 | 1 |
$1,575.00
|
| Medical Services | 1910.151 | 2 |
$1,225.00
|
| Welding | 1910.253 | 1 |
$1,062.50
|
| Walking, Working Surfaces | 1910.30 | 1 |
$
975.00
|
| Lockout/Tagout | 1910.147 | 3 |
$
672.50
|
| Powered Industrial Trucks | 1910.178 | 1 |
$
412.50
|
| Materials Handling and Storage | 1910.176 | 2 |
$
340.00
|
| Bloodborne Pathogens | 1910.1030 | 1 |
$
300.00
|
| TOTAL |
$40,362.50
|
OSHA inspection data is available at www.osha.gov/oshstats.
Cooley is an NAA industrial hygienist. E-mail, coola@naa.org.