OUR POSITIONS
TFI supports the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
TFI supports the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to promote recycling and protect communities.
TFI supports fertilizer safety testing according to the High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
THE POLICIES
The EPCRA is legislation which supports emergency planning and response efforts at the state and local levels by providing communities with information concerning potential chemical hazards and accidental releases of chemicals.
It instructs the fertilizer industry to report all reactive chemicals, such as anhydrous ammonia, present at both manufacturing and retail facilities. This reporting helps shape protocols followed by emergency responders and citizens in the event of a chemical release. Changes to requirements are often complex and require a depth of understanding to properly adhere to any modifications in the reporting.
The RCRA is the principal federal law governing the disposal of both solid waste and hazardous waste, promoting waste source reduction and establishing procedures regarding recycling.
The fertilizer industry is primarily subject to RCRA regulations under the reuse/recycling of a product to make fertilizers. Many materials used by other industries can subsequently be used as a feedstock to manufacture fertilizers. It is important these recycled feedstocks be transported, processed and stored following RCRA regulations in order to ensure the fertilizer is not contaminated. When this reuse is carried out properly, natural resources are conserved and fertilizer quality is upheld.
Several years ago, the fertilizer industry accepted the EPA’s High Production Volume Challenge, spending that time conducting extensive safety tests on 25 fertilizer products in strict adherence to EPA protocols. The data demonstrated that those fertilizers, when used properly, posed little risk to workers, end users, communities and the environment.