About RMP Data

RMP was last updated on RTK NET with a set of EPA data made on August 28, 2009.

Federal law requires industrial facilities that use large amounts of extremely hazardous substances to file a Risk Management Plan with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA then creates a national database of RMP information. These RMP data are intended to save lives, protect property, and prevent pollution. In particular, some industrial facilities are switching to safer and more secure chemicals that do not endanger employees and surrounding communities. You can identify hazardous chemical facilities in your area using the RMP Search tool.

Quote from EPA RMP Overview:

"When Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, it required EPA to publish regulations and guidance for chemical accident prevention at facilities using extremely hazardous substances. The Risk Management Program Rule (RMP Rule) was written to implement Section 112(r) of these amendments. The rule, which built upon existing industry codes and standards, requires companies of all sizes that use certain flammable and toxic substances to develop a Risk Management Program, which includes a(n):

Hazard assessment that details the potential effects of an accidental release, an accident history of the last five years, and an evaluation of worst-case and alternative accidental releases;
Prevention program that includes safety precautions and maintenance, monitoring, and employee training measures; and
Emergency response program that spells out emergency health care, employee training measures and procedures for informing the public and response agencies (e.g the fire department) should an accident occur.

By June 21, 1999, a summary of the facility's risk management program (known as a "Risk Management Plan" or "RMP") was to be submitted to EPA, which will make the information publicly available. The plans must be revised and resubmitted every five years. The Risk Management Program is about reducing chemical risk at the local level. This information helps local fire, police, and emergency response personnel (who must prepare for and respond to chemical accidents), and is useful to citizens in understanding the chemical hazards in communities. EPA anticipates that making the RMPs available to the public stimulates communication between industry and the public to improve accident prevention and emergency response practices at the local level."

Accidents in the RMP Database

Only certain accidents are reportable in the RMP database, so if "Number of RMP Accidents" is zero, this does not mean that the facility has never had an accident. In general, for an accident to be reportable within RMP, it must have involved a release of more than the reportable quantity of an RMP chemical, have taken place in the last five years (from the date of the RMP submission), and must have involved deaths, injuries, evacuation, or property damage.

"Potential Offsite Consequence" Pounds

Some numbers in the search output are labelled as "Potential Offsite Consequence" pounds. These are the total pounds held in all Program 2 and 3 processes (generally, those with potential offsite consequences) at the facility. This is not the same as the amount of chemical released in a worst case accident. However, since that amount is not released to the public by EPA except in the reading rooms, this amount is presented here instead.

RTK NET access to RMP data

RTK NET allows search and retrieval of all of the data elements in the RMP database that EPA releases to the public, with the exception of the emergency contact name, phone number, and Email (since we don't want contacts used for emergencies to get spam email or telemarketing phone calls). However, EPA does not release some of the most important data in the RMP database to the public as a database -- the worst-case scenario results, such as the worst case radius or number of people potentially affected, are not released and can only be obtained through going to an federal reading room.

RTK NET previously allowed access to RMP Executive Summaries only. The current RTK NET access tool allows access to Executive Summaries as well as other data fields.

If you have any questions, comments, or found any bugs in these reports please either send RTK NET mail to rtkhelp@rtknet.org or call us at 202-234-8494.

Individual Data fields

Additional help is available through the help file associated with RMP standard report output.