Understanding the Article Exemption Under EPCRA Section 313

The article exemption is one of the most frequently misunderstood provisions under EPCRA Section 313. Facilities working with metals, plastics, glass, or catalysts must carefully evaluate whether their materials and processes qualify. The exemption is intended for items that retain their shape and function without releasing listed toxic chemicals under normal conditions of use. Once an article releases more than 0.5 pounds of a listed chemical in a reporting year, it generally loses article status.

Metals, Dust, and Foundry Operations

When sheet metal is processed and generates metal dust, the dust itself may be a listed toxic chemical. For example, aluminum dust listed with a “dust” qualifier must be counted in threshold determinations and release calculations.

Foundries that melt alloys such as stainless steel face another challenge: melting destroys article status. While the de minimis exemption may apply if listed chemicals are present below allowable concentrations, once melted, the material must be treated as manufactured or processed, and thresholds apply.

Structural Components and Cement Kiln Equipment

Equipment used in cement kiln operations—such as grinding balls, kiln chains, or cooler grates—does not qualify for the structural component exemption if it is integral to production. Some items may still qualify as articles if:

• They retain their shape and function.

• They do not release toxic chemicals during normal use.

• Aggregate releases from like items stay at or below 0.5 pounds per year.

By contrast, processing bar stock or extruding metals into new shapes generally ends the exemption. For instance, copper bar stock can retain article status when its shape is maintained and no releases occur, but extruding copper into wire eliminates the exemption.

Plastics, Glass, and Lead

Manufacturing articles can also trigger reporting:

• Plastic bottles made with lead chromate are not exempt, and discarding substandard bottles is considered a release.

• Lead bricks used as ballast may retain article status if all dust is recycled; otherwise, releases over 0.5 pounds void the exemption.

• Glass tubing used for neon signs can qualify if no lead is released during bending, but broken or discarded tubes that generate more than 0.5 pounds of lead lose article status.

The key is whether normal use results in releases. Once emissions, dust, or disposal exceed the half-pound policy, the exemption no longer applies.

Other Scenarios

Several other common cases illustrate the boundaries of the article exemption:

• Catalysts shaped for reactors are not articles if dust emissions or spills occur during transfers.

• Copper shavings may remain exempt if fully reused and recycled, but if more than 0.5 pounds are released, the exemption is lost.

• Zinc dust created during sheet metal processing must always be evaluated for thresholds, regardless of the article status of the original metal because zinc dust is separately listed under TRI.

• Lead shields melted and reformed into containers are considered manufacturing; the article exemption no longer applies.

• Copper tubes in condensers can qualify as articles if all replaced tubes generate less than 0.5 pounds of release in a year.

Why Records and Documentation Matter

Even when wastes are recycled, facilities must perform threshold determinations and release calculations. EPA allows rounding down to zero for total releases of a listed chemical at or below 0.5 pounds per year from like items. However, this requires accurate records. Facilities must document calculations, distinguish between articles and non-articles, and track whether releases cross the 0.5-pound threshold.

How TRI Toolkit Can Help

The TRI Toolkit makes navigating the article exemption straightforward by:

• Importing product and activity data through SDS parsing, Excel uploads, Web UI, or ERP integrations.

• Mapping inputs to Section 313 chemicals with built-in logic for article, de minimis, and structural component analyses.

• Tracking manufacturing, processing, and otherwise use quantities in real time.

• Generating EPA-ready Form R XML files for TRI-MEweb and confirming exemptions before submission.

  
  

With these features, facilities can confidently apply exemptions while maintaining defensible records.

References

1. 2024 QA Consolidation #262 — A facility generates metal dust when it processes sheet metal. Each dust particle is actually an alloy containing more than one type of metal (e.g., chromium and aluminum). If the toxic chemical in the metal is listed with a qualifier which includes dust (e.g., aluminum), does EPA consider the dust particle the listed toxic chemical?

2. 2024 QA Consolidation #266 — Regarding metals that are not chemicals of special concern in mixtures, such as chromium in an alloy (stainless steel), how are thresholds and releases and other waste management activities accounted for in a foundry type operation where all of the metals are melted down? Could the de minimis and article exemptions be applied?

3. 2024 QA Consolidation #368 — Can some equipment used in the production processes of cement kiln manufacturers (e.g., grinding balls, hammers, kiln chains, mill liners and lining bars, and cooler grates and side wall liners) qualify for the structural component exemption or the article exemption?

4. 2024 QA Consolidation #370 — If a covered facility stores a listed toxic chemical on-site, and then uses it by installing it in the facility, is the facility required to consider the listed toxic chemical (a component) for EPCRA section 313?

5. 2024 QA Consolidation #443 — A covered facility manufactures ‘non-article’ metal items. If all wastes from the manufacturing process are recycled, are the items still subject to threshold determinations?

6. 2024 QA Consolidation #444 — Please clarify the Agency’s half pound policy for the article exemption.

7. 2024 QA Consolidation #446 — Does the article exemption in the Section 313 rule apply to preparation (i.e., manufacture) of the article? What about processing or otherwise using that article?

8. 2024 QA Consolidation #449 — Lead shielding was used to transport nuclear warheads. A federal facility is melting and reforming the lead shields into containers for radioactive waste storage. Would the lead from the shields be exempt from EPCRA section 313 reporting under the articles exemption?

9. 2024 QA Consolidation #450 — A covered facility has a condenser that consists of many individual copper tubes. These copper tubes must be replaced periodically and are often replaced individually. Can each of the copper tubes be considered an article under Section 313?

10. 2024 QA Consolidation #458 — A company processes a galvanized sheet metal containing elemental zinc, not a zinc compound. When the sheet metal is processed it generates zinc dust, all of which is captured and sent off-site for recycling. The sheet metal is formed to a specific shape and its end use functions depend in whole on its shape during end use. Can the company claim an exemption because the sheet metal remains an article, or must it do a threshold determination for zinc because it has coincidentally manufactured zinc in the dust form?

11. 2024 QA Consolidation #459 — I am a power tool manufacturer and we use copper, a listed toxic chemical. We receive copper plates and shave the rough edges off them. All of the shavings are vacuumed and sold to a scrap metal facility which makes ingots and sells them. Is the copper plate an article? How do I consider the shavings?

12. 2024 QA Consolidation #462 — A covered facility processes sheet metal that contains a listed toxic chemical. When processed, some pieces of the sheet metal are cut generating shavings which contain the listed toxic chemicals and which are not 100 percent recycled. Specifically, more than 0.5 lb is released from all like items during the reporting year, and therefore, the sheet metal does not meet the article exemption criteria. Must the facility consider the amount of the listed toxic chemical in the entire piece of sheet metal for threshold determinations or may the facility consider just the amount of listed toxic chemical in the area of the sheet metal that is cut?

13. 2024 QA Consolidation #471 — Is bar stock that is used to make precision tuned parts an article and thus exempt from Section 313 reporting? The bar stock is processed to produce parts that in whole or in part retain the basic dimensional characteristic of the bar stock. The production of the part itself is dependent upon the specific shape and dimension of the bar stock and there are no releases during processing.

14. 2024 QA Consolidation #472 — Can covered facilities which extrude copper bars or rods into wire treat the bar or rod as an article?

15. 2024 QA Consolidation #474 — A manufacturer of plastic bottles makes the bottles by blow-molding a mixture of plastic resin and polymer pellets that contain lead chromate (a toxic chemical) and fillers. Once the bottles are made, they are checked for flaws (i.e., a quality assurance check). Any bottles that do not pass the quality assurance test are placed in the facility dumpster and are subsequently disposed of in the local municipal landfill. Do these substandard bottles meet the article exemption and thereby exempt the lead chromate from being a release of a listed toxic chemical under Section 313?

16. 2024 QA Consolidation #475 — A ship building facility incorporates lead bricks as ballast into the ships it distributes in commerce. The lead bricks remain permanently with the ship. They could be considered articles and therefore be exempt from reporting. However, the facility infrequently cuts some of the bricks, generating lead dust, which it collects and sends to an off-site lead reprocessor. How should the facility report? What should be counted towards the threshold if the lead bricks are not considered articles?

17. 2024 QA Consolidation #477 — A covered manufacturing facility produces neon signs by bending leaded glass tubing. The facility uses enough tubing annually to process in excess of 100 pounds of lead, an EPCRA section 313 toxic chemical. When signs are formed from glass tubing, the diameter of the tubes remains unchanged and lead is not released during the heating or bending process, qualifying the tubes for the article exemption. If a discrete number of glass tubes are broken and discarded during the year, under what circumstances would disposal of the broken tubes constitute a release that negates the article exemption, and how would the facility calculate the amount of lead used in their operation?

18. 2024 QA Consolidation #483 — A facility uses a catalyst containing a listed toxic chemical in a fixed bed reactor. The catalyst is in the form of cylindrical or trilobed extrudates (pellets) in a specific size. It is used to promote a chemical reaction and is not physically altered during use. The spent catalyst is sent to a reclaimer for eventual reuse. Can the catalyst be exempted as an article under Section 313?

19. 2024 QA Consolidation #484 — A covered facility processes a metal item containing nickel. The finished product retains in part the dimension characteristics of the original item and all the metal shavings resulting from the process are sent off-site for recycling. Since the Pollution Prevention Act requires reporting of recycled amounts of a listed toxic chemical, does that mean the material is not an article?

20. 2024 QA Consolidation #485 — A covered facility processes metal sheets containing nickel in a four-step process: (1) sheets are cut with a laser saw (releasing nickel fumes); (2) pieces are further ground to their final shape (releasing grindings); (3) ground pieces are sent off-site for heat treatment; and (4) heat treated pieces are returned to a facility where holes are bored (producing turnings) and the resultant pieces are assembled into the final product. How are releases reported?