Higher Hazard Substances
The goal of designating some toxic chemicals as Higher Hazard Substances is to help Massachusetts companies and communities focus their toxics use reduction efforts on those chemicals that pose the most serious threats to health and the environment. For more information on Higher and Lower Hazard Substances, read this Fact Sheet.
The Higher Hazard Substance designation lowers the threshold for reporting, planning, and paying TURA fees to 1,000 pounds per year. Persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances, as defined by EPA, which have lower reporting thresholds, are also automatically designated as Higher Hazard Substances.
TURA Designated Higher Hazard Substances |
Effective for Reporting Year |
| Toluene Diisocyanates | 2017 |
| 1-Bromopropane (n-Propyl Bromide or nPB) | 2016 |
| Hydrogen Fluoride | 2016 |
| Cyanide Compounds | 2016 |
| Dimethylformamide (DMF) | 2016 |
| Methylene Chloride | 2014 |
| Hexavalent Chromium | 2012 |
| Formaldehyde | 2012 |
| Perchloroethylene (PCE or perc) | 2009 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 2008 |
| Cadmium and Cadmium Compounds | 2008 |
Persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances, as defined by EPA, are also automatically designated as Higher Hazard Substances.
PBTs -- Automatically Higher Hazard Substances |
||
| Aldrin | Benzo(g,h,i)perylene | Chlordane |
| Heptachlor | Hexachlorobenzene | Isodrin |
| Lead and Lead Compounds | Mercury and mercury compounds | Methoxychlor |
| Octachlorostyrene | Pendimethalin | Pentachlorobenzene |
| Polychlorinated biphenyl | Tetrabromobisphenol | Toxaphene |
| Trifluralin | Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds | Polycyclic aromatic compounds |
| Hexabromocyclododecane | ||
More information on PBTs can be found at the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program.