Disclosure by Firms Required : Orange County OKs Law on Hazardous Materials

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance requiring companies to disclose the hazardous materials they handle so that firefighters will know what confronts them in the event of an emergency.

The ordinance, designed to be a model for Orange County cities, orders companies in unincorporated areas that handle more than 55 gallons or 500 pounds of hazardous materials to report to the county Fire Department twice a year on their inventory.

Under the new law, which formally takes effect next week, firms handling smaller amounts of especially dangerous chemicals would also have to report them, and all companies must update their reports when they receive large amounts of chemicals.

County officials said companies that opposed a similar law two years ago--fearing that disclosure of such information would force them to reveal trade secrets--cooperated in drafting the new ordinance. A key factor, officials said, was the adverse public reaction to the June chemical fire at an Anaheim agricultural supply warehouse, which forced the evacuation of 7,500 nearby residents and employees.

“Time and experience with a series of hazardous materials spills and the disastrous pesticides fire in Anaheim last summer has eliminated resistance to a hazardous-materials disclosure ordinance,” Supervisor Bruce Nestande said.

“Without this ordinance, our firefighters and other emergency personnel will continue to be unnecessarily exposed to dangers associated with toxic-related emergencies.”

The Anaheim fire at the Larry Fricker Co. burned for several days, while firefighters sought to learn what chemicals were burning inside.

Under the ordinance, a company can designate the information it files with the county as a trade secret. If someone requests that information, the county will inform the company and give it 30 days to obtain a court order barring release of the data. If there is no court action, the information will be released.

Robert A. Griffith, head of the county’s hazardous materials program, said the City of Irvine already has a hazardous materials disclosure ordinance, adding: “We expect most, if not all, of the 25 other (cities in Orange County) to adopt this or something like it.”

Griffith said the county Health Care Agency will contribute its list of underground hazardous material storage tanks to the data base that will be developed. The disclosure program will be financed by imposing fees estimated at $50 to $100 per year on companies handling hazardous materials.

The supervisors ordered the county director of fire services to report back to the board in 60 days on any further requirements that might be needed to implement the ordinance.

The new law was enacted after months of discussions among various county agencies, the Fire Chiefs Assn. of Orange County, the county Chamber of Commerce and a newly formed private industry group called the Industrial Environmental Coalition, representing about 60 firms that handle hazardous materials.