There is no single federal hazardous chemicals list. Three agencies maintain separate, overlapping frameworks built around different risks: OSHA covers chemicals in the workplace, EPA covers environmental releases and chemical manufacturing, and DOT covers chemicals in transit. The same drum of solvent sitting in your warehouse, spilling on your floor, and rolling out on a truck can trigger all three at once, each with its own definitions, thresholds, and penalties. To find “the” list, start with what you’re doing with the chemical.
OSHA: No Fixed List, a Hazard-Based Definition
If your question is about protecting workers, OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard at 29 CFR 1910.1200 is the governing rule, and it deliberately does not publish a closed list. Instead, it defines a “hazardous chemical” as any substance classified as a physical hazard, health hazard, simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, or a hazard not otherwise classified.1eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.1200 – Hazard Communication That broad definition puts the classification burden on manufacturers and importers, who evaluate their products and pass hazard information down the supply chain through labels and Safety Data Sheets.
The practical “list” for any workplace, then, is the collection of SDSs for the chemicals actually on site. Employers must keep an SDS for every hazardous chemical present and make them immediately accessible to employees during every shift, in paper or electronic form.1eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.1200 – Hazard Communication Hazard Communication was the second most frequently cited OSHA standard in fiscal year 2024, most often for missing or outdated SDSs, unlabeled containers, and inadequate training.2Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards
EPA: Several Lists, Each Tied to a Different Statute
EPA does publish actual lists, but there are several of them, and each one exists for a different reason. Which list applies depends on whether you’re worried about a release, community emergency planning, or manufacturing a new substance.
CERCLA Hazardous Substances (Release Reporting)
The Superfund statute designates hazardous substances in a table at 40 CFR 302.4. Each listed substance carries a Reportable Quantity in pounds. If a release equals or exceeds the RQ within any 24-hour period, the person in charge of the facility must immediately notify the National Response Center.3eCFR. 40 CFR Part 302 – Designation, Reportable Quantities, and Notification “Immediately” means as soon as you know about the release, not after you investigate the cause. The statute at 42 U.S.C. § 9603 backs this up and directs the National Response Center to relay the notice to appropriate agencies, including the governor of any affected state.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 9603 – Notification Requirements Respecting Released Substances
Unlisted hazardous wastes that are ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic also count as CERCLA hazardous substances, with a default reportable quantity of 100 pounds unless a lower threshold applies.3eCFR. 40 CFR Part 302 – Designation, Reportable Quantities, and Notification
EPCRA Extremely Hazardous Substances (Community Planning)
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act tackles a different problem: telling local authorities what chemicals are on-site before something goes wrong. The Extremely Hazardous Substances list appears at 40 CFR Part 355 Appendix A, and each substance carries a Threshold Planning Quantity.5eCFR. 40 CFR Appendix A to Part 355 – The List of Extremely Hazardous Substances and Their Threshold Planning Quantities A facility storing an EHS at or above its TPQ must notify the state and local emergency planning committees.6eCFR. 40 CFR Part 355 – Emergency Planning and Notification
Releases of an EHS above the reportable quantity trigger immediate notice to the state or tribal emergency response commission and to the local emergency planning committee for any area likely to be affected, with a written follow-up as soon as practicable. If the same substance is also on the CERCLA list, the National Response Center gets a separate call.7U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPCRA Emergency Release Notifications
EPCRA also drives annual inventory reporting. Under 40 CFR Part 370, any facility that has to keep SDSs under OSHA’s HCS must file a Tier II report if it stores an EHS at or above 500 pounds (or the TPQ, whichever is lower), or any other hazardous chemical at 10,000 pounds or more. Tier II reports are due by March 1 each year to the state emergency response commission, the local emergency planning committee, and the local fire department.8eCFR. 40 CFR Part 370 – Hazardous Chemical Reporting
One boundary worth naming: manufactured items whose end-use depends on their shape and that release no more than trace amounts of a hazardous chemical under normal use qualify as “articles” and fall outside the SDS requirement, which in turn keeps them out of Tier II counts. Bricks in a warehouse are the standard example. Cut those bricks and generate silica dust, and the dust must be counted toward reporting thresholds.9U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting – Solids Exemptions
The TSCA Inventory (Manufacturing and Import)
If you make or import a chemical for commercial purposes, the relevant list is the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. It currently contains 86,862 chemicals, of which 42,578 are classified as “active.”10U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. How to Access the TSCA Inventory A substance that is not on the inventory cannot enter commerce until EPA has reviewed a premanufacture notice. If a listed substance has been designated inactive, anyone wanting to resume commercial activity with it must first file a Notice of Activity (Form B) with EPA.11eCFR. 40 CFR Part 710 – Compilation of the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory
DOT: The Hazardous Materials Table
Once a chemical leaves the facility, DOT takes over. Under 49 U.S.C. § 5103, the Secretary of Transportation can designate any material as hazardous when transporting it in a particular amount and form may pose an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 US Code 5103 – General Regulatory Authority The list itself is the Hazardous Materials Table at 49 CFR 172.101. Each row gives a proper shipping name, hazard class or division, UN identification number, packing group, label codes, special provisions, packaging specifications, quantity limits for passenger and cargo aircraft, and vessel stowage requirements.13eCFR. 49 CFR 172.101 – Purpose and Use of Hazardous Materials Table
Materials on the table fall into nine hazard classes:
- Class 1: Explosives
- Class 2: Gases (flammable, non-flammable, and toxic)
- Class 3: Flammable and combustible liquids
- Class 4: Flammable solids, spontaneously combustible materials, and materials dangerous when wet
- Class 5: Oxidizers and organic peroxides
- Class 6: Toxic substances and infectious substances
- Class 7: Radioactive materials
- Class 8: Corrosives
- Class 9: Miscellaneous hazardous materials
Shippers, not carriers, bear the primary responsibility for classifying a material, choosing the proper shipping name, and preparing shipping papers. A misclassified drum can put incompatible materials next to each other on a truck or send first responders to a spill with the wrong equipment.
Checking One Chemical Against Every List
The Chemical Abstract Service registry number is the most reliable way to trace a substance across all three frameworks. Every CAS number is a unique international identifier tied to one specific substance, which is why agencies use them in regulatory lists instead of common or trade names.14CAS. CAS REGISTRY
EPA publishes a Consolidated List of Lists that cross-references chemicals subject to EPCRA, CERCLA, Clean Air Act Section 112(r), and Clean Water Act Section 311 in one document. Its Substance Registry Services database lets you search by chemical name or CAS number and returns the applicable lists, including those maintained by other federal agencies.15U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Consolidated List of Lists Starting from the CAS number is faster than starting from a product name.
The lists themselves live in the Code of Federal Regulations and are current on ecfr.gov: 29 CFR 1910.1200 for OSHA’s hazard communication rule, 40 CFR 302.4 for CERCLA, 40 CFR Part 355 for EPCRA emergency planning, and 49 CFR 172.101 for DOT.
What Getting the List Wrong Costs
A serious OSHA violation, including a Hazard Communication violation, carries a penalty of up to $16,550. Willful or repeated violations rise to up to $165,514 per violation.16Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Penalties Because each missing SDS, each unlabeled container, and each untrained employee can be counted separately, a single inspection can produce six-figure totals.
A knowing DOT violation runs up to $75,000 per violation, or $175,000 if the violation results in death, serious illness, severe injury, or substantial property destruction. Training-related violations carry a minimum penalty of $450, and each day a continuing violation persists is a separate offense.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 US Code 5123 – Civil Penalty
EPA enforces its own civil penalties under CERCLA and EPCRA for release-notification failures and missed Tier II filings, with amounts adjusted annually for inflation through Federal Register notices. Failure to notify the National Response Center of a CERCLA release can also expose responsible individuals to criminal liability, not just the facility to civil fines.