This week, the Environmental Daily Advisor discussed emergency action plans, oil spills, and laboratory clean-outs under RCRA's Academic Laboratory Rule.
Here’s the Environmental Daily Advisor week in review.

Should you have an EAP?--An EAP is required at any facility where employees are required to evacuate when a fire alarm is sounded. Employers at facilities with fixed extinguishing systems and fire detection systems must also develop an EAP.

8 Tips for Writing an EAP--Putting together an EAP is not easy, but here are some tips to help you in the process.

An oil spill! Who ya gonna call?--In the event of an oil spill, a facility's emergency response plan is activated. Depending on the nature of the spill, local, area, or regional plans may also be put into motion. And for those rare spills that require a national response, such as the 2010 Gulf oil spill, the National Contingency Plan (NCP) is activated, bringing the collective expertise of various federal agencies together to contain and clean up the release or spill.

When should you report an oil spill?--EPA requires owners or operators of facilities that are responsible for oil discharges to immediately report the spill to the National Response Center (NRC). What is a "harmful quantity" of oil?

Is a laboratory clean-out for you?--If you opt to follow EPA’s Academic Laboratory Rule you should take advantage of the incentives available to clean out your old, expired chemicals.