Since they are often enforced locally, the interpretation of the same law can vary greatly from locale to locale. Steve Carnevale, an environmental consultant for reprographers and president of H.C.S.C. Environmental, Inc. in the San Francisco Bay area, offered some clarification on this issue. I travel around the country and I have run into various regulatory agencies. Usually the CUPA is the local County Dept. of Environmental Health or Public Health. The strange part in all of this is that ammonia dissipates quickly in the air and does not pose much of a threat once it is released out the vent pipe on the roof and dissipates.
Ammonia is deadly in a highly concentrated form, and in an enclosed area it can kill a person.
However, with the tank and cylinder design, manifold systems, and relief valves for venting, an ammonia release may not be a major event or threat to human safety. The EPA has what is called the TRI or Toxic Release Inventory, also know as the Form R which regulates the release of chemicals to the environment. We had to bring in the neighbor and show him how the ammonia was used and that there was no danger to people or the environment. Once he saw this, there was no longer a problem. Under current law, OCB files hazardous materials disclosures and receives fire inspections annually, or in some locations biennially, as well as having the required safety programs in place.