HSCI 459: Hazardous Waste
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) addresses hazardous waste generation, handling, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal. It includes requirements for a system that uses hazardous waste manifest to track the movement of waste from it’s site of generation to it’s final disposition. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, Liability Act( CERCLA), most commonly known by it’s nickname Superfund’s purpose is to identify and clean up chemically contaminated sites that pose a significant environmental health threat.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA; SARA Title III) pertains primarily to emergency management of accidental releases. The National Response Center (NRC) must be notified of a release of hazardous material that exceeds a regulatory threshold called a reportable quantity (RQ). RCRA calls generators of less than 100 kg per month Small Quantity Generators (SQG). Generators that generate less than 1000kg/month Medium Quantity Generators (MQG). Those generating more than 1000 kg/month are called Large Quantity Generators (LQG).
The operator of a facility that generates a hazardous waste is responsible for proper handling, storage, transportation, and disposal of the waste.
A Large Quantity Generator (LQG) may not hold hazardous waste on site for more than 90 days. A generator may accumulate up to 55 gallons of hazardous waste at a satellite location without complying with the 90-day storage requirement .
A manifest is a multi copy shipping form, designed by EPA and DOT for tracking hazardous waste shipments and providing emergency response information in case of accident. The generator, the transporter, and TSD facility must sign and date the manifest and must keep a copy on file for three years. If an LQG does not receive a copy of the manifest sighed by the owner or operator of the TSD facility within 35 days after acceptance by the transporter, the generator must contact the transporter and the TSD facility to determine the status of the waste.
Most hazardous wastes may not be disposed of in landfills unless they meet treatment standards. The Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) program requires that the waste be treated to reduce the hazardous constituents to levels set by EPA. The generator is responsible for ensuring that it’s waste is treated to meet LDR treatment standards before it is land-disposed. The generator must submit an exception report to it hazardous waste agency if sighed copy of the manifest is not received within 45 days.
A waste is considered to be hazardous if it appears on one of four lists published in the Code of Federal Regulations ( 40 CFR Part 261 ). RCRA listed wastes are subdivided into F, K, and U wastes. F wastes are hazardous wastes from non specific sources, K wastes are hazardous wastes from specific sources, P wastes are classified as acutely hazardous wastes, and U wastes are classified as non acutely hazardous wastes.
RCRA also establishes four criteria for evaluating hazardous wastes: ignatibility, reactivity, corrositivity, and toxicity.
An ignitable material is capable of being set afire or bursting into flame, either spontaneously or by interacting with another substance or material. A reactive material is one that is capable of exploding or undergoing violent or rapid chemical change that can be hazard to human health or the environment . Corrosivity is a materials ability to cause destruction of living tissue or steel surfaces by chemical action. EPA defines a corrosive liquid as either an aqueous liquid with a pH of less than or equal to 2 or grater than or equal to 12.5, or a liquid that corrodes steel at a rate exceeding 6.35 mm ( 0.25 inches) per year . Toxicity is the most complex of the hazardous waste characteristics. The EPA has designed testing createria to establish toxicity. The test, called the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), determines the mobility of organic and inorganic contaminants in liquid, solid and multiphase wastes.
The most commonly used medium for adsorbing environmental contaminants, especially organic compounds is activated carbon adsorption. This technology is used to remove contaminants from gas or liquid phase materials. Wastewater treatment, groundwater treatment, and air pollution control are common applications. Electrolytic recovery method is used to recover heavy metals such as nickel, copper, zinc, and silver from process solutions and wastewater.
Hazardous landfills are used for disposal of treatment residues such as incineration ash and hazardous wastes that are not currently recoverable or treatable. The purpose of landfill is to ensure present and long term environmental protection. Under the RCRA hazardous waste facility is defined as any structure, or land used for treatment, transfer, storage ( for more than 90 days ), resource recovery, disposal, or recycling of hazardous waste. Collectively, all of these activities are termed treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD).