After the hazardous waste determination, the single most important responsibility of any hazardous waste generator is to determine their hazardous waste generator status.  The USEPA identifies three (3) status of hazardous waste generators (note that your state may not recognize these three, may have created an additional state-specific status, or may use a different name for a status):

1. Large Quantity Generator
2. Small Quantity Generator
3. Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator or Very Small Quantity Generator in some states.

Take this survey to determine your hazardous waste generator status

Your status must be calculated based on the amount of hazardous waste or acutely hazardous waste you generate; or in some specific circumstances, the amount of hazardous/acutely hazardous waste you accumulate.  It can be complicated, and so I refer you to a series of articles I have previously written on several topics related to hazardous waste generator status.

However, since the determination is calculated based upon weight (in kilograms, not pounds) and not the volume, the question may arise, “What about the weight of the container?  Must that be included in calculation of your hazardous waste generator status?”

The answer is no.  At 45 FR 78527 the USEPA indicated that the container is not considered a hazardous waste and it is only the material or residue in the container that the Agency intends to regulate (Faxback 12151).

Confusion may arise since most hazardous waste haulers will record the weight of the entire container on the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest, not just the weight of the hazardous waste.  While this is acceptable for documenting the shipment of a hazardous waste, you are not required to use this manifested weight when calculating your hazardous waste generator status.

Things to consider if you exercise this option:

• Be certain the weight of the empty drum used in your calculations is accurate as it will vary between different drums.
• Carefully document in section 14 of the manifest the weight of the hazardous waste without the container weight to avoid confusion.
• If your hazardous waste generator status is so close to the threshold that the weight of a few drums is enough to be a factor I suggest you comply with the requirements of the higher status, just to be safe.

Compliance with the regulations for management of your hazardous waste requires an accurate calculation of your hazardous waste generator status, of which this article may be of some help.  Once your status has been determined you can begin to manage the hazardous waste as required.  Contact me with any question about the management of hazardous waste at your facility.

A pre-requisite for compliance with the regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the determination of your hazardous waste generator status.  And though their identification of the status may differ from the USEPA, the same is true of the regulations of States with authorized hazardous waste programs.  Since your compliance with the applicable regulations will differ depending on your generator status, the incorrect calculation of your status could result in a ‘domino effect’ of non-compliance that can snowball into huge fines.  Unfortunately, the calculation can be difficult and will require an awareness of the regulatory requirements of the USEPA and your State, if necessary.  This article will contain links to all related articles on this topic and other support documents. (more…)

As a result of a national scare from needles and other medical waste washing up on eastern shores in the late 1980’s the USEPA passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988, which was only effective in a limited number of eastern states and expired June 21, 1991.  In the absence of specific Federal regulations to manage medical waste, states moved forward with their own regulations; thus Illinois passed regulations to manage what it identified as Potentially Infectious Medical Waste in 1993. (more…)

The transportation of a hazardous material (HazMat) is subject to the Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR) of the PHMSA/USDOT.  This includes but is not limited to the following:

• Classification of the HazMat.
• Selection and use of specification packaging.
• Application of the four hazard communication methods.
• HazMat Incident Reporting.
• Load securement and segregation.
• Registration as a shipper or carrier of HazMat.
• Training of HazMat Employees.

However, exceptions to the HMR exist; their purpose is to allow the safe transportation in commerce of certain hazardous materials without the full regulatory burden.  These exceptions, however, come with requirements of their own which you must be aware of if you are to make use of them.  One of these exceptions to the HMR, the Small Quantity Exception, will be explained in this article.

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The hazardous waste regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) require Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) and Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) of hazardous waste to maintain a copy of certain documents as a record of their compliance.  In a series of article I identified and explained RCRA’s recordkeeping requirements.  The purpose of this article is to serve as a bulletin board for all of those articles.  Much more information on each topic can be found by following the links below.

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Certain generators of hazardous waste – large quantity generator (LQG) & small quantity generator (SQG) – are required to comply with 40 CFR 265.30 – Emergency Preparedness and Prevention.  Though awareness of this regulation is widespread, full understanding of it is not.  In a series of earlier articles I looked at each section of this Subpart.  The purpose of this article is to serve as a single source for each of those articles / sections.  Complete information can be found by following the links to each article below.

Hold on a minute!  These regulations were revised and moved to a new location within Title 40 of the CFR by the Generator Improvements Rule.  If your state has not yet adopted the Generator Improvements Rule, then this article is still applicable to you (but it won’t be for much longer).  If your state has adopted and been authorized to enforce the Generator Improvements Rule, then these regulations no longer apply to you.  Read: What is the status of the Generator Improvements Rule in my state?

To see an explanation of these regulations as revised by the Generator Improvements Rule you must refer to the following:

• Large quantity generator of hazardous waste (LQG)
• Small quantity generator of hazardous waste (SQG)

To see an explanation of the regulations prior to the revisions of the Generator Improvements Rule, please continue reading this article.

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On its website the US Government Printing Office makes a wealth of Federal publications available for review and download; one of these is the Federal Register.

Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

See below for a brief summary of announcements in the Federal Register by the US EPA on the subject of Hazardous Waste and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the US DOT on the subject of Transportation of Hazardous Materials. (more…)

The regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) require both large and small quantity generators of hazardous waste (conditionally exempt small quantity generators are exempt) to develop and adhere to a Waste Analysis Plan if they are treating a hazardous waste without a permit for the purpose of meeting a treatment standard of the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR).  The Plan must be maintained on-site for at least three years from the date the waste was last treated on-site in the manner prescribed by the Waste Analysis Plan.

Short and sweet.  In an earlier article I explained the somewhat more complicated requirement to retain records of notifications and certifications submitted to Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDF’s) by generators.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about the recordkeeping requirements of RCRA.

In the previous article of this series I described the requirements of 40 CFR 265.31 – Maintenance and operation of facility.  That section was not filled with a lot of specific requirements but instead set a general performance standard to prevent a release of hazardous waste.

This article is the third in a series that will look closely at each section of 40 CFR 265, Subpart C and explain its requirements, how they apply to generators of hazardous waste, and what is required for compliance.  Keep in mind that the regulations of your State may differ from these Federal regulations.

The purpose of this article: identify and explain the requirements of 40 CFR 265.32 – Required equipment for generators of hazardous waste under the emergency preparedness and prevention regulations of 40 CFR 265, subpart C.

Hold on a minute!  These regulations were revised and moved to a new location within Title 40 of the CFR by the Generator Improvements Rule.  If your state has not yet adopted the Generator Improvements Rule, then this article is still applicable to you (but it won’t be for much longer).  If your state has adopted and been authorized to enforce the Generator Improvements Rule, then these regulations no longer apply to you.  Read: What is the status of the Generator Improvements Rule in my state?

To see an explanation of these regulations as revised by the Generator Improvements Rule you must refer to the following:

• Large quantity generator of hazardous waste (LQG)
• Small quantity generator of hazardous waste (SQG)

To see an explanation of the regulations prior to the revisions of the Generator Improvements Rule, please continue reading this article.

(more…)