This series of questions came from a frequent reader of my newsletter:

Good afternoon Daniel,

I appreciate the link to your google site. I knew I could come up with a question if I thought a little bit.

(1)  The filters on the aerosol can puncturing systems – may they be discarded as regular solid waste?   According to “New Pig”, the maker of the aerosol can puncturing system that my company sells, the filters may be discarded as regular solid waste.

(2)  In your experience with Black Beauty and its use as a sandblast material for unpainted metals, does used Black Beauty usually pass TCLP?  I know this is a very subjective question and I realize the parameters involved.  Just want your opinion.

(3)   How frequently do you see the use of the SPLP test vs. the TCLP?  Is it coming into more common use?

That’s all for now – and again, no pressing issues; these are simply some questions I have dragging around in the trunk of my car!

Feel free to call if you’d rather.

My reply was vague but helpful:

I will take a look at your questions and strive to get you an answer soon.

A question from a former coworker (way back a looong time ago we both worked for a hazardous waste transportation and disposal company that no longer exists:  Laidlaw Environmental Services) on August 8, 2016:

Hey Dan, hope you are doing well.

Wondering what your take is on the whole IEPA ID system…….I was always under the impression that if a generator was in the State of Illinois, regardless of their generator status, they have to ship waste for disposal on a Uniform Haz Manifest. This would also include Non haz special waste. I just had a conversation with Hope Wright (IEPA) and she told me that ILCESQG are not required to ship on a Uniform Haz manifest, therefore, they are not required to have an IEPA Number. She indicated that it would not hurt them to have one, but not required…I guess my questions is do you agree with her? I appreciate any input.

Thanks Dan!

Always happy to help an old friend; my reply that same day:

She is correct.

• Hazardous waste.
• Potentially infectious medical waste (PIMW).  A non-hazardous waste.
• Industrial process waste.  Even if a non-hazardous waste.
• Pollution control waste.  Even if a non-hazardous waste.

Therefore, a company would need to generate no more than 100 kg (220 lbs) of all hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste in a calendar month in order to be a CESQG of special waste in Illinois and therefore be exempted from the requirement to use the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest.

Even if a company believes it is below this threshold, transporters of special waste (which must be registered in Illinois) are hesitant to accept any shipment without a manifest for fear that the company is not a legitimate IL CESQG.

• Q&A:  Does the generator need to provide a manifest for non-hazardous industrial waste in Illinois?

Persons who are a generator, transporter, or Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) for a hazardous waste  must notify the USEPA of their activity within 90 days of becoming subject to the regulations and receive a RCRA permit within 6 months of that date.  A regulated facility may not generate, transport, treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste without a RCRA Permit.

The USEPA requires a RCRA permit for the “treatment”, “storage”, and “disposal” of any “hazardous waste”.  Each of these terms are defined in 40 CFR 270.2, and below.

Treatment means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such wastes, or so as to recover energy or material resources from the waste, or so as to render such waste non-hazardous, or less hazardous; safer to transport, store, or dispose of; or amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.

Storage means the holding of hazardous waste for a temporary period, at the end of which the hazardous waste is treated, disposed, or stored elsewhere.

Disposal means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground water.

Hazardous waste means a hazardous waste as defined in 40 CFR 261.3.

By combining those definitions with the statement that precedes it, we come to the conclusion that any hazardous waste activity – including temporary on-site storage of a hazardous waste by a generator- requires a RCRA permit issued by the USEPA.

“But, wait”, you say, “I’m a generator of a hazardous waste and I don’t have a RCRA permit! Am I in violation of the regulations?”

The answer is no, maybe.  Because, 40 CFR 270 goes on to describe specific inclusions and exclusions from the requirement to obtain a RCRA permit.

Specific inclusions.  A RCRA permit – and perhaps others – are required for the following activities:

• Injection wells that dispose of hazardous waste.
• The treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste at facilities that require a Clean Water Act permit.
• Barges or vessels that dispose of hazardous waste by ocean disposal and onshore hazardous waste treatment or storage facilities associated with ocean disposal.

Specific exclusions. The following persons are not required to obtain a RCRA permit:

• Generators who accumulate hazardous waste on-site for less than the time periods provided in 40 CFR 262.34. These time limits are:
  • Large Quantity Generator:  No more than 90 days of on-site accumulation.  An extension is possible at the discretion of the USEPA or your state for  “unforeseen, temporary, and uncontrollable circumstances”.  An extension of up to 180 days is allowed for LQGs of an F006 hazardous waste under certain conditions.  Read about the extension to the on-site accumulation time limit for LQGs of F006 hazardous waste.
  • Small Quantity Generator:  No more than 180 days of on-site accumulation.   An extension is possible at the discretion of the USEPA or your state for  “unforeseen, temporary, and uncontrollable circumstances”.  An extension of up to 270 days is allowed if the TSDF the generator must use is 200 miles away or more.
  • Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (soon to be Very Small Quantity Generator):  No on-site accumulation time limit.

• Farmers who dispose of hazardous waste pesticides from their own use.
• Facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste that is derived solely from generators that are excluded from regulation, i.e. conditionally exempt small quantity generators.
• Totally enclosed treatment facilities.
• Elementary neutralization units or wastewater treatment units.
• Transporters who store manifested shipments of hazardous waste in containers at a transfer facility for no more than 10 days.
• Persons who add absorbent material to waste in a container and persons adding waste to absorbent material in a container, provided that these actions occur at the moment waste is first placed in the container; and other generator container requirements are met.
• Universal waste handlers and universal waste transporters that are subject to the universal waste regulations.
• A New York State utility central collection facility consolidating hazardous waste in accordance with 40 CFR 262.90.

Further exclusions. A person is not required to obtain a RCRA permit for treatment or containment activities taken during the immediate response to any of the following situations:

• A discharge of a hazardous waste.
• An imminent and substantial threat of a discharge of a hazardous waste.
• A discharge of a material which, when discharged, becomes a hazardous waste.
• An immediate threat to human health, public safety, property, or the environment from the known or suspected presence of military munitions, other explosive material, or an explosive device.

Any treatment or containment activities that take place after the immediate response to any of the above is complete is subject to all applicable requirements of the EPA regulations, including a RCRA permit.

If a RCRA permit is required, TSDFs that engage in one of the following regulated activities may be eligible for a standardized RCRA permit:

• The facility generates a hazardous waste and then non-thermally treats or stores the hazardous waste on site in tanks, containers, or containment buildings.
• The facility  receives hazardous waste generated off-site by a generator under the same ownership as the receiving facility, and then stores or non-thermally treats the hazardous waste in containers, tanks, or containment buildings.

There you have it!  While initially the regulations require a hazardous waste generator to have a RCRA permit, compliance with the on-site accumulation time limits applicable their status exempts them from the requirement to obtain a RCRA permit.  However, this means that non-compliance with those same on-site accumulation time limits – even by one day – makes a generator subject to the regulations requiring them to have a RCRA permit.  Not having a RCRA permit when you are required by federal and state regulations to have one could result in very serious penalties!  My Onsite Training for hazardous waste personnel is a great way to ensure that everyone at your facility is aware of these very important regulations.

Here is a question I received almost a year ago on December 17, 2015 from a person who found me while searching the internet for an answer to his questions:

Daniel, hope this finds you well.  Could you give me your opinion on waste disposal companies using ORM-D for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) shipping names (e.g. flammable paint, cleaners that may have low or high pH and others that may fit into DOT respective hazard classes).  I am concerned as the material is no longer packaged according to the original  ORM-D packaging.  Are you familiar with any US DOT interpretation that would allow that those shipping names continue to be used?  My concern comes from reviewing a waste disposal company that is still using ORM-D shipping names.  Thanks for input and thoughts.  Wish you a Merry Christmas, Thanks.

Well, it took me a few days.  But just before Christmas (12.22.15), I replied:

I apologize for my delay in replying to your question.  I’ll do my best to answer it below.

The e-Manifest System is designed and almost entirely – not quite, still waiting on another piece of legislation and regulation that will determine how to pay for it – created by EPA to replace the current paper-b0und system.  It’s run into a few snags, missed a few deadlines, and is currently scheduled for implementation in Spring of 2018.  But honestly, given the recent presidential election, the future of all pending legislation is uncertain.  Check out this simple infographic on the timeline of the e-Manifest System.

The purpose of this article is to identify and explain the new regulations created in order to implement the e-Manifest System.

(more…)

A question from a former customer of mine on June 14, 2016:

Hello again Dan,

I’m sorry to bother you with another question but I’m having trouble deciphering this information.  I’m looking to do some lab tests.  I was first reviewing the SDS for the reagents involved and two include hazardous waste disposal.

The  Peroxydisulfuric Acid, Dipotassium Salt in the Metals Prep set Reagent B  and potassium cyanide in Lead TNT Reagent Vial.  (Safety Data Sheets were attached to the email)

Could you please explain disposal considerations for both of these (how they must be disposed of and why).  Is there any quantity guidelines (like you told me about As)?

Once again I greatly appreciate your help!

I replied a few days later on June 16th:

I will try to answer your questions and provide the answers you need.

In a separate article I document the requirements of the e-Manifest System for a hazardous waste generator.

Here I simply wanted to create a timeline for the important dates in the history of the e-Manifests implementation.

[slideshare id=69305841&doc=historyofthee-manifest-161119234926]

A transporter of hazardous waste is a person that moves hazardous waste between sites by highway, rail, water or air.  Typically a hazardous waste transporter is the link between the generator of a hazardous waste and the site where it is recycled, treated, stored, or disposed of, aka:  Treatment, Storage, or Disposal Facility or TSDF.  Regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pertaining to hazardous waste transporters are found at 40 CFR 263.  The requirements of a hazardous waste transporter include:

• Comply with all applicable regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the transport in commerce of a hazardous waste.
• Obtain an EPA Identification Number.
• Comply with transfer facility requirements, if applicable.
• Comply with EPA’s Hazardous Waste Manifest System.
• Respond to hazardous waste discharges that occur during transportation.

The purpose of this article is to explain the responsibility of a hazardous waste transporter to respond to a discharge of hazardous waste per 40 CFR 263, subpart C. (more…)

May 6, 2016, a question from a past attendee of one of my Training Seminars (unfortunately, I don’t provide Training Seminars anymore.  Check out my website for other training options:  Onsite Training or Webinar Training).

Hi Dan
I took a class with you a couple years ago.
I have another question for you. I figure if you don’t know the answer you might be able to direct me to where I’d find it.
We would like to do a lab test which requires sodium arsenite which is a hazardous waste. In the test, the sodium arsenite will be greatly diluted. Does the diluted solution then become hazardous waste?
I would greatly appreciate any direction you can give me.

My reply the next day (May 7, 2016):

I will try to answer your question.

My reply appears to have been satisfactory:

I don’t mean to scare you, but this is important and I had to get your attention with the title.  I’ve provided training and seen businesses all over this country in the past few  years and I’ve observed these same violations time and again.

The bad news?  An agency inspection – State or Federal – that results in the discovery of these violations could result in serious fines, even if no one was hurt or the environment damaged.

The good news?  These violations – if you have them – are so easy to fix!  Just an hour or two of time dedicated to them and you can be back in compliance before you go home today.

Disclaimer and Limitations:

I haven’t seen your facility (though I’d love to!  Contact me for a free consultation and site visit that accompanies your Onsite Training) so I don’t know for sure what your status is with the environmental regulations.  Also, I can only address the regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in this article.  You may have more strict – or at least different – regulations of your state of which I am not aware.  Once again, my Onsite Training is a great way to be trained on, and receive help coming into compliance with, state regulations if you do business in a state with an authorized hazardous waste program.

So, in no particular order, those violations and the simple fixes:

Violation #1:

Identifying a used oil tank or container as anything other than “Used Oil”.  Unless you do business in Pennsylvania where it is identified as “Waste Oil” or California where it is “Hazardous Waste Used Oil”, the Federal regulations, and every state I am aware of, require a used oil generator to label containers, tanks and fill pipes for used oil as “Used Oil”.  40 CFR 279.22(c) couldn’t be more clear:

(c) Labels. (1) Containers and aboveground tanks used to store used oil at generator facilities must be labeled or marked clearly with the words “Used Oil.”

(2) Fill pipes used to transfer used oil into underground storage tanks at generator facilities must be labeled or marked clearly with the words “Used Oil.”

The Fix for Violation #1:

Print out “Used Oil” labels and affix them to every container or tank that contains used oil.  That will do for today.  Tomorrow, have someone create a stencil for “Used Oil” or devise some more durable form of identification.

Learn more!

• Read here about your on-site management options for used oil

Violation #2:

Not marking hazardous waste containers with the date of initial hazardous waste accumulation; i.e. the calendar date that the “first drop” of hazardous waste was placed in the container and the words “Hazardous Waste”.  It’s simple really, the day that hazardous waste is first placed in a container it must be marked with the words “Hazardous Waste” and the date.  This requirement applies to a large quantity generator of hazardous waste (LQG) per 40 CFR 262.34(a)(2 & 3):

(2) The date upon which each period of accumulation begins is clearly marked and visible for inspection on each container;

(3) While being accumulated on-site, each container and tank is labeled or marked clearly with the words, “Hazardous Waste”; and

It also applies to a small quantity generator of hazardous waste (SQG) per 40 CFR 262.34(d)(4), which refers back to the LQG responsibility at §262.34(a)(2 & 3):

(4) The generator complies with the requirements of paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section, the requirements of subpart C of part 265, with all applicable requirements under 40 CFR part 268; and

The following are not subject to these regulations:

• A conditionally exempt small quantity generator of hazardous waste (CESQG).
• An LQG or SQG that accumulates hazardous waste in a what’s commonly known as a “satellite accumulation area” pursuant to 40 CFR 262.34(c).

The Fix for Violation #2:

If you’re and LQG or SQG, take a walk around and make sure that every hazardous waste container – unless in a satellite accumulation area – is marked with the accumulation start date and “Hazardous Waste”.  It doesn’t have to be fancy, it doesn’t have to be a pre-printed label, it doesn’t have to have any information other than what is indicated here (check with your state to be sure).  Just make sure it is visible to your Hazardous Waste Personnel and to an inspector.

Violation #3:

Hazardous waste containers at an LQG or SQG that are not closed as required by 40 CFR 265.173(a), a section within 40 CFR 265, subpart I which is referred to as a requirement for both an LQG and an SQG.

(a) A container holding hazardous waste must always be closed during storage, except when it is necessary to add or remove waste.

“Closed” sounds like it should be easy to describe, but it’s not.  It can be summarized as a performance standard that requires the container to be vapor-tight so there is no detectable release of vapors without the use of instruments and to be spill-proof so there will be no release of a hazardous waste even when the container is knocked over.  That’s a pretty high standard and requires more than just a container’s lid held snugly in place.

The Fix to Violation #3:

If a container uses bungs or bolts for its closure, ensure they are in use at all times.  Long-term training employees and providing them with the right tools will help ensure you stay in compliance.  These latching lids from New Pig are one way to ensure compliance without hindering your employees access to the containers.

Learn more!

• An interpretation of the EPA regulations for closed container

Violation #4:

A small quantity generator of hazardous waste that has not posted emergency contact information near its external communication devices.  While a good idea for all hazardous waste generators – and indeed, all businesses regardless of the hazardous waste generated – EPA regulations at 40 CFR 262.34(d)(5)(ii) mandate this simple measure only for the SQG:

(ii) The generator must post the following information next to the telephone:

(A) The name and telephone number of the emergency coordinator;

(B) Location of fire extinguishers and spill control material, and, if present, fire alarm; and

(C) The telephone number of the fire department, unless the facility has a direct alarm.

The Fix for Violation #4:

You may want to check with your state environmental agency, but below I’ve provided a document from the Michigan DEQ website that meets the EPA requirements and likely that of your state as well.  Just be sure to remove the reference to the “Michigan Pollution Emergency” phone number at the bottom of the page.

• Hazardous Waste Emergency Information posting from the MDEQ

You must post this information near any communication device that would be used in an emergency to contact emergency response personnel outside of the facility.

Violation #5:

Universal waste containers not identified with one of the following options:

• “Universal Waste xxxxx”
• “Waste xxxxx”
• “Used xxxxx”

“xxxxx” in the above could be: “Battery(ies)”, “Lamp(s)”, “Mercury-Containing Device(s)”, or “Pesticides”.  Or it could be a universal waste specific to your state.  Both a small quantity handler and a large quantity handler of universal waste must comply with this simple requirement per 40 CFR 173.14(a) or §173.34(a):

(a) Universal waste batteries (i.e., each battery), or a container in which the batteries are contained, must be labeled or marked clearly with any one of the following phrases: “Universal Waste—Battery(ies),” or “Waste Battery(ies),” or “Used Battery(ies);”

The Fix for Violation #5:

“Simple” and yet so often done incorrectly.  Don’t label your universal waste containers as “Bad lamps” or “Batteries to Recycle”, or “spent batteries”, or whatever else you can think of that is not one of the three available options.

No fancy labels are required.  Just print them and slap them on the container, or nearby if you have a distinct storage area.

That’s enough for now!

Sure there are more, for starters:

• Not managing your hazardous waste container at or near the point of generation when in a satellite accumulation area per 40 CFR 262.34(c).
• Not including the home address and phone numbers of the emergency coordinators identified in your contingency plan.
• Accumulating hazardous waste on-site in excess of the time and/or volume limits of your hazardous waste generator status.
• Not completing a documented hazardous waste determination for all waste generated.
• More…

Those violations are more complicated to explain and the solutions will take more of your time.  The five I’ve identified here are common occurrences with simple fixes.  If you have any other questions regarding your compliance with the hazardous waste regulations of the USEPA or of your state, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I’ll help you with the easy stuff and the hard stuff.