listed hazardous waste

What are ICR-Only Listed Hazardous Waste?

A requirement of a generator’s hazardous waste determination is to determine if their waste is listed at 40 CFR 261, Subpart D.  The four lists that make up the hazardous waste listing are:

  • F-List for generic industrial sources.
  • K-List for specific industrial processes.
  • P or U-List for unprocessed commercial chemical products.

Any solid waste that isn’t excluded elsewhere and matches the description of a hazardous waste listing is a hazardous waste and subject to full regulation under RCRA.

The US EPA uses three (3) different criteria to determine whether or not to include a process or chemical in one of the four hazardous waste listings, the three criteria are:

  1. The waste typically contains toxic chemicals at levels that could pose a threat to human health and the environment if improperly managed.  If this criteria is the basis for listing a waste it is assigned a hazard code of T for Toxic Waste.
  2. The waste contains such dangerous chemicals that it could pose a threat to human health and the environment even when properly managed.  These wastes are fatal to humans and animals in low doses.  If this criteria is the basis for listing a waste it is assigned a hazard code of A for Acute Hazardous Waste.
  3. The waste typically exhibits one of the four characteristics of hazardous waste:  Ignitability, Corrosivity, Reactivity, Toxicity.  If this criteria is the basis for listing a waste it is assigned a hazard code according to its characteristic:  Ignitable Waste (I), Corrosive Waste (C), Reactive Waste (R), Toxicity Characteristic Waste (E).

Note the following:

  • The reference to “hazard code” should not be confused with “hazardous waste codes”.  The “hazard code” is an indication of the US EPA’s reasoning for listing the waste.  A “hazardous waste code” is assigned to all wastes determined to be hazardous (either characteristic or listed).
  • A Toxic Waste (T) differs from a Toxicity Characteristic Waste (E).  The Toxic Waste meets the first of the three criteria, that is it typically contains toxic chemicals that could pose a threat if improperly managed.  The Toxicity Characteristic Waste exhibits the characteristic for Toxicity which is a basis for listing a waste identified in the third criteria.
  • The four characteristics of hazardous waste – Ignitable, Corrosive, Reactive, & Toxic – are described in §261, Subpart C.
  • A waste that is determined to be a listed hazardous waste solely because it exhibits one or more characteristics of Ignitability, Corrosivity, or Reactivity is known as an ICR-Only Listed Waste.
  • There are 29 ICR-Only Listed Wastes:

Waste Code

Description

Hazard Code
F003

Non-halogenated spent solvents

I
K044

Wastewater treatment sludges from explosives

R
K045

Spent carbon from treating explosive wastewater

R
K047

Pink/red water from TNT operations

R
P009

Ammonium picrate

R
P081

Nitroglycerine

R
P112

Tetranitromethane

R
U001

Acetaldehyde

I
U002

Acetone

I
U008

Acrylic acid

I
U020

Benzenesulfonyl chloride

C, R
U031

n-Butyl alcohol

I
U055

Cumene

I
U056

Cyclohexane

I
U057

Cyclohexanone

I
U092

Dimethylamine

I
U096

Cumene hydroperoxide

R
U110

Di-n-propylamine

I
U112

Ethyl acetate

I
U113

Ethyl acrylate

I
U117

Ethyl ether

I
U124

Furan

I
U125

Furfural

I
U154

Methanol

I
U161

Methyl isobutyl ketone

I
U186

1,3-Pentadiene

I
U189

Sulfur phosphide

R
U213

Tetrahydrofuran

I
U239

Xylene

I
  • A waste that matches the description of an ICR-Only Listed Waste is not assigned the listed hazardous waste code if it does not exhibit the applicable hazardous waste characteristic at the point of generation.  Example:  Spent acetone used as a solvent matches the listing description for F003 (non-halogenated spent solvent).  F003 has a Hazard Code of I for the characteristic of Ignitability.  If the spent solvent does not exhibit the characteristic of Ignitability at the point of generation, then the F003 hazardous waste code would not apply.
  • Additionally, if an ICR-Only Listed Waste is mixed with a solid waste the resulting mixture does not retain the listed hazardous waste code if the mixture does not exhibit the applicable hazardous waste characteristic [40 CFR 261.3(g)(2)(i)].  Example:  Spent acetone used as a solvent matches the listing description for F003 (non-halogenated spent solvent).  F003 has a Hazard Code of I for the characteristic of Ignitability.  If the spent solvent is mixed with a non-hazardous waste so that the resulting mixture does not exhibit the characteristic of Ignitability, then the F003 hazardous waste code would not apply.
  • Read more about F-Listed Spent Solvents.

The fact that an ICR-Only Listed Waste retains its listed hazardous waste code only if the applicable characteristic hazardous waste is exhibited may play a crucial role in your hazardous waste determination.  This then will impact your hazardous waste generator status and all subsequent regulations with which you must comply.  Make certain you have conducted the hazardous waste determination correctly and documented the outcome.  As always check with your state regulatory agency on issues such as these and please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Listed Hazardous Waste and Used Oil at a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator of Hazardous Waste

In a previous article I discussed the Used Oil Management Standard of the US EPA found at 40 CFR 279.  It allows you to manage a Used Oil according to a reduced regulatory burden even if it has the characteristics of a hazardous waste:

Characteristic Hazardous Waste:

  • D001 for Ignitability
  • D002 for Corrosivity
  • D003 for Reactivity
  • D004 – D043 for Toxicity

WITH ONE EXCEPTION you may not manage your waste according to the Used Oil Standard if any of the following are true:

  1. The Used Oil is determined to be a listed hazardous waste per 40 CFR 261, Subpart D.  See below for guidance on how you may rebut the presumption of your Used Oil being a listed hazardous waste.
  2. The Used Oil has been mixed with a Listed Waste.
  3. The Used Oil has been mixed with a characteristic hazardous waste and the resulting mixture exhibits any of the characteristics of a hazardous waste.  However, if a D001 Ignitable hazardous waste is mixed with a Used Oil it may still be managed as a Used Oil even if the resulting mixture exhibits the characteristic of Ignitability.

Read more about Mixtures of Used Oil and Hazardous Waste.

The exception referred to above applies to a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) of hazardous waste.  What this means is that a CESQG may mix any hazardous waste (listed or characteristic) with a Used Oil and manage the resulting mixture as a Used Oil (fb 14627).  This exception is not available to Large Quantity Generators and Small Quantity Generators of hazardous waste.

If the mixture contains >1,000 ppm total halogens, then it is subject to the Rebuttable Presumption regulations of the Used Oil Standard.  In this case the Presumption may be rebutted by the demonstration that the mixture is an excluded CESQG Used Oil mixture subject to §261.5(j) and §279.10(b)(3).

So, can a CESQG combine all of its hazardous waste (listed and characteristic) with its Used Oil and manage the resulting mixture according to the reduced regulatory requirements of the Used Oil Standard?  Yes.  Do I recommend this practice?  No.  Your State Agency and your Used Oil recycler may not be too crazy about it either.  In the final, it is your decision and responsibility as the generator of the waste to determine the applicable regulations and to comply with them.  My training, both US EPA Hazardous Waste Personnel and US DOT HazMat Employee, will help you to identify the applicable regulations and what you must do to maintain compliance.