rcra training

Spray Products Corp. Settles Hazardous Waste Violations at Montgomery County, Pa. Facility

PHILADELPHIA (March 25, 2013) — Spray Products Corp. has agreed to pay a $25,000 penalty to settle alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations at its manufacturing facility in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

EPA cited Spray Products for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal law governing the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA is designed to protect public health and the environment, and avoid costly cleanups, by requiring the safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous waste.

Following an inspection by officials from EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, EPA cited the company for RCRA violations involving hazardous waste stored at the facility, including waste solvents, waste acetone, waste heptanes, and universal waste lamps.

The alleged violations included: (more…)

The Recordkeeping Requirements for Generators of Hazardous Waste: Training

The regulations of the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act applicable to generators of hazardous waste, codified at 40 CFR 262-268 mandate the creation of a variety of reports, inspection logs, notifications, certifications, manifest, records, etc.  In order to demonstrate compliance with these regulations a generator of hazardous waste must maintain a copy of the applicable document as a record.  These records must be provided to an agent of the US EPA or their designee upon request.  You can read more about your responsibility to make these records available to an inspector here:  Making RCRA Records Available for Federal and State Inspectors.

The purpose of this article is to look closely at a single recordkeeping requirement of the US EPA for a generator of hazardous waste.  Since these are the Federal regulations, you will need to check with your State environmental agency in order to confirm compliance. (more…)

The Recordkeeping Requirements for RCRA Training for Hazardous Waste Personnel

In an earlier article I explained the requirements for training of Facility Personnel at a Large Quantity Generator (LQG) of hazardous waste.  Just as important as providing the correct training is documenting its successful completion, that is the point of this article.

40 CFR 265.16 contains all of the regulations pertaining to the training of Facility Personnel at an LQG.  Paragraph (d) of that section mandates what your recordkeeping must include:

  1. The job title for each position at the facility related to hazardous waste management, and the name of the employee filling each job.
  2. A written job description for each position listed above.  Description may be consistent with your current job title descriptions (eg. Lead Maintenance, 2nd Shift Crew Chief, etc.), but it must include the requisite skill, education, or other qualifications, and duties of facility personnel assigned to each position.
  3. A written description of the type and amount of training (initial and annual review) to be provided.
  4. Record of training completion.  If on the job experience is used in lieu of classroom training, then documentation of its completion.

Records of training must be maintained by the owner or operator at the facility.  If a vendor or contractor provides this training for you, make certain you retain copies of the required records at your site.  Training records must be maintained…

  • For current personnel until facility closure.
  • For former employees at least three years from the last day of employment.

And, an interesting aspect of the training records for Facility Personnel is that while they may be transferred within the same company, they may not be transferred if personnel begin employment with a new company.  I find this interesting since the DOT’s training requirements for HazMat Employees does allow for the transfer of training records between companies.  The EPA realizes that the management of hazardous waste is site specific and requires training that can focus on the safe handling of hazardous waste at that location.

If you wish to receive high-quality RCRA Training and DOT HazMat Employee Training for you and a few coworkers, I suggest you sign up for one of my public/open enrollment training events.  If however, you require training for many employees and/or want site specific training, I suggest you contact me to arrange for on-site training.  Either way, it is important that you comply with the requirement to annually train your Facility Personnel who may be exposed to hazardous waste.

9 Questions to ask Your RCRA Training Provider

I hope you use my services to provide RCRA Training to your Hazardous Waste Personnel as required by the US EPA (and your State).  However, there are other training providers out there and perhaps you are considering one of them.  If so, I encourage you to ask them the following questions.  Their response to them, as compared to mine, will help you in your decision.  You may also be interested in another article of mine:  11 Questions to ask Your HazMat Employee Training Provider.  You may also contact me for a free consultation of your RCRA Training and DOT HazMat Employee Training needs.

1.  What are the regulations that require this training?

A:  The answer is more complicated than it should be.  One of the requirements of a Large Quantity Generator (LQG) of hazardous waste is that it must comply with 40 CFR 262.34(a)(4) which references the training requirements in 40 CFR 265.16 for “Facility Personnel” of a TSDF.  Read here for a more detailed explanation of the regulatory requirements for training the personnel of an LQG.

2.  Who or what are the “Facility Personnel” that I must train?

A:  Personnel or Facility Personnel are defined at 40 CFR 260.10 as “all persons who work at, or oversee the operations of, a hazardous waste facility, and whose actions or failure to act may result in noncompliance with the requirements of part 264 or 265 of this chapter.”  While intended for persons at a TSDF, the regulatory reference in #1 above links it to persons at an LQG.  These persons are also known as:  RCRA Personnel or Hazardous Waste Personnel.  Take note that this definition applies not only to your employees, but may also apply to contractors who work at your site (RO14180).

3.  How frequently must I provide training?

A:  40 CFR 265.16(b) mandates training be provided within 6 months of new employment and that untrained employees must be supervised in that time by trained personnel.  All Facility Personnel must receive an annual review of their initial training.

4.  Is your training certified or approved by the US EPA or by a State environmental agency?

A:  Neither the US EPA, nor any State, certify training providers or approve their training programs for use.

5.  When was the last time the training provider received RCRA Training?

A:  40 CFR 265.16(a)(2) requires the training program to be directed by a person who has received annual training.  Your prospective RCRA Training provider should be able to demonstrate they have attended the annual training themselves.

6.  Do the training requirements apply to facility personnel who work only near a Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA) for hazardous waste?

A:  The SAA regulations, found at 40 CFR 262.34(c), and applicable to both LQG’s and SQG’s (Small Quantity Generators of hazardous waste) do not reference the Facility Personnel training requirements of 40 CFR 265.16.  Therefore, you are not required to train personnel whose sole contact with hazardous waste is while it is in the SAA.  However, while not subject to the full training requirements, it is helpful for employees to be aware of the applicable regulations and their responsibility to comply with them.  That is why I include these topics, and others as applicable, in my training.

7.  Do the training requirements apply to facility personnel who work only with Universal Waste or Used Oil?

A:  Universal Waste and Used Oil are exempted by regulation (40 CFR 273 & 279 respectively) from the full requirements of RCRA (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) regulations and are not subject to the training requirements.  However, while not subject to the full training requirements, it is helpful for employees to be aware of the applicable regulations and their responsibility to comply with them.  That is why I include these topics, and others as applicable, in my training.

8.  What training is required for an SQG?

A:  As we saw in #1 above, the training requirement in 40 CFR 265.16 as referenced in 40 CFR 262.34(a)(4) applies solely to LQG’s.  So, while SQG’s do not have a requirement to train their Facility Personnel, 40 CFR 262.34(d)(iii) requires them to “…ensure that all employees are thoroughly familiar with proper waste handling and emergency procedures, relevant to their responsibilities during normal facility operations and emergencies.”  While not calling out a specific need for training, it leaves the SQG with the challenge of determining how to make their employees “thoroughly familiar” with the applicable regulations and procedures.

9.  Are you a lawyer?

A:  I have nothing against lawyers, and in some situations, their services are invaluable.  However, they don’t always make the best trainers because their experience has been interpreting the regulations and their legal justification instead of what you must do to comply with them.  In contrast, my experience prior to starting this business has been “on the shop floor”:  driving a truck, handling hazardous waste, completing weekly inspections, conducting agency inspections, preparing shipping papers, and more of the like.  I feel my job as your trainer is to reveal the regulations and teach you methods of compliance I have learned over the years, not the Genesis of the regulations.  At my training you’ll learn how to do your job, not why you have to do it.

Two questions remain, perhaps the questions:

  1. How much does your training cost?
  2. How far will I and my employees have to travel?

My prices for training are the best value you will find.  At my Training Seminars you may register for as low as $299/person, and $259/person for additional coworkers, if more than two weeks prior to the event.  Registration closer to the training date isn’t that much more.

My Training Seminars are held nationwide and year round, so there’s a good chance I will be coming to your area soon.  If you don’t find a convenient date or location, or if you have many people to train, consider Onsite Training.  For a flat fee of $1,999 and $10/trainee I will travel to your site and provide a full day of RCRA Training and HazMat Employee training if necessary.