Selecting waste re-evaluation frequencies

• Although there are no required time intervals for re-evaluating wastes, a facility must develop a schedule for re-evaluating the waste on a regular basis.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations state that “waste analysis must be repeated as often as necessary to ensure that it is accurate and up to date.” At a minimum, the analysis must be repeated as follows:

• When the treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF) is notified, or has reason to believe that the process or operation generating the hazardous wastes has changed;
• When the generator has been notified by an offsite TSDF that the characterization of the wastes received at the TSDF does not match a pre-approved waste analysis certification and/or the accompanying waste manifest or shipping paper (the generator may be requested to re-evaluate the waste); and
• Offsite combustion facilities should characterize all wastes prior to burning to verify that permit conditions will be met (i.e., fingerprint analysis may not be acceptable).

Although there are no required time intervals for re-evaluating wastes, a facility must develop a schedule for re-evaluating the waste on a regular basis. A facility will need to make an individual assessment of how often the wastes analysis is necessary to ensure compliance with interim status or Part B permit operating conditions.

Fingerprint analysis is never a substitute for conducting a complete waste analysis and, therefore, may not be defensible if a waste is misidentified by the generator and passes the fingerprint test. Though the generator is responsible for properly identifying and classifying the waste, the TSDF will be held liable by enforcement authorities if it violates its permit conditions and any other applicable regulations. The decision to conduct abbreviated corroborative testing using fingerprint analysis on a few select parameters, or to conduct a complete analysis to verify the profile, is ultimately determined by the offsite facility with this in mind.