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Hazardous waste that is improperly managed poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) established the framework for EPA to regulate solid and hazardous waste management in the United States.
All businesses must evaluate their waste streams to determine how that waste is regulated. Waste programs include:
Hazardous waste is regulated from cradle (the point it is generated) to grave (its ultimate destruction or disposal).
Listed hazardous waste is waste that is on any of the four lists of hazardous wastes contained in the RCRA regulations. These wastes have been listed because they either exhibit one of the characteristics described below or contain any number of toxic constituents that have been shown to be harmful to health and the environment.
There are over 700 hazardous wastes listed by name. These include wastes derived from manufacturing processes and discarded commercial chemical products. These wastes are listed in 40 CFR 261 of the regulations.
Characteristic waste. Even if a waste does not appear on one of EPA’s lists, it is considered hazardous if the waste possesses one or more of the following characteristics:
Hazardous waste characteristics must be determined by testing the waste or a sample of the waste, or applying knowledge of the waste and the process to produce the waste.
EPA regulates hazardous waste generators, transporters, and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs).
There are three categories of hazardous waste generators:
VSQGs generate the least amount of hazardous waste per month and LQGs generate the most.
Generators must comply with a specific set of requirements for their specific generator category.
Quantity of acute hazardous waste generated in a calendar month | Quantity of hazardous waste generated in a calendar month (non-acute) | Quantity of residues from the cleanup of spilled acute hazardous waste generated in a calendarmonth | On-site accumulation quantity limits | Accumulation time limits | Generator category |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
> 2.2 pounds | Any amount | Any amount | None | ≤ 90 days | LQG |
Any amount | ≥ 2,200 pounds | Any amount | |||
Any amount | Any amount | > 220 pounds | |||
≤ 2.2 pounds | > 220 pounds and < 2,200 pounds | ≤ 220 pounds | ≤ 13,000 pounds | ≤ 180 days (or 270 days if shipped more than 200 miles) | SQG |
≤ 2.2 pounds | ≤ 220 pounds | ≤ 220 pounds | ≤ 2.2 pounds acute≤ 13,000 pounds non-acute ≤ 220 pounds of acute spill residue or soil | None | VSQG |