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One option for disposing of certain hazardous wastes is incineration. It’s a form of thermal treatment whereby hazardous materials are fed into an incinerator and burned in its combustion chamber at high temperatures to destroy contaminants.
Because incineration can destroy many types of highly contaminated wastes, it reduces the amount of materials disposed in landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires incinerators to destroy and remove at least 99.99 percent of each harmful chemical in the waste it processes. If the incinerator handles some extremely harmful chemicals (acute hazardous waste), it must destroy and remove 99.999 percent of the contaminants from the waste.
Scope
Owners and operators of hazardous waste incinerators (both area and major sources) are regulated by the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Major sources include stationary sources that emit or have the potential to emit 10 or more tons of a hazardous air pollutant per year or 25 tons or more of a combination of hazardous air pollutants per year. Area sources are those not categorized as major sources.
Regulatory citations
- 40 CFR Part 60 Subparts AAAA, BBBB, Cb, CCCC, Ce, DDDD, Ea, Eb, Ec, EEEE, FFF, FFFF, HHH, JJJ
- 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart EEE — National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Hazardous Waste Combustors
- 40 CFR Part 264 Subpart O — Incinerators
- 40 CFR Part 265 Subpart O — Incinerators
- 40 CFR 270.19 — Specific part B information requirements for incinerators
- 40 CFR 270.62 — Hazardous waste incinerator permits
Key definitions
- Hazardous waste combustor: Includes a hazardous waste incinerator, hazardous waste burning cement kiln, hazardous waste burning lightweight aggregate kiln, hazardous waste liquid fuel boiler, hazardous waste solid fuel boiler, and hazardous waste hydrochloric acid production furnace.
- Hazardous waste incinerator: A device defined as an incinerator under RCRA that burns hazardous waste at any time. It includes all associated firing systems, air pollution control devices, and the combustion chamber equipment.
- Incinerator: Any closed device that:
- Uses controlled flame combustion and neither meets the criteria for classification as a boiler, sludge dryer, or carbon regeneration unit nor is listed as an industrial furnace; or
- Meets the definition of an infrared incinerator or plasma arc incinerator.
- Infrared incinerator: Any enclosed device that uses electric-powered resistance heaters as a source of radiant heat followed by an afterburner using controlled flame combustion and isn’t listed as an industrial furnace.
- Plasma arc incinerator: Any enclosed device using a high-intensity electrical discharge or arc as a source of heat followed by an afterburner using controlled flame combustion and isn’t listed as an industrial furnace.
Summary of requirements
Hazardous waste incinerators are regulated by the CAA and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
CAA
Incinerators regulated under the CAA must:
- Obtain a Title V permit and comply with the pollution control requirements,
- Meet the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for hazardous waste combustors (which includes incinerators), and
- Comply with the category-specific New Source Performance Standards (NSPS).
The NSPS regulate the emissions of nine air pollutants (cadmium, carbon monoxide, dioxins/furans, hydrogen chloride, lead, mercury, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide) from these categories of solid waste incineration units:
- Commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units;
- Hospital, medical, and infectious solid waste;
- Municipal solid waste, divided into:
- Large municipal waste combustors, and
- Small municipal waste combustors.
- Sewage sludge incinerators; and
- Other solid waste incinerators.
The NESHAPs include both interim (40 CFR 63.1203) and replacement (63.1219) emissions standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste incinerators.
The interim standards no longer apply after the date the incinerator begins to comply with 63.1219 by (whichever comes first):
- Documenting compliance in the operating record,
- Submitting a notification of compliance, or
- Following with the dates listed in 63.1206 and any extensions granted.
Under the replacement standards, owners and operators of hazardous waste incinerators must:
- Meet emissions limits for existing and new sources, and
- Meet the destruction and removal efficiency standard, which requires incinerators to destroy and remove at least:
- 99.99 percent of each harmful chemical, and
- 99.9999 percent of each extremely harmful chemical.
Owners and operators of incinerators may choose to comply either with the particulate matter standards or the alternative metal emission control requirements for existing and new incinerators.
RCRA
RCRA has performance standards all incinerators must meet for the emissions of organics, hydrogen chloride, particulate matter, and fugitive emissions. If the hazardous waste fed into an incinerator is considered low-risk waste, the owner or operator applying for a permit may be exempt from all incinerator standards in Subpart O of Part 264/265, except waste analysis and closure requirements.
Incinerators regulated under RCRA must:
- Submit a RCRA incinerator permit application with a trial burn plan before constructing a new incinerator;
- Meet all operating conditions specified in the permit, including:
- Maximum allowable carbon monoxide levels in stack emissions,
- Allowable ranges for temperature,
- Maximum waste feed rates,
- Combustion gas velocity,
- Fugitive emissions control,
- Limits on variations of system design and operating procedures, and
- Continuous monitoring of specified parameters.
- Conduct waste analyses;
- Monitor and inspect equipment; and
- Manage any residues (i.e., Determine whether the resulting ash and ash residue are hazardous waste and manage them accordingly.).
An incinerator must stop operations when changes occur in the waste feed or incinerator design or when operating conditions exceed the permit’s limits.
In addition to the incineration standards, owners and operators of hazardous waste incinerators must comply with the general facility standards and administrative requirements for hazardous waste management facilities (264 Subparts A through H).