Hazardous Waste Directive

Facilities that transfer hazardous waste directly from a transport vehicle (e.g., a tanker truck) to the BIF without first storing the waste must comply with special requirements.5 Generally, direct transfer operations must be managed in a manner similar to that required by the regulations for hazardous waste storage tanks and containers. In addition, the direct transfer equipment must have a secondary containment system, the owner/operator must visually inspect the operation at least once every hour, and the facility must keep records of these inspections. 

Hazardous waste directives (EU), 23 121 Hazardous waste incineration, 13 172-186 21 856... 

EC (2000a). Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Community Waste Legislation Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, Directive 75/439/EEC on waste oils and Directive 86/278/ EEC on sewage sludge for the period 1995-1997. European Commission, Bruxelles. 

Under Subtitle C, RCRA established a comprehensive Federal scheme for identifying and managing hazardous waste. Directed to promulgate criteria for identifying hazardous wastes, the US EPA has specified these criteria as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. The agency has identified acceptable protocols for determining these characteristics and established a list of chemical substances whose presence will make a waste hazardous. 

Much of the current activity in the field of sohd waste management, especially with respect to hazardous wastes and resources recoveiy, is a direct consequence of recent legislation. Therefore, it is important to review the principal legislation that has affected the entire field of solid-waste management. 

Veiy small containers, such as ampules, and containers holding liquids for use other than storage, such as batteries, which may be disposed directly in a hazardous-waste landfill. 

In the United States, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) is the major legislation covering the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes (2). This act provides a multifaceted approach to solving the problems associated with the generation of approximately 5 billion metric tons of solid waste each year in the United States. It places particular emphasis on the regulation of hazardous wastes. This law established the Office of Solid Waste within the Environmental Protection Agency and directed the agency to publish hazardous waste characteristics and criteria. 

Applicability Most hazardous waste slurried in water can be mixed directly with cement, and the suspended solids will be incorporated into the rigid matrices of the hardened concrete. This process is especially effective for waste with high levels of toxic metals since at the pH of the cement mixture, most multivalent cations are converted into insoluble hydroxides or carbonates. Metal ions also may be incorporated into the crystalline structure of the cement minerals that form. Materials in the waste (such as sulfides, asbestos, latex and solid plastic wastes) may actually increase the strength and stability of the waste concrete. It is also effective for high-volume, low-toxic, radioactive wastes. 

Directing research at cost-effective management of hazardous waste, as well as improved technologies (e.g., combustion) or new technologies for destroying hazardous waste. 

The Act provides, in broad terms, general guidelines for the waste management program envisioned by Congress (e.g., U.S. EPA is directed to develop and promulgate criteria for identifying hazardous waste). The Act also provides the U.S. EPA Administrator (or his or her representative) with the... 

When directing U.S. EPA to establish the LDR program, Congress called for regulations that specified concentrations of hazardous constituents or methods of treatment that would substantially decrease the toxicity of hazardous waste or decrease the likelihood that contaminants in such wastes would leach. U.S. EPA responded to these requirements by establishing waste-specific treatment standards that dictate to what extent waste must be treated. All hazardous wastes, except under certain circumstances, must meet a specific treatment standard before they can be disposed of. 

Hazardous wastes are combusted for various purposes. The purpose of combustion is directly related to the type of unit used. There are two classes of combustion units, those that burn waste for energy recovery and those that burn waste for destruction. 

TSCA has a direct effect on RCRA through controls on the disposal methods of certain chemicals, such as PCBs. For example, while TSCA regulates PCB disposal, RCRA also regulates PCB disposal when the PCBs are mixed with hazardous waste. 

On April 8, 2003, U.S. EPA proposed to add benzene and 2-ethoxyethanol to the list of solvents whose mixtures with wastewater are exempted from the definition of hazardous waste.23 U.S. EPA is proposing to provide flexibility in the way compliance with the rule is determined by adding the option of directly measuring solvent chemical levels at the headworks of the wastewater treatment system. In addition, U.S. EPA is proposing to include scrubber waters derived from the combustion of spent solvents to the headworks exemption. Finally, U.S. EPA is finalizing the Headworks Rule, as follows24 ... 

There is some uncertainty about the potential presence of metal in the TCE-contaminated soil of Area 2. If metal concentrations of concern are present, only Alternatives 2 and 5 would protect against direct contact and further groundwater contamination through a cap and incineration, respectively. Incineration of metal-contaminated soil may result in a hazardous waste residue, which would have to be disposed of in a hazardous waste landfill. Alternatives 3 and 4 rely on vapor extraction and would not lower risks from metal to human health or the environment. 

This section examines the major processes that affect the fate of deep-well-injected hazardous wastes. The focus is on processes that (1) are known to occur in the deep-well environment or (2) have not been directly observed but are theoretically possible. 

Well head pressures increased when injection was stopped at Well No. 1 for more than 24 h, apparently caused by a combination of precipitation reactions and backflow of sand. Injecting a slug of brine after every period of interrupted flow solved this problem. Movement of the main organic constituents (n-hexylamine, butanal, butanol, and phenol) was assumed to be slowed by adsorption. This conclusion was based on laboratory adsorption experiments by involving a different geologic formation (Cottage Grove sandstone) no direct observations were made of the injected waste. For current hazardous waste injection wells in Texas, the reader can refer to Texas Environmental Profiles web site for on-line resources for the State of Texas.185... 

When Congress enacted the RCRA in 1976, it directed U.S. EPA to establish performance, design, and operating standards for all hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities... 

Another critical part of the incinerator design is the pollution control system.11 Pollution control systems directly influence the levels and kinds of pollutants that are released and that can potentially reach the public. Most modern hazardous waste incinerators are designed with extensive air pollution removal systems. For example, a common pollution control system might include a system that cools or quenches gases produced by burning waste, followed by a system that reduces acid gas emissions, and ultimately followed by a particulate removal system such as fabric filters (bag-houses), electrostatic precipitators, venturi scrubbers, and others.10... 

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