Hazardous waste exclusions

EPA. 1980c. Identification and listing of hazardous waste. Exclusions Solid wastes which are not hazardous wastes. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Code of Federal Regulations. 40 CFR 261.4. NTIS No. PB81-190019. 

EPA. 1993a. Standards for the management of hazardous waste and specific types of hazardous waste facilities. Health-based limits for exclusion of waste-derived residues. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Code of Eederal Regulations. 40 CER 266, Subpart H. Appendix VII. 

The only regulations found for organophosphate ester hydraulic fluids were for aryl phosphates. Two proposed rules for aryl phosphates address 1) exclusion from hazardous waste regulations and 2) additional testing, recordkeeping, and reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 

While the LDR program generally applies to all persons who generate, transport, treat, store, or dispose of restricted hazardous wastes, there are exclusions from the LDR requirements. The following wastes are not subject to the LDR program2 ... 

A material cannot be a hazardous waste if it does not meet the definition of a solid waste. Thus, wastes that are excluded from the definition of solid waste are not subject to the RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste regulation. There are 20 exclusions from the definition of solid waste ... 

Shredded circuit boards. Circuit boards are metal boards that hold computer chips, thermostats, batteries, and other electronic components. Circuit boards can be found in computers, televisions, radios, and other electronic equipment. When this equipment is thrown away, these boards can be removed and recycled. Whole circuit boards meet the definition of scrap metal, and are therefore exempt from hazardous waste regulation when recycled. On the other hand, some recycling processes involve shredding the board. Such shredded boards do not meet the exclusion for recycled scrap metal. In order to facilitate the recycling of such materials, U.S. EPA excluded recycled shredded circuit boards from the definition of solid waste, provided that they are stored in containers sufficient to prevent release to the environment, and are free of potentially dangerous components, such as mercury switches, mercury relays, nickel-cadmium batteries, and lithium batteries. 

Mineral processing spent materials. Mineral processing generates spent materials that may exhibit hazardous waste characteristics. Common industry practice is to recycle these mineral processing wastes back into the processing operations to recover mineral value. U.S. EPA created a conditional exclusion from the definition of solid waste for these spent materials when recycled in the mineral processing industry, provided the materials are stored in certain types of units and are not accumulated speculatively. 

Arsenically treated wood. Discarded arsenically treated wood or wood products that are hazardous only because they exhibit certain toxic characteristics (e.g., contain harmful concentrations of metal or pesticide constituents), are excluded from the definition of hazardous waste. Once such treated wood is used, it may be disposed of by the user (commercial or residential) without being subject to hazardous waste regulation. This exclusion is based on the fact that the use of such wood products on the land is similar to the common disposal method, which is landfilling. This exclusion applies only to end-users and not to manufacturers. 

Landfill leachate or gas condensate derived from listed waste. Landfill leachate and landfill gas condensate derived from previously disposed wastes that now meet the listing description of one or more of the petroleum refinery listed wastes would be regulated as a listed hazardous waste. However, U.S. EPA temporarily excluded such landfill leachate and gas condensate from the definition of hazardous waste provided their discharge is regulated under the CWA. The exclusion will remain effective while U.S. EPA studies how the landfill leachate and landfill gas condensate are currently managed, and the effect of future CWA effluent limitation guidelines for landfill wastewaters. 

There are eight exemptions from the mixture rule. The first exemption from the mixture rule applies to mixtures of characteristic wastes and specific mining wastes excluded under RCRA. This narrow exemption allows certain mixtures to qualify as nonhazardous wastes, even if the mixtures exhibit one or more hazardous waste characteristics. The mining waste exclusion is explained in more detail in a U.S. EPA module.9... 

At a hazardous waste site, remediation and decontamination facilities should be located in the CRZ, that is, the area between the exclusion zone (the contaminated area) and the support zone (the clean area). The level and types of remediation and decontamination procedures required depend on several site-specific factors ... 

The regulations retain the Bevill exclusion for residues from certain BIFs as long as the burning or processing of the hazardous waste does not significantly affect the character of the residue. These BIFs include21... 

To determine whether the character of a residue has been significantly affected by the burning or processing of hazardous waste, and thus whether the Bevill exemption can be claimed, one of two criteria must be met. As long as the residue meets either criterion, it will qualify for the Bevill exclusion. 

Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste Definition of hazardous waste-generic exclusion levels for K061 and K062 nonwastewater HTMR residues 0.15 mg/L (maximum for any single composite sample TCLP 40 CFR 261.3 EPA 1992... 

Standards for the Management of Specific Hazardous Wastes and Specific Types of Hazardous Waste Management Facilities Appendix VII - Health-Based Limits for Exclusion of Waste-Derived Residues 0.0002 mg/kg 40 CFR 266 EPA 1985d... 

Both Congress and EPA have a number of studies and efforts underway which may ultimately impact disposal of pesticide waste. Among these are reevaluation of the small generator exclusion limit, expansion of Extraction Procedure toxicity characteristic to include additional organic chemicals, revamping of Section 261. 33 (commercial chemical products which are hazardous waste when discarded or intended to be discarded) to both bring mixtures of active ingredients under the definition and also to establish concentration thresholds for the wastes, and a prohibition on land disposal of certain wastes. At this time I would like to briefly touch on each of these areas. 

Exclusion Zone The area surrounding a particular incident site (such as a spill, a fire, or a hazardous waste pile or subarea under remediation), wherein only trained and fully protected hazardous materials workers may enter to perform necessary operation. 

The system for classification and disposal of hazardous chemical waste developed by EPA under RCRA does not apply to all wastes that contain hazardous chemicals. For example, wastes that contain dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), or asbestos are regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In addition, the current definition of hazardous waste in 40 CFR Part 261 specifically excludes many wastes that contain hazardous chemicals from regulation under RCRA, including certain wastes produced by extraction, beneficiation, and processing of various ores and minerals or exploration, development, and use of energy resources. Thus, the waste classification system is not comprehensive, because many potentially important wastes that contain hazardous chemicals are excluded, and it is not based primarily on considerations of risks posed by wastes, because the exclusions are based on the source of the waste rather than the potential risk. 

The term mixed waste refers mainly to waste that contains radionuclides regulated under AEA and hazardous chemical waste regulated under RCRA. Mixed waste is subject to dual regulation as a result of the exclusion of radioactive materials defined in AEA from regulation under RCRA. Dual regulation of mixed waste also extends to waste that contains NARM and hazardous chemicals, since NARM waste is not defined as a hazardous waste under RCRA, and to... 

Similarly, PBCDF agent-contaminated scrap metal that has been thermally decontaminated and further cleaned to remove loose residue may be managed as a hazardous waste and disposed of at a permitted RCRA TSDF or, alternatively, managed as scrap metal and recycled exclusively by smelting (ADEQ, 2006). 

EPA OSWER Exclusion from Identification and Listing of Uranium as a Hazardous Waste Yes 40 CFR 261.4 EPA 1980d... 

In the regulatory sense, hazardous waste identification relies not so much on a definition as on a series of steps that involve checking against lists of waste exclusions and inclusions. The three steps of the hazardous waste identification process are codified in 40 CFR 262.11. 

Waste Minimization Waste minimization is any effort to reduce or recycle the quantity of waste generated, and when feasible, to reduce or eliminate toxicity. It includes any source reduction or recycling activity undertaken to reduce the total volume or quantity of hazardous waste and/or the toxicity of hazardous waste, with the goal of minimizing threats to human health and the environment. Waste minimization focuses exclusively on solid wastes regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and does not include treatment, unless the treatment is part of the recycling process. However, it is broader in scope than P2 to also include recycling and other means to reduce the amount of waste that must be treated or disposed of off- or onsite. 

Determining Whether a Solid Waste is Hazardous for Subtitle C Purposes A person who handles a solid waste not within one of the regulatory exclusions must look to 261.30-33 and 261.20-24 to determine whether that waste is hazardous and hence subject to the full panoply of Subtitle C regulations. Sections 261.30-33 contain EPA s hazardous waste lists 261.21-24 identify four characteristics (ignitibility, corrosivity, reactivity, and Extraction Procedure toxicity) that make a waste hazardous regardless of whether it is included on a hazardous waste list. 

The operational incentives for recycling of most consumer batteries are regulatory rather than economic. Wallis and Wolslw (20) cite estimates of US 0.80/lb for the recycling cost of batteries, exclusive of any credits for recovered materials, and US 0.l0/lb for their disposal in hazardous waste landfills. Clearly the economics favor disposal, not recycling. The recycling of batteries will be driven, therefore, primarily by regulatory pressures. 

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