Hazardous waste, state

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Federal regulations (40 CFR 261) classify acrylonitrile as a hazardous waste and it is Hsted as Hazardous Waste Number U009. Disposal must be in accordance with federal (40 CFR 262, 263, 264), state, and local regulations only at properly permitted faciUties. It is Hsted as a toxic pollutant (40 CFR 122.21) and introduction into process streams, storm water, or waste water systems is in violation of federal law. Strict guidelines exist for clean-up and notification of leaks and spills. Federal notification regulations require that spills or leaks in excess of 100 lb (45.5 kg) be reported to the National Response Center. Substantial criminal and civil penalties can result from failure to report such discharges into the environment. 

California and Minnesota have placed restrictions on the disposal of fluorescent light tubes, which contain from 40—50 mg of mercury per tube, depending on size. After batteries, fluorescent lamps are the second largest contributor of mercury in soHd waste streams in the United States (3,14). A California law classifies the disposal of 25 or more fluorescent lamp tubes as hazardous waste. In Minnesota, all waste lamps generated from commercial sources are considered hazardous waste. Private homes are, however, exempt from the law (14). Other states have proposed similar regulations. Several companies have developed technologies for recovering mercury from spent lamps (14). 

Wastes contaminated with aniline may be Hsted as RCRA Hazardous Waste, and if disposal is necessary, the waste disposal methods used must comply with U.S. federal, state, and local water poUution regulations. The aniline content of wastes containing high concentrations of aniline can be recovered by conventional distillation. Biological disposal of dilute aqueous aniline waste streams is feasible if the bacteria are acclimated to aniline. Aniline has a 5-day BOD of 1.89 g of oxygen per gram of aniline. 

The main objectives of RCRA ate to protect pubHc health and the environment and to conserve natural resources. The act requires EPA to develop and adininistet the following programs soHd waste disposal practices providing acceptable protection levels for pubHc health and the environment transportation, storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous wastes practices that eliminate or minimize hazards to human health and the environment the use of resource conservation and recovery whenever technically and economically feasible and federal, state, and local programs to achieve these objectives. 

Transportation and Disposal. Only highly alkaline forms of soluble sihcates are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) as hazardous materials for transportation. When discarded, these ate classified as hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Typical members of this class are sodium sihcate solutions having sihca-to-alkah ratios of less than 1.6 and sodium sihcate powders with ratios of less than 1.0. In the recommended treatment and disposal method, the soluble sihcates are neutralized with aqueous acid (6 Af or equivalent), and the resulting sihca gel is disposed of according to local, state, and federal regulations. The neutral hquid, a salt solution, can be flushed iato sewer systems (86). 

Dissolved Air Flotation. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) is used to separate suspended soflds and oil and grease from aqueous streams and to concentrate or thicken sludges. Air bubbles carry or float these materials to the surface where they can be removed. The air bubbles are formed by pressurizing either the influent wastewater or a portion of the effluent in the presence of air. When the pressurized stream enters the flotation tank which is at atmospheric pressure, the dissolved air comes out of solution as tiny, microscopic bubbles. Dissolved air flotation is used in many wastewater treatment systems, but in the United States it is perhaps best known with respect to hazardous waste because it is associated with the Hsted waste, K048, DAF flotation soflds from petroleum refining wastewaters. Of course, the process itself is not what is hazardous, but the materials it helps to remove from refining wastewaters. 

Aeration basins can be constmcted as concrete or steel tanks or earthen impoundments, although tanks are more common in the United States now because of ground water problems with leakage from impoundments and stringent regulation of impoundments for the treatment of hazardous waste. 

Thermal treatment is used to destroy, break down, or aid in the desorption of contaminants in gases, vapors, Hquids, sludges, and soHds. There are a variety of thermal processes that destroy contaminants, most of which are classified as incineration. Incineration HteraHy means to become ash (from Medieval Latin, incinerare in or into ashes). With respect to the incineration of hazardous wastes regulated in the United States, however, there is a strict legal definition of what constitutes an incinerator. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) definition of incinerator at 40 CFR 260.10 is... 

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and LiabiHty Act (CERCLA)/RCRA regulations in effect at the end of 1986 bromine is regulated as a hazardous waste or material. Therefore, it must be disposed of in an approved hazardous waste faciHty in compliance with EPA and/or other appHcable local, state, and federal regulations and should be handled in a manner acceptable to good waste management practice. The reportable quantity is 45.4 kg for corrosivity (62). 

United States EPA, 19S7 National Biennial RCFiA Hazardous Waste Repoii—Executive Summaiy, Washington, DC, GPO, 1991, p. 10. 

Standards and procedures for authorizing state hazardous waste programs to be operated in lieu of the federal program (Part 271)... 

EPA, under Section 3006 of RCRA, may authorize a state to administer and enforce a state hazardous waste program in lieu of the federal Subtitle C program. To receive authorization, a state program must ... 

The application of waste-management practices in the United States has recently moved toward securing a new pollution prevention ethic. The performance of pollution prevention assessments and their subsequent implementation will encourage increased activity into methods that 1 further aid in the reduction of hazardous wastes. One of the most important and propitious consequences of the pollution-prevention movement will be the development of life-cycle design and standardized hfe-cycle cost-accounting procedures. These two consequences are briefly discussed in the two paragraphs that follow. Additional information is provided in a later subsection. 

Because many of the techniques, especially those associated with the recovery of materials and energy and the processing of solid hazardous wastes, are in a state of flux with respect to application and design criteria, the objective here is only to introduce them to the reader. If these techniques are to be considered in the development of waste-management systems, current engineering design and performance data must be obtained from consultants, operating records, field tests, equipment manufacturers, and available literature. 

LandtiUing of Hazardous Wastes In many states, the only disposal option available for most hazardous wastes is landfilling. The basis for the management of hazardous-wastes landfills is set forth in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. In general, disposal sites for hazardous wastes shoiild be separate from sites for municipal solid wastes. If separate sites are not possible, great care must be taken to ensure that separate disposal operations are maintained. 

Site Selection Factors that must be considered in evaluating potential sites for the disposal of hazardous waste are covered in state and federal regulations. In Cahfornia, landfills where hazardous wastes can be received are referred to as Class I disposal sites. To quahfy as a Class I site, it must be shown that ... 

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. 

Corrective Action Application At a hazardous waste treatment storage and disposal facility in Washington State, a cyanide-bearing waste required treatment. The influent waste stream contained 15 percent cyanide. Electrolytic oxidation was used to reduce the cyanide concentration to less than 5 percent. Alkaline chlorination was used to further reduce the cyanide concentration to 50 mg/1 (the cleanup objective). The electrolytic process was used as a first stage treatment because the heat of reaction, using alkaline chlorination to treat the concentrated cyanide waste, would be so great that it would melt the reactor tank. 

Hatch, J. and E. Hayes. "State-of-the-Art Remedial Action Technologies Used for the Sydney Mine Waste Disposal Site Cleanups," In Management of Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites Proceedings, Washington, D.C., 1985, pp. 285. 

In this book we will eoneentrate on governmental regulations as they relate to hazardous waste or other hazardous materials, how to eomply with speeifie requirements, and other best management praetiees (BMPs). We will foeus on eommereial (federal/state OSHA), DOE, and the Army Corps of Engineers operations. In addition to these requirements there may be other regulatory standards that have requirements pertinent to hazardous materials. 

We mention the hazardous waste standard due to the speeifie requirements of this standard. However, should your operation involve hazardous materials, the same basie prineiples apply. Those prineiples, simply stated, are that workers should be properly trained, qualified, and prepared to perform their work. If their work is responding to an emergeney situation or release, the worker should be able to do so without beeoming injured. It does not matter if your site is a hazardous waste site or not workers should be adequately prepared to perform expeeted work. 

Expanded the involvement of states and citizens in decision making Provided for new enforcement authorities and responsibilities Increased the focus on human healtli problems caused by hazardous waste sites... 

In the past the presence of hazardous substances in soils was not a major public concern. In spite of the large number of documented hazardous waste sites in the United States, relatively few sites liave been cleaned up widi specific redevelopment in mind. Remedial actions usually are undertaken to contain or remove chemical contaminants little or no consideration is given to the ultimate use of the site. If land reuse is decided before the cleanup there may be an opportunity to tailor the cleanup acti ities to best suit the site rcde elopment. 

Congress, in an attempt to promote mineral development in the United States, has exempted most hazardous wastes produced at the wellsite under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C regulations. Hazardous wastes are listed due to inherent characteristics of ... 

Concerns have been expressed about incineration on land and in the water. EPA s Science Advisory Board, in a 1984 report entitled Incineration of Hazardous Liquid Waste, stated, "The concept of destmction efficiency used by the EPA was found to be incomplete and not useful for subsequent exposure assessments." It was recommended that the emissions and... 

Families should also be aware that sometimes methyl parathion has been illegally sprayed inside the home to kill insects. Your children may be exposed to methyl parathion if an unqualified person applies pesticides containing it around your home. In some cases, the improper use of pesticides banned for use in homes has turned homes into hazardous waste sites. Make sure that any person you hire is licensed and, if appropriate, certified to apply pesticides. Your state licenses each person who is qualified to apply pesticides according to EPA standards and further certifies each person who is qualified to apply restricted use pesticides. Ask to see the license... 

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