REGULATORY APPROVAL AND PERMITTING ISSUES

See Chapter 2. Additional information on regulatory approval and permitting issues can be found in Chapter 4 of NRC (2002). 

While the focus of this report is on the liquid waste streams from the EDS, the committee notes that it is not always possible to separate the regulatory approval and permitting (RAP) process for EDS liquid waste destruction technologies from the regulatory approval process for the EDS system as a whole. RAP issues for the oveaall EDS system are to be explored in greater detail in a subsequent report. 

Although the state of Colorado had issued a RCRA order pertaining to destruction of the GB bomblets at RMA, the Army conducted the EDS-1 cleanup operation at RMA as a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) emergency removal action (regulatory approval/permitting mechanisms are further discussed in Chapter 4 and Appendix F). This enabled the operation to proceed in a timely fashion, and the Army hopes that use of CERCLA emergency removal authority can be a model for future deployments of the EDS. 

Regulatory Approval Food additive regulations issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permit use of eellulose acetate in specific food packaging applications. Cellulose acetate (CA) is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) for use in paper and paperboard in contact with food, and has been previously sanctioned for use in film in food-contact applications.f ... 

The committee also considered the criteria for public and regulatory acceptability that are likely to affect the selection of alternative destruction technologies. It identified several regulatory approval/permitting (RAP) issues associated with EDS liquid waste disposal, discussed the regulatory status of these wastes, and developed seveaal findings and recommendations on regulatory and pubhc acceptability issues. 

The approved color additives appear on positive lists issued by the Food and Drug Administration in the US, the EU, and Japan, but the colorants permitted in each market vary considerably. US and EU regulatory organizations provide provisional and permanent lists of approved color additives. The permanently listed additives are considered safe for use in cosmetic and toiletry products by the regulatory bodies. Provisionally listed color additives are those on which some safety studies are still to be undertaken or their test results are under review. The Japanese regulations include only a permanent list of color additives. 

The analytical protocols used to characterize hazardous wastes are primarily the EPA-approved methodologies found in their publication Test Methods for the Evaluation of Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods, SW-846. Because these methodologies are a part of the waste analysis plan and the feed-stream analysis plan, they are required by the facility s RCRA permit. In the case of the feedstream analysis plan and the LDRs, adherence is required to meet specific regulatory requirements. Occasionally, DuPont will analyze streams for hazardous constituents or properties other than those required under the permit or regulations in order to address a specific issue (e.g., to determine if the stream can be recycled). Analyses like these should be considered not as an industrial best practice but only as an internal planning aid. 

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