United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-90-046
Agency (OS-305) May 1990
Office of Solid Waste
&EPA
Environmental
Fact Sheet
FINAL RULE FOR THIRD THIRD
SCHEDULED WASTES COMPLETES
STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR
LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS
The fifth in a series of five Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) rulemakings
establishes treatment standards and effective dates for "Third Third" wastes, including
characteristic wastes, and soft hammer wastes from the First and Second Third lists.
The treatment standards apply to hazardous wastes that are land disposed, including
those that are injected into deep wells. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
granting, at a minimum, a three-month national capacity variance for all wastes
affected by this rule to provide industry with time needed to comply with the new
regulations.
BACKGROUND
The 1984 amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) required EPA to establish treatment standards for all
hazardous wastes destined for land disposal. These standards must
specify a level or method of treatment which substantially reduces the
toxicity or mobility of the hazardous constituents so as to minimize
long-term threats to human health and the environment.
Congress specified strict dates when particular groups of hazardous
wastes not meeting the treatment standards are prohibited from land
disposal unless the Agency finds that there will be "no migration of
hazardous constituents...for as long as the wastes remain hazardous."
With this rulemaking, the Agency has met all of the statutory deadlines
imposed by Congress:
• On November 7, 1986, spent solvent and dioxin-bearing wastes
were regulated.
• On July 8, 1987, the "California List"* wastes were addressed.
• Except for those wastes in today's rulemaking, all other wastes
listed as of November 8, 1984 were included in the land disposal
restrictions on August 8, 1988 (First Third) and June 8, 1989
(Second Third).
"California List" wastes are liquid and nonliquid hazardous wastes containing halogenated organic compounds
(HOCs) above 1,000 ppm, and liquid hazardous wastes containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) above 50 ppm,
certain toxic metals above specified statutory concentrations, or corrosive liquid wastes that have a pH level below
two.
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The land ban provisions will change the way that industry must man-
age their hazardous waste and has given considerable impetus to the
development of more economic and effective means of treating waste.
As a result, treatment technologies have improved rapidly and include
methods to destroy, detoxify, or incinerate waste. In addition, hazard-
ous waste generators have developed new ways to recover and reuse
waste as well as methods to reduce the volume of hazardous waste
requiring treatment.
ACTION
The final rule specifies treatment standards and effective dates for all
Third Third waste, characteristic wastes, First and Second Third soft
hammer wastes, and five newly listed wastes. EPA also is promulgat-
ing treatment standards for multi-source leachate and mixed hazard-
ous/radioactive waste, and is promulgating alternate treatment stan-
dards for lab packs. The Agency has rescheduled wastes from the pe-
troleum refining industry to the Third Third and is revising existing
standards for these wastes. Previously promulgated treatment stan-
dards expressed as "110 land disposal" for nonwastewaters are being
replaced with treatment levels or specified methods.
The effective date of the rule is May 8, 1990. However, EPA is grant-
ing, at a minimum, a three-month national capacity variance to the
treatment standards for all wastes affected by this rule to allow the
regulated community sufficient time to make necessary changes to
comply with the regulations. During the period of variance, wastes
that are placed in a Landfill or into surface impoundments and do not
meet the treatment standards, must be disposed of in units that meet
the minimum technological requirements of Section 3004(o) of RCRA
(e.g., ground-water monitoring and leachate collection) and comply
with the recordkeeping requirements of 40 CFR 268.7.
For the characteristic wastes, EPA is specifying treatment levels below
the characteristic for the EP toxic pesticide nonwastewaters and reac-
tive cyanides. In addition, the Agency is specifying methods that re-
quire treatment below the characteristic level for high TOC ignitables
and for EP toxic pesticide wastewaters. Concentrations are specified
at the characteristic level for the EP toxic metals except for selenium,
which is slightly higher than the EP level. For corrosive and remaining
igriitable and reactive;, the standards require that wastes be treated so
that they no longer exhibit a characteristic.
The dilution prohibition developed for listed wastes is extended to
characteristic wastes included in the Third Third. However, the final
rule does not prohibit dilution of characteristic wastes that are gener-
ated and managed in wastewater treatment systems regulated under
the Clean Water Act or underground injection wells regulated under
the Safe Drinking Water Act. Prohibited wastes that are treated by
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inappropriate methods or sent to treatment systems that do not treat
the wastes are considered impermissibly diluted.
With regard to characteristic wastes, dilution is permissible when
wastes are aggregated for legitimate treatment in centralized treat-
ment systems.
Treatment standards for characteristic wastes require the following:
• Wastes that carry more than one characteristic waste code
must be treated to meet the standard for each characteristic.
Listed wastes that exhibit hazardous characteristics must meet
the treatment standard for each waste code, unless each
characteristic is specifically addressed in the treatment stan-
dard for the listed waste. In addition, land disposal of a waste
that exhibits a characteristic is prohibited. The only exception
to this standard is selenium where the data only supports a
treatment level above the characteristic.
• During the period of a national capacity variance, hazardous
wastes that are subject to more than one treatment standard
must still meet the treatment standard for any waste that has
not received an extension.
• The use of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedures
(TCLP) in assessing whether a waste is subject to the Third
Third land ban rule.
The Agency is promulgating alternate treatment standards for lab
packs that contain certain prohibited organometallic and organic
wastes. These standards are expressed as a specified technology for
each of the waste categories. For the organometallic wastes, incinera-
tion, followed by treatment to meet the treatment standards for metals
(included in the alternate standard) is required. For organic wastes in-
cineration is a specified method. Generators and owners/operators
who use the alternate treatment standards for lab pack wastes are re-
quired to list each waste code on the notification.
Due to inadequate treatment capacity for mixed hazardous/radioac-
tive wastes included in the Third Third, EPA is granting a two-year
national capacity variance for these wastes. Those hazardous wastes
listed in the attached tables also are receiving a two-year national
capacity variance. Furthermore, the Agency is granting wastes from
the petroleum refining industry—EPA hazardous waste numbers
K048-K052—a six-month national capacity variance.
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EPA amended 40 CFR 268.7 to allow referencing treatment standards
for all wastes except spent solvents, California List wastes, and multi-
source leachate. The following information must be included in the
reference: EPA hazardous waste number, subcategory of the waste
code, treatability group, and CFR section where the treatment stan-
dards appear. In addition, EPA is allowing a one-time notification and
certification for small quantity generator shipments that are subject to
tolling agreements.
EPA promulgated waste analysis plan requirements for wastes treated
in 90-day tanks or containers. Persons treating prohibited wastes to
comply with treatment standards in such tanks and containers are
required to prepare a plan justifying the frequency of testing and
adhere to recordkeeping requirements.
CONCLUSION
The land disposal restrictions imposed by this rule completes the
Agency's assessment of all hazardous waste as required by the Haz-
ardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA). Treatment standards
have been established for all listed and characteristic wastes that
existed when HSWA was enacted in 1984. Restricting the land dis-
posal of wastes covered by this final rule will create significant
changes in hazardous waste management, thereby minimizing threats
to human health and the environment.
CONTACT
To order a copy of the Federal Register notice, or for additional infor-
mation, contact the RCRA Hotline Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30
p.m., EST. The national toll-free number is (800) 424-9346; for the
hearing impaired, the number is TDD (800) 553-7672. In Washington,
D.C., the number is (202) 382-3000 or TDD (202) 475-9652.
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SUMMARY OF NATIONAL CAPACITY VARIANCES
Surface-Disposed Wastes1
Required Alternative
Treatment Technology
Acid Leaching &
Chemical Precipitation
Combustion of Sludge/
Solids
Mercury Retorting
Secondary Smelting
Storage Area
Thermal Recovery
Vitrification
Waste
Code
D009
K106
P065
P092
U151
F0392
K0483
K0493
K0503
K0513
K0523
D009
K106
P065
P092
U151
D008
P087
D004
K031
K084
K101
K102
P010
P011
P012
P036
P038
U136
Physical
Form
Low Mercury Nonwastewater
Low Mercury Nonwastewater
Low Mercury Nonwastewater
Low Mercury Nonwastewater
Low Mercury Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
High Mercury Nonwastewater
High Mercury Nonwastewater
High Mercury Nonwastewater
High Mercury Nonwastewater
High Mercury Nonwastewater
Lead Materials before
Secondary Smelting
Nonwastewater/Wastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Nonwastewater
Effective
Date
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
November 1990
November 1990
November 1990
November 1990
November 1990
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
1EPA is granting these wastes a two-year national capacity variance, except as otherwise
noted. This table does not include mixed radioactive wastes or soil and debris, which are re-
ceiving a national capacity variance for all applicable treatment technologies.
2Multi-source Leachate.
3For K048-K052 pertroleum-refining nonwastewaters, EPA is granting only a six-month
variance.
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SUMMARY OF NATIONAL CAPACITY VARIANCES
Deep Well Disposed
Waste Physical Effective
Code Form Date
D009 Low Mercury Nonwastewater May 1992
D0031 Wastewater/Nonwastewater May 1992
D0032 Wastewater/Nonwastewater May 1992
D0033 Wastewater/Nonwastewater May 1992
Required Alternative
Treatment Technology
Acid Leaching followed by
Chemical Precipitation
Alkaline Chlorination
Chemical Oxidation
followed by Chemical
Precipitation
Chemical Oxidation
followed by Chromium
Reduction and Chemical
Precipitation
Chromium Reduction
followed by Chemical
Precipitation
Mecury Retorting
Neutralization
Wet-Air Oxidation
Wet-Air Oxidation followed
by Carbon Adsorption
followed by Chemical
Precipitation; Biological
Treatment followed by
Chemical Precipitation
Wastes that are deep well disposed on-site receive a six-month variance
effective in November 1990.
D007 Wastewater/Nonwastewater
D009 High Mercury Nonwastewaters
D0024 Wastewaster/Nonwastewater
K011 Wastewater
K013 Wastewater
K014 Wastewater/Nonwastewater
F0395 Wastewater
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
May 1992
with restrictions
1 D003 (Cyanides)
2 D003 (Sulfides)
3D003 (Explosives, Water. Reactives, and Other Reactiyes)
4Deepwell injected D002 liquids with a pH less than 2 must meet the California List treatment
standards on August 8,1990.
5 Multi-source Leachate
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