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. ------- 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 2 ------- 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. ------- 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. ------- 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. ------- 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 ------- |