United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-91-063
Agency (OS-305) August 1991
Office of Solid Waste
v°/EPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
REGULATIONS FOR
BURNING HAZARDOUS WASTE
IN BOILERS AND INDUSTRIAL
FURNACES AMENDED
INTRODUCTION
On February 21, 1991 (56 FR 7134), the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) published a final rule that expands controls on
hazardous waste combustion by regulating air emissions from the
burning of hazardous waste in boilers and industrial furnaces (BIF). In
particular, the rule controls emissions of toxic organic compounds,
toxic metals, hydrogen chloride, chlorine gas, and particulate matter
from those boilers and industrial furnaces burning hazardous waste.
In addition, the rule subjects owners and operators of these devices to
the general facility standards applicable to hazardous waste treatment,
storage, and disposal facilities.
A technical amendment to the final boiler and industrial furnace
rule is required to clarify the regulation and to correct certain
provisions that could result in unintended consequences. The
technical amendment is effective the same day as the final rule,
August 21, 1991.
SUMMARY
BIFs Operating in Interim Status Prior to August 21, 1991 May
Continue Burning Low-Heating-Value Waste Prior to Certification
of Compliance.
In general, the BIF rule allows facilities to burn low-
heating-value wastes (waste with a heating value of less
than 5,000 Btu/b) only after certification of compliance
with the interim status standards. This restriction
inadvertently precluded BIFs that were already burning
low-heating-value wastes (by complying with the RCRA
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standards for incinerators or thermal treatment units prior
to the effective date of the BIF rule) from continuing to do
so. The Agency did not intend to penalize facilities
operating within existing rules. Therefore, the final rule is
amended to allow those facilities to continue their normal
practices of burning low-heating- value wastes during
interim status. On the effective date of the BIF rule (August
21, 1991), the BIF interim status standards supersede the
incinerator or thermal treatment standards for such BIF
facilities, which require these facilities to comply with the
provisions of the BIF regulations, including certification of
precompliance.
HAFs Burning Low-Heating-Value Wastes as an Ingredient Prior to
February 21, 1991 May Continue to Do So Prior to Certification of
Compliance.
Some halogen acid furnaces (HAFs) burn low-heating-value,
halogen-bearing hazardous waste as an ingredient to
produce halogen acid product. These halogen-bearing
hazardous wastes were eligible excluded from the definition
of solid waste when recycled as an ingredient in a
production process. EPA determined that the wastes are
inherently waste-like when fed to a HAF, and listed them as
solid wastes in the BIF rule. Therefore, on August 21,
1991, these wastes are fully regulated hazardous wastes,
rather than excluded materials. Because EPA did not
intend to disrupt ongoing legitimate recycling operations,
the final BIF rule is amended to allow HAFs that were
burning low-heating-value wastes as an ingredient on
February 21, 1991 to continue to do so prior to certification
of compliance.
Demonstration of Burning as an Ingredient or for Metals Recovery
Is Based on Evaluation of As-Fired, Not As-Generated, Waste.
The BIF final rule established criteria for determining
whether a waste is burned solely as an ingredient or for
metals recovery for the purposes of eligibility for certain
exemptions. These criteria were inadvertently applied to
as-generated waste, rather than as-fired waste. This could,
in effect, preclude pretreatment to destroy or remove toxic
constituents present in the waste. The exemption criteria
apply to as-fired waste, provided the waste is not treated by
blending or other dilution to meet the criteria limits. The
owner/operator also must maintain documentation of the
destruction of toxics that has been achieved by any
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A BIF Correspondence File, Not the Operating Record, Must Be
Made Available to the Public at the Facility Site.
The requirement: for owners/operators to maintain the
"operating record" for public inspection is clarified. EPA
intended for a record to be maintained that includes
general information, such as all correspondence between
the facility and federal, state, and local regulatory
agencies. This record, termed the "BIF Correspondence
File," must include copies of all certifications, notifications,
and EPA and state site visit reports.
EPA May Approve on a Case-by-Case Basis the Use of Compliance
Test Data from One Unit in Lieu of Testing a Similar On-Site Unit.
Upon written approval of the Director, interim status
compliance testing requirements are revised to allow the
submission of compliance test data for a similar on-site
unit rather than actual testing of the unit. EPA
recommends owners/operators to make such requests well
in advance of the planned compliance test to allow
sufficient time for EPA review and approval (or disapproval)
of the plan. The request must be accompanied by a
comparison of the design, operation, and maintenance
units, as well as a description of the hazardous waste to be
burned in each unit. Eligibility for this compliance test
waiver is limited to similar on-site units.
A BIF Has Received the Known Final Volume of Hazardous Waste
under Interim Status When It Blisses a Certification Deadline.
If a facility misses any interim status compliance deadline
(including certification of precompliance, compliance
certification, and periodic recertifications), hazardous
waste burning operations must stop. The owner/operator
must apply for a Part B permit in order to start burning
hazardous waste again. The date a BIF misses a
compliance deadline is the same date that it receives the
"known final volume of hazardous waste," and must
comply with applicable closure requirements. T
Feedstreams May Be Analyzed Using Methods That Meet or Exceed
the Method Performance Capabilities of SW-846 Methods.
The BIF rule is amended to allow owners and operators to
use alternate methods to characterize the physical or
chemical properties of their feedstreams, provided that the
alternative methods meet or exceed the SW-846
performance capabilities. Owners and operators must
clearly document the use of alternate methods in all
notifications to the director, such asprecompliance
certification or compliance test protocol.
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Methods Are Recommended for Determining Chlorine Levels in
Peedstreams and the Heating Value of Solid Peedstreams.
EPA recommends that facilities use a combination of
existing American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
methods, existing SW-846 methods, and proposed
SW-846 for analyzing chlorine, depending on the type of
waste matrix. For the heating value of solid feedstreams,
EPA recommends the use of ASTMaterials methods D-
2015-77, D-3286-77, or D-808-81.
Certain Metal-Bearing Wastes Are Conditionally Exempt from the
Demonstration of Burning Solely for Metal Recovery When Burned
in a Metal Recovery Furnace.
The BIF rule is revised to conditionally exclude certain
hazardous wastes used by the secondary lead and nickel-
chromium smelting industry from regulation under this
rule. Materials that are allowed for processing in exempt
lead smelters and nickel-cadmium recovery furnaces are
listed in new Appendices XI and XII to the rule,
respectively. To ensure that these wastes are burned for
metal recovery, the exemption is based on three
requirements: (1) the waste must have recoverable levels of
metal; (2) the lead, nichel, or chromium wastes must have
been generated by the lead, nichel, chromium, or iron
industry; and (3) the wastes containing more that 500
parts per million of toxic constituents must not exhibit the
Toxicity Characteristic for any organic constituent, and
they must not be listed as hazardous for an organic
constituent.
Precious Metal Recovery Furnaces Are Not Regulated
by the BIF Rule.
Precious metals are generally exempt from regulation, with
the exception of certain tracking and recordkeeping
requirements. The value of the precious metal in the waste
provides a strong incentive for proper handling prior to and
during the recycling operations to maximize recovery
(production) of precious metals. Industrial furnaces
engaged in legitimate precious metal recovery operations
are not subject to regulation under the BIF rule.
Records Must Be Kept until Closure.
BIFs must comply with the appropriate recordkeeping
requirements for permitted and interim status facilities
that are applicable to other hazardous waste treatment,
storage, and disposal facilities fTSDFs). Consequently,
BIFs must retain their records until closure of the facility.
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BIFs Must Comply with Operating Conditions and Emissions
Standards upon Certification of Compliance.
The final rule requires owners and operators to establish
limits on specific operating parameters in a certification of
compliance and to operate under those limits during the
remainder of interim status. The rule specifies that a
compliance test must be conducted to document
compliance with the emission standards, but does not
state that the resulting emission standards must be
adhered to during interim status. Both the operating
limits established under the compliance test as well as the
emission limits must be complied with during interim
status.
Sample Compositing Procedures Are Clarified, and the Statistical
Test Is Revised for Bevill Residues.
The Bevill residue test was established in order to
determine whether the burning of hazardous wastes
significantly affects the residue from so-called "Bevill"
devices. Certain sampling and compositing considerations
for the determination of baseline (without burning
hazardous waste) concentrations are clarified. The
baseline is to be determined from the analyses of 10
samples collected from 10 separate days of operation,
using a sample compositing period not to exceed 24 hours.
The statistical test used to compare the waste-derived
residue to the baseline is changed so that the baseline is
expressed as an upper tolerance limit rather than as a
confidence interval about the mean. Conforming revisions
are also being made to Section 7.0 of Appendix DC, Part
266, Methods Manual for Compliance with the BIF
Regulations.
Restrictions on Hazardous Waste Firing Rate Are on a Mass or
Heating Value Basis, whichever Results in a Lower Mass of Waste
Fired.
The BIF rule is revised to base the firing rate on either the
total heat input or the mass input, whichever results in the
lower mass feed rate of hazardous waste. This will ensure,
for example, that large quantities of low- heating-value
waste cannot be burned under the restrictions.
Direct Transfer Operations May Comply with the Setback
Requirements for Tanks in the NFPA Code, Rather than the 50-
Foot Setback Requirement for Containers.
The requirement for direct transfer vehicles containing
ignitable wastes be located at least 50 feet from the
property line is amended. Since the purpose for the
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setback was to provide for fire safety, EPA believes that it is
reasonable for a facility to comply with the more flexible
National Fire Protection Association's code. The selected
location should be certified by the local fire marshal! to
verify that it is safe.
Furnaces May Peed Hazardous Waste at Locations Where Fuels Are
Normally Fired, Without Complying with the Special Requirements
of Section 266.103(a)(5).
The special requirements on industrial furnaces that fed
hazardous waste at any location other than the "hot end"
where products are normally discharged and where fuels
are normally fired" are changed. The special requirements
unintentionally applied to HAFs (and perhaps other
furnaces) that feed wastes where fuels are normally fired
but discharge products at another location. EPA believes
that the interim status carbon monoxide standards will
effectively control organic emissions from these devices
without the need for the special restrictions. The special
restrictions apply when hazardous waste is fed at any
location other than the "hot end where products are
normally discharged or where fuels are normally fired."
F032 May Be Burned during Interim Status, Even though It Is
Listed for Containing Diozin.
EPA did not intend for the 99.999 percent destruction and
removal efflcieny criteria to apply to wood preserving
wastes (F032). Because EPA considers F032 "toxic" rather
than "acutely toxic," the restrictions on dioxin-listed wastes
do not apply.
Certain Brominated Residuals Fed to a HAF Are Not
Inherently Waste-Like.
The BEF rule is amended to indicate that the inherently
waste-like designation of wastes fed to a HAF does not
apply to brominated residuals fed to HAFs under certain
conditions. Specifically, the materials must contain at
least 45 percent bromine, contain less than one percent
total Appendix VIII toxic organic compounds, and be
processed continuously on-site in a HAF via direct
conveyance (hard piping). Owners and operators of such a
device must document to EPA that the inherently waste-
like designation does not apply to their waste.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For additional information or to order a copy of the Federal Register
notice, 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; TDD (800)
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553-7672 (hearing impaired); in Washington, D.C., the number is
(703) 920-9810, TDD (703) 486-3323.
Copies of documents, applicable to this rulemaking may be obtained
by writing: RCRA Information Center (RIC), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste (OS-305), 401 M Street SW,
Washington, D.C. 20460.
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