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U.S. Environmental ?rctection Agency
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generator; however, other persons handling the waste also
have an obligation to know if a waste they are managing is
hazardous.
Once a solid waste is identified as hazardous, it is
subject to all of the controls under the RCRA hazardous
waste program, except where otherwise provided. Special
requirements apply to hazardous wastes generated by small-
quantity generators and to hazardous wastes that are used,
reused, recycled, or reclaimed.
Definition of RCRA defines a hazardous waste in general as a solid
Hazardous Waste waste that may cause increased mortality or serious illness
or may pose a substantial hazard to health or the environ-
ment when improperly managed. EPA was required to establish
criteria for a more specific identification and for listing
hazardous wastes. The criteria established under the Act
were then used to develop characteristics and lists of haz-
ardous wastes.
Hazardous Waste Characteristics. Hazardous wastes are
identified on the basis of measurable characteristics for
which standardized tests are available. The identification
regulation, in Sections 261.20-261.24, provides detailed
technical specifications for four characteristics adopted by
EPA:
o ignitability—posing a fire hazard during routine
management;
o corrosivity—ability to corrode standard containers
or to dissolve toxic components of other wastes;
o reactivity—tendency to explode under normal manage-
ment conditions, to react violently when mixed with
water, or to generate toxic gases;
o EP toxicity (as determined by a specific extraction
procedure)—presence of certain toxic materials at
levels greater than those specified in the regulation.
Hazardous Wastes Lists. The identification regulation
contains lists of solid wastes that are identified as hazard-
ous. These lists are found in Sections 261.31, 261.32, and
261.33. Included in the lists are wastes that possess any of
the four hazardous waste characteristics as well as wastes
meeting the criteria for acute hazardousness or toxicity. A
waste is acutely hazardous if it has been found to be fatal
to humans in small amounts or has been shown to be acutely
toxic in certain studies of animals.
The criterion for toxicity permits EPA to list a hazard-
ous waste if it contains one or more constituents that have
been found to have toxic effects on humans or other life forms
unless, after considering certain factors, EPA determines that
the waste may not cause or potentially cause "substantial"
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hazard to human health or the environment. These factors
include:
o the degree of toxicity of the toxic constituents
of the waste;
o the concentration of these constituents in the waste;
o the potential for these constituents or their by-
products to migrate from the waste into the environ-
ment;
. o the persistence and degradation potential of the
constituents or their toxic by-products in the en-
vironment;
o the potential for the constituents or their toxic
by-products to bioaccumulate in ecosystems;
o the plausible and possible types of improper man-
agement to which the waste may be subjected;
o the quantities of the waste generated;
o the record of human health and environmental damage
that has resulted from past improper management of
wastes containing the same toxic constituents.
Identifying The generator must determine if:
Hazardous Waste
o the material is a solid waste; and
o the waste or any constituent is included in the
- . . hazardous waste list; or
o the waste meets any of the hazardous waste char-
acteristics.
Exemption or It is possible for generators to obtain exemption even
Delisting if their wastes are listed in the regulation. Generators
must show that the waste from their particular facility is
fundamentally different from the waste listed. The delist-
ing procedure involves demonstrating, or referencing test
data that demonstrate, that the specific waste does not meet
the criteria that caused the Agency to list it. This provi-
sion reflects recognition that individual waste streams vary,
depending upon raw materials, industrial processes, and other
factors. ,
^Exemption for In general, facilities producing or accumulating less
Generators of than a total of 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) per month of
Small Quantities an identified hazardous waste are conditionally exempted from
of Hazardous the regulatory system. EPA has, however, specified that cer—
Waste tain acutely hazardous wastes generated or stored in amounts
greater than 1 kilogram per month are subject to full regula-
tion, even when produced by small-quantity generators.
The quantity determination does not include hazardous
waste that is used, reused, recycled, or reclaimed.
To qualify for an exemption from regulation, small-
quantity generators must dispose of' their hazardous waste in
EPA- or State-approved hazardous waste management facilities
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or in facilities approved by a State to manage municipal or
industrial solid waste, or send their waste to a recycling
facility.
Excluded Wastes Certain wastes are not subject to RCRA hazardous waste
controls (but may be controlled under other laws). These
include:
o domestic sewage;
o industrial wastewater discharge regulated under the
the Clean Water Act;
o nuclear wastes regulated under the Atomic Energy
Act;
o irrigation return flows;
o household waste;
o mining extraction, beneficiation, and processing
wastes;
o coal combustion wastes (fly ash, bottom ash, slag,
and flue gas emission control wastes);
o oil, gas, and geothermal drilling muds and brines;
o soil fertilizers that come from the growing and
harvesting of agricultural crops and the raising
of animals (including animal manures);
o cement kiln dust.
Protection
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
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