United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Las Vegas NV 89193-3478
Research and Development
EPA/600/S4-88/038 July 1989
&EPA Project Summary
Production and Management of
Small-Quantity-Generator
Hazardous-Waste in Florida
R. C. Herndon, J. E. Moerlins, E, B. Jones V. W. Lambou, and
J. D. Koutsandreas
Data are presented on the
production and management of
hazardous waste by approximately
20,000 small-quantity hazardous-
waste generators (SQHWGs) in the
state of Florida. SQHWGs are
generators that produce less than
1,000 kilograms of hazardous-waste
in a calendar month. These data were
collected as part of the Florida Local-
Government Hazardous-Waste
Assessment Program and made
available to us for analysis. There
were approximately 117,000 metric
tons of small quantity-generator
(SQG) hazardous waste produced
annually. Approximately half of this
hazardous waste is managed using
the following methods: recycling,
treatment, and disposal in permitted
hazardous-waste-management facil-
ities. However, large quantities of this
SQG hazardous waste are disposed
of In sanitary landfills and discharged
to public sewers and these facilities
are typically not designed to handle
hazardous waste. These data indicate
that there are potential environmental
and human-health problems associ-
ated with the management of SQG
hazardous waste in Florida as well as
throughout the U.S.A.
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Environmental Moni-
toring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas,
NV, to announce key findings of the
research project that is fully docu-
mented in a separate report of trie
same title (see Project Report
ordering information at back).
Introduction
In order to address the issue of the
small-quantity hazardous-waste generator
(SQHWG), as well as other solid waste
concerns, the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) was enacted in the
United States in 1976 and was amended
in 1984. The RCRA provides a legal
framework for coordinating federal, state,
and local-government solid waste
management in the U.S.A. Subtitle D of
the RCRA is concerned with waste-
management facilities that are generally
considered, or by regulations are defined
as facilities that manage non-hazardous
waste. Data on the production and
management of small-quantity-generator
(SQG) hazardous waste is needed in
order to determine the problems
associated with its generation and to
formulate regulations that will minimize
its impact on human health and the
environment. This report characterizes
the types and amounts of SQG
hazardous waste produced and how it is
managed by approximately 20,000 firms
and agencies in the state of Florida.
The RCRA regulates the management
of both hazardous and non-hazardous
solid waste in the U.S.A. A SQHWG is
defined in Section 260.10, Chapter 40 of
the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations as
"a generator that generates less than
1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste in a
calendar month." The RCRA regulations,
as of March 24, 1986, define two
categories of SQHWGs: (1) those
generating less than 100 kilograms of
hazardous waste in a calendar month,
and (2) those generating between 100-
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1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste in a
calendar month. According to federal
regulations, SQHWGs that produce
between 100-1,000 kilograms of
hazardous waste in a calendar mooth
must manage their waste at facilities
designed and permitted under Subtitle C
of the RCRA to accept hazardous waste.
Generators that produce less than 100
kilograms of hazardous waste are not
prohibited by federal regulations from
disposing of their hazardous waste in
Subtitle D facilities such as sanitary
landfills.
Hazardous waste is defined in Part
261, Chapter 40 of the U.S.A. Code of
Federal Regulations as waste that is
characteristically either corrosive,
reactive, ignitable or toxic. These four
characteristics have been used by the
U.S. EPA and others to develop lists of
specific chemicals as well as process-
waste streams that have been
determined to be "hazardous."
Counties in the state of Florida vary
considerably in geographic size,
population, economic profile, geology,
hydrology, and the number and types of
waste-management facilities available in
each county. Because of this diversity, it
is believed that the data on SQG
hazardous waste produced in Florida are
generally representative of the types and
quantities of SQG hazardous waste
produced as well as representative of the
management practices used throughout
the U.S.A.
Materials and Methods
The SQG hazardous-waste data
presented in the report were collected as
part of the Florida Local Government
Hazardous Waste Assessment Program.
The Florida Local Government Hazardous
Waste Assessment Program requires all
counties in Florida to conduct
assessments of hazardous-waste-related
activities in their jurisdictions under
guidelines developed by the Florida
Department of Environmental Regulation
(FDER). An important component of each
county assessment is a survey of
SQHWGs. The survey data were
collected utilizing questionnaires sent
through the mail or completed during on-
site interviews. The FDER coordinated
the data collection activities of all
counties in order to maintain consistenc
in the survey effort. These data wei
collected over the time period 1983-1981
however, the data collected from eac
survey respondent represents wasl
produced during one year of operatic
(i.e., annual data). The survey data wei
placed in a computer file and mad
available to us for analysis.
Results and Discussion
Table 1 shows the methods used 1
manage SQG hazardous waste in Florid
Fourteen specific waste-managemei
methods were grouped into seve
general waste-management categories
The management method most commoi
ly used was "Recycling" whic
processed approximately 42,000 metri
tons annually or 36 percent of the tot,
SQG hazardous waste produced. Th
second management method mo;
commonly used was "Sent to Sanitar
Landfills" which accounted for approx
mately 27,000 metric tons annually or 2
percent of the total SQG hazardous wast
produced. The third management metho
most commonly used was "Othe
Table 1. Waste-Management methods Used for SQG Hazardous Waste in Florida
Waste Management Category
Annual Amount of
Waste (metric tons) Percent of Category
Percent of Total
(1) Recycling
Sub-total:
(2) Sent to Sanitary Landfills
Taken by Hauler 25,705.1
Taken by Generator 7,069.6
Sub-total:
(3) Other Methods
Sub-total:
(4) Treatment
Filtration 4,348.7
Neutralization 3,842.5
Incineration 1,131.9
Burned or Blended for Fuel 1,515.2
Sub-total'
(5) Discharged to Public Sewers
Sub-total:
(6) Disposed on Property
Buried on Property 2,338.7
Discharged to Septic Tanks 1,837.2
Disposed in Pit, Pond, or Lagoon 1,266.8
Injected into Wells 331.0
Sub-total:
(7) Sent to Permitted Facilities"
Sub-total:
41,562.3
26,774.7
16,815.3
10,838.3
10,403.5
5,773.7
4,874.9
100.0
96.0
±0
100.0
100.0
40.1
35.5
10.4
14.0
100.0
100.0
40.5
31.8
21.9
5.7
100.0
100.0
35.5
22.9
14.4
9.3
8.9
4.9
4.2
Total:
117,042.7
10.0
"Off-site commercial facilities permitted to handle hazardous waste under the RCRA.
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Methods" which accounted for
approximately 17,000 metric tons
annually or 15 percent of the total SQG
hazardous waste produced. "Other
Methods" was an option included on the
survey form; howev.er, the survey
respondents were not asked to identify
what specific management practices
were actually employed when the "Other
Methods" category was used.
Approximately 11,000 metric tons or 9
percent of the total SQG hazardous waste
produced annually was managed by
"Treatment" (Table 1). Approximately
10,000 metric tons or 9 percent of the
total SQG hazardous waste produced
annually, was "Discharged to Public
Sewers." In addition, approximately 6,000
metric tons or 5 percent of the total SQG
hazardous waste generated annually was
"Disposed on Property" of the SQHWGs.
Off-site commercial facilities permitted to
manage hazardous waste under the
RCRA received approximately 5,000
metric tons or 4 percent of the SQG
hazardous waste generated annually.
"Recycling," "Treatment," and "Sent
to Permitted Facilities" represent SQG
hazardous-waste-management methods
that minimize the potential to adversely
impact human health and the
environment. "Sent to Sanitary Landfills,"
"Other Methods," "Discharged to Public
Sewers," and "Disposed on Property"
represent SQG hazardous-waste-
management methods that have a greater
potential to adversely impact human
health and the environment. Therefore,
from Table 1, it can be seen that
approximately 49 percent or 57,000
metric tons of the SQG hazardous waste
produced annually is managed in an
acceptable manner while 51 percent or
60,000 metric tons is managed in a less
acceptable manner.
Table 2 shows the types and annual
amounts of SQG hazardous waste
produced in Florida and the waste-
management methods used to manage
these wastes. The waste type "Other"
includes hazardous waste not reported as
one of the other 25 types included on the
survey form. Survey respondents were
not asked to identify the specific types of
hazardous waste that were actually
generated when the "Other" waste type
was indicated.
The largest quantity of SQG hazardous
waste produced was "Waste Oils,
Lubricants" which accounted for 35
percent or 41,000 metric tons of the SQG
hazardous waste produced annually.
"Lead-Acid Batteries" accounted for 14
percent or 17,000 metric tons of the SQG
hazardous waste produced annually.
"Spent Solvents" accounted for 10
percent or 12,000 metric tons of the SQG
hazardous waste produced annually.
Significant amounts of "Acidic or Alkaline
Wastes," "Rinses with Heavy Metals,"
"Sludges with Heavy Metals,"
"Photographic Wastes", "Other", "Spent
Plating Wastes," "Dust with Heavy
Metals," "Ignitable Paint Waste," and
Ignitable Wastes" were produced. Lesser
amounts of "Waste Ammonia," "Washing
Solutions," "Empty Pesticide
Containers," "Other Pesticide Solutions,"
"Paint Waste with Heavy Metals,"
"Waste Ink," "Cyanide Wastes." "Solvent
Still Bottoms," "Waste Pesticides,"
"Waste Formaldehyde," "Dry Cleaning
Filters," "Wood Preservatives," "Waste
Explosives," and "Spent Solutions from
Dipping" were produced.
Data is presented in the report on the
quantities of SQG hazardous waste
produced by industry (SIC code) and the
seven waste-management categories
shown in Table 1.
Conclusions
A significant amount of hazardous
waste is produced by SQHWGs in
Florida. Approximately half of this waste
is managed by methods (recycling,
treatment, and disposal in permitted
hazardous-waste-management facilities)
that minimize the potential to adversely
impact human health and the environ-
ment. Of particular concern is the large
quantity of SQG hazardous waste
disposed of m sanitary landfills and
discharged to public sewers, since these
facilities are not typically designed to
handle hazardous waste.
The waste types, that represent the
greatest quantities of hazardous waste
produced by SQHWGs in Florida, are
waste oils and lubricants, lead-acid
batteries, spent solvents, and acidic or
alkaline wastes. Even though waste oils
are not presently regulated as a
hazardous waste under the RCRA, they
were included in these data because of
the potential adverse impacts of these
wastes on human health and the
environment.
There are potential environmental and
human-health problems associated with
the management of SQG hazardous
waste in Florida as well as throughout the
U.S.A.
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R. C. Herndon, J. E. Moerlins, and E. B. Jones are with Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL 32306; the EPA authors, V. W. Lambou (also the EPA Project
Officer, see below), is with the Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory,
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478; and J. D. Koutsandreas is with USEPA in
Washington, DC 20460.
The complete report, entitled "Production and Management of Small-quantity-
Generator Hazardous-Waste in Florida," (Order No. PB 89-129 0921 AS; Cost:
$13.95, subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S4-88/038
0000329 PS
AGENCT
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