United States
                      Environmental Protection
                      Agency
Atmospheric Research and
Exposure Assessment Laboratory
Research Triangle Park NC 27711
                      Research and Development
EPA/600/S3-90/094  Aug. 1991
i§r EPA        Project  Summary
                      Problem  POHC  Reference
                      Directory
                     Kim W. Baughman, Ruby H. James, Ralph B. Spafford, and
                     Christina H. Duffey
                        The hazardous waste incineration
                     program  is highly dependent on the
                     regional permit writers and  their
                     knowledge  of analytical methods for
                     determining Principal Organic Hazard-
                     ous Constituents (POHCs). Every trial
                     burn plan must be  approved by the
                     regional permit writer. Because of the
                     myriad of compounds that are proposed
                     as test chemicals and because of the
                     ever-changing  status of analytical
                     methodology for trace organic analy-
                     sis, a tremendous burden is placed on
                     the permit writer to stay abreast of the
                     developments in the field.  Currently,
                     there is no means to keep permit writers
                     informed of advances in measurement
                     technology.
                        Measurement methods for many of
                     the Appendix VIII compounds have been
                     developed only in the last few years.
                     Many compounds  are  designated
                     "problem POHCs" because they are
                     difficult to determine or cannot be de-
                     termined at all with current technology.
                     The purpose of this  report was to as-
                     semble data on the Appendix VIII com-
                     pounds relative to their analytical
                     method status, physical properties, and
                     combustion properties. The objective is
                     to provide  regional  hazardous waste
                     permit writers with immediate access to
                     these data to assist them in their review
                     of trial burn sampling  and  analysis
                     plans. Access to these data will  allow
                     permit writers to foresee potential prob-
                     lems in the plans and to specify method
                     modifications or to suggest alternate
                     POHCs that are similar in chemical and
                     physical characteristics  but easier to
                     determine. This should accelerate the
                     permitting process by allowing a quicker
                     review of trial burn plans and by reduc-
ing the number of tests that must be
repeated  because of  analytical prob-
lems. The directory has also been made
available  in disk form for storage and
access on personal computers.
   This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Atmospheric Research
and Exposure Assessment Laboratory,
Research Triangle Park,  NC,  to an-
nounce key findings  of the research
project that Is  fully documented in a
separate  report of the same title (see
Project Report  ordering Information at
back).

Introduction
   Regional hazardous waste incineration
permit writers frequently need assistance
in evaluating the validity of sampling and
analysis procedures for Principal Organic
Hazardous Constituents (POHCs). Indi-
vidual assistance is being provided, but is
inadequate to meet the needs of the permit
writers. A great deal of responsibility is still
placed on the individual  permit writer.
   Currently, there is no mechanism to
keep permit writers informed of recent ad-
vances in measurement technology. There
is also no mechanism to provide them with
quick access to pertinent data for specific
compounds of interest. This situation criti-
cally hinders the successful  implementa-
tion of the hazardous waste incineration
regulatory  program. Assistance in "pack-
aged" form, such as guidance documents
and personal computer disks, is potentially
of great value because  of the immediate
accessibility of the information.
   Sampling and analysis procedures for
many of the Appendix VIII compounds have
been developed only in the last few years.
There are even  some POHCs for which
methods are still unknown and others that
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 present special problems in sampling and
 analysis. The data base of measurement
 methods is expanding rapidly. Permit writ-
 ers and other users would greatly benefit if
 easy access to this  information is pro-
 vided. Therefore, communication of this
 information to the permit writers in a useful
 form is particularly important.
   The objective of this project was to
 assemble a data base containing informa-
 tion  concerning  problem POHCs and to
 suggest solutions to the difficulties associ-
 ated with sampling or analyzing them. Use
 of the updated reference material will be
 quicker and easier than contacting resource
 people and should be used as a supplement
 to their assistance.  It will greatly aid the
 permit writers in avoiding pitfalls in the
 selection  of  POHCs  or sampling and
 analysis methods for them. This information
 will also be quite valuable to engineering
 research and development programs and
 the technical  community in general.

 Research Approach
   The goal of this task was to assemble a
 database containing information pertaining
 to the availability and reliability of sampling
 and  analysis  methods for Appendix VIII
 compounds. Compounds known to be dif-
ficult to determine were to be flagged, and
 if possible, solutions to these problems
were to be suggested. Another goal of the
task  was to provide physical and chemical
data on the  compounds and to provide
searching capabilities  for retrieving the
names  of compounds with  specified
physical or chemical properties. This would
allow the permit writers to suggest similar
alternate  compounds in cases  where a
 substitute is needed for the designated
 POHC.
    The format of the directory was de-
 signed to provide the permit writers with
 easy access to as much information as is
 available for the Appendix VIII compounds.
 Many of the fields are simply entries of
 common physical and chemical properties
 of the compounds. These include the mo-
 lecular weight, compound  class, boiling
 point, melting point, flash point, heat of
 combustion, and water solubility. Also  in-
 cluded are a ranking of heat of combustion
 from  lowest to highest for the compounds
 for which values were available.
    Because the objective of this data base
 is to  assist permit writers, we have  in-
 cluded two fields dealing with thermal sta-
 bility and two with heat of combustion. The
 data for thermal stability include a numeri-
 cal ranking of 320 compounds and a sub-
 division of the compounds  into seven
 classes based on the ranking.
    We have included toxicity data and the
 Chemical  Abstract Service  registry num-
 ber when available.
    The remainder of the  record includes
 information  concerning the appropriate
 sampling  and analysis methods for the
 POHC and the validity of the methods. We
 have listed the suggested sampling method
 and analysis  method. When appropriate,
 we have used SW-846 methods. In many
 cases, the methods suggested have not
 been evaluated for the specific compound,
 but have been evaluated  for compounds
 with similar physical properties or similar
functional  groups.  We have  included  a
 memo field  entitled  "Validation  Status"
which discusses the degree of scrutiny the
 compound has undergone with regard to
 the suggested methods.
    We have also described specific known
 problems in one  field and possible solu-
 tions in  another.  This would include, for
 instance, discussions of compounds that
 are reactive,  water soluble, or that might
 break through  the sampling  media. We
 have also ijsted the common general and
 specific problems encountered with each
 compound.
   The general problems categories re-
 late to:  (1) analysis, (2)  the  hazardous
 nature of ^he POHC, and (3) sampling.
 Specific  problems are subdivided under
 each of  these  three general categories.
 Sampling problems include blank  effects,
 breakthrough,  and  reactivity.  Analysis
 problems include  interferences, recovery,
 sensitivity, and solubility in water.
   Identification of problem POHCs was
 accomplished;through a literature survey
 and through discussion with experts in the
 field. Specific properties and problems are
 entered  in the  data  base records. The
 records also contain memo fields to allow
 discussion of problems and recommended
 solutions.

 Conclusions
   The compilation of this data into an
 easily accessible directory should acceler-
 ate the review process for trial burn plans.
 It should also reduce the number of retests
 needed because the sampling and analy-
 sis problems encountered could have been
 avoided if the information on the particular
 POHC had been available prior to the burn.
The directory is easy to use and will greatly
assist  the | research and development
community as well as the permit writer.
                                                                      •fru.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1991 - 548-028/40041

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   Kim W. Baughman, Ruby H. James, Ralph B. Spafford, and Christina H. Duffey are
     with Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, AL 35255-5305.
   Larry D. Johnson Is the EPA Project Off leer (see  below).
   The complete report, entitled "Problem POHC Reference Directory," (Order No. for
     paper copy PB91-20W61/AS; Cost: $15.00; Order No. for diskette PB91-507749/
     AS; Cost: $180.00; both costs are 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:
           Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
           U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
           Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
     BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
 EPA PERMIT NO. G-35
Official Business
Penally for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S3-90/094

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