&EPA
www.epa.gov/nhsrc
technical BR
EPA's Incident Waste Management Planning & Response
Tool (IWMPRT)
Version 6.1 adds additional functionality to the
Incident Waste Management Planning & Response
Tool
Background
Handling, transporting, treating, and disposing of large
volumes of waste generated by natural disasters; chemical
spills; biological, chemical or radiological terrorism and
animal disease outbreaks present unique challenges.
Effective and timely disposal of these contaminated materials
is critical for protecting and restoring communities and the
environment. Characterization of contamination in debris and
access to reliable information on treatment and disposal can
reduce cleanup costs and shorten restoration timelines.
EPA, with the Department of Homeland Security, is
supporting the National Response Framework, which guides
response to domestic incidents. The IWMPRT has been
developed based on EPA-funded research. The IWMPRT
provides information on types and volumes of waste
materials and contaminants generated during an incident,
contact information for potential treatment/disposal facilities, as well as health and safety information
to ensure public and worker safety during the removal, transport, treatment, and disposal of
contaminated debris.
As part of U.S. EPA's Office of Research and
Development, the National Homeland Security
Research Center (NHSRC) provides products and
expertise to improve our nation's ability to respond to
environmental contamination caused by terrorist
attacks on our nation's water infrastructure, buildings
and outdoor areas,
NHSRC conducts research related to:
• Detecting and containing contamination from
chemical, biological, and radiological
agents
• Assessing and mitigating exposure to
contamination
• Understanding the health effects of
contamination
• Developing risk-based exposure advisories
• Decontaminating and disposing of
contaminated materials.
Managing Disaster-Generated Waste and Debris
The IWMPRT provides information for planning how
to handle, transport, treat, and dispose of contaminated
debris. By using a web-based platform, large amounts of
information are condensed and presented in a user-friendly
format, and the IWMPRT is easily updated as new
information becomes available. The tool is not intended to
override regulatory or legal requirements, but to provide
information that can facilitate disposal decisions.
The IWMPRT includes:
• Information on debris characteristics and
contamination, as well as characteristics of
decontamination agents that could be used;
• Databases of treatment and disposal facilities (e.g., hazardous waste incinerators, landfills,
medical waste autoclaves), including locations, contact information, and capacities for the
different categories of waste generated;
• A waste quantity estimator that allows end-users to generate order-of-magnitude estimates of
volumes and masses of waste and debris from events involving single buildings or several
structures over a wide area;
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• A water systems module with information from different geographical areas to support the
unique considerations involved in the disposal of debris (e.g. filter media, piping) generated as a
result of decontaminating water treatment and distribution systems;
• Agricultural biomass disposal guidelines including training modules developed by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture;
• Natural disaster debris disposal guidelines including case studies organized by disaster type
(e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods);
• Debris transportation, packaging, and storage information;
• Radiological dispersal device debris information and guidelines;
• Worker protection information.
Recently Added Features
The updated version includes a wide-area waste quantity estimator, which allows users to calculate
disposal waste amounts for events involving several structures, with added functionality to include
building structural materials in case the building itself is demolished.
Also, the following facility databases have been updated:
Medical/ Biohazardous Waste Incinerators
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C Hazardous Waste
Landfills
Electric Arc Furnaces
• Aluminum and/or Copper Recyclers
Commercial Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities
Federal Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities
Rendering Facilities
• Federally Owned Treatment Works (FOTWs)
• Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs)
Links to other sources of information on recycling facilities.
Version 6.1 includes interface changes made in response to focus group feedback that make using
the tool more intuitive. Additions were also made to the Radiological Incident Waste module in
response to stakeholder feedback received during a July 2009 focus group meeting. This version
includes three new "special considerations" waste fact sheets and wildfire guidance in the Natural
Disaster Debris Disposal DST. The Agricultural Biomass Disposal DST contains access to USDA
disposal training modules, pathogen fact sheets and disposal hierarchies for poultry and large animal
mortality events.
For more information, visit the EPA Web site at www.epa.gov/nhsrc.
EPA's Suite of Disaster Debris Management and Disposal Decision Support Tools is available
at www2.ergweb.com/bdrtool/login.asp. You will need to request a user identification name and
password in order to log on.
Technical Contact: Paul Lemieux (lemieux.paul@epa.gov)
General Feedback/Questions: Kathy Nickel (nickel.kathy@epa.gov)
July, 2011
EPA/600/S-06/018B
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