Technical  Bulletin

               Diesel Particulate Filter
                      Ash Disposal
    National Clean Diesel  Campaign
           www.epa.gov/cleandiesel
What is Hazardous Waste?

Hazardous waste includes toxic wastes. Toxic waste is
harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed, or leaches
toxic chemicals into soil orgroundwaterwhen disposed of
on land. Examples include waste with high concentrations
of heavy  metals,  such as  cadmium, lead,  zinc,  or
mercury.
It is illegal to dispose of hazardous waste in ordinary trash,
or by burying, burning, blowing it into the air, or placing it
into water or down the sewer.
Hazardous Waste Determination

While DPF ash is not specifically listed as a hazardous
waste in the Federal Code of Regulations, there may be
metallic  oxides in the ash which are hazardous to the
environment or to public health. As a waste generator,
you can  assume the ash is hazardous waste or you can
have your waste tested using the Toxicity Characteristic
Leaching Procedure  (TCLP). The TCLP replicates the
leaching process that occurs when wastes are buried
in  a  typical municipal landfill.  If the leachate  from the
waste contains any  of the  regulated  contaminants at
concentrations equal to  or greater than  the regulatory
levels, then the waste is considered  hazardous waste.
Generator Status and Disposal Requirements

Disposal of hazardous waste depends on the generator
status.
A Conditionally-Exempt Small Quantity Generator
(CESQG) generates less than 220 total pounds of
hazardous waste in a calendar month and stores less
than 2,200 pounds. A CESOG can send its hazardous
waste to an EPA permitted disposal facility for hazardous
waste or a State permitted municipal or industrial
disposal facility.
If a 220  pound per month threshold is  exceeded, the
generator will be required to have more stringent storage,
disposal, labeling and tracking than a CESQG. In general,
the  amount of ash collected from a  single  DPF ranges
from a couple of teaspoons to one cup.
More  information  and hazardous  waste  compliance
assistance is available at: www.ccar-greenlink.org/vshops/
vshopl /hazardous, html
          Brand New Disassembled Diesel
               Particulate Filter (DPF)
          Disassembled Diesel Particulate
              Filter (DPF) After Several
              Thousand Hours of Use
                                                                                   EPA-420-F-09-010
                                                                                       February 2009

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