EPA/600/R-21/190 | October 2021
www.epa.gov/emergency-response-research
United States
Environmental Protectio
Agency
oEPA
Modernized Incident Waste
Decision Support Tool (l-WASTE)
Project Report
Office of Research and Development
Homeland Security Research Program
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and
Development
Washington, D.C. 20460
EPA/600/R-21/190
October 2021
https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response-research
Modernized Incident Waste
Decision Support Tool (l-WASTE)
Project Report
Office of Research and Development (ORD)
Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER)
Homeland Security and Materials Management Division (HSMMD)
Homeland Security Research Program
Paul Lemieux (Principal Investigator, EPA/ORD/CESER/HSMMD)
Susan Thorneloe (EPA/ORD/CESER/HSMMD)
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DISCLAIMER
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Office of Research and
Development, funded and managed the research described here under Contract EP-C-16-015 to
Eastern Research Group, Inc. This document has been reviewed in accordance with U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency policy and approved for publication. Any mention of trade
names, manufacturers or products does not imply an endorsement by the United States
Government or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA and its employees do not
endorse any commercial products, services, or enterprises.
Questions concerning this document, or its application, should be addressed to:
Paul Lemieux
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response
109 T.W. Alexander Dr.
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
Phone 919.541.0962
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FOREWORD
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged by Congress with protecting the
Nation's land, air, and water resources. Under a mandate of national environmental laws, the
Agency strives to formulate and implement actions leading to a compatible balance between
human activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life. To meet this
mandate, EPA's research program is providing data and technical support for solving
environmental problems today and building a science knowledge base necessary to manage our
ecological resources wisely, understand how pollutants affect our health, and prevent or
reduce environmental risks in the future.
The Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) within the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) conducts applied, stakeholder-driven research and provides
responsive technical support to help solve the Nation's environmental challenges. The Center's
research focuses on innovative approaches to address environmental challenges associated
with the built environment. We develop technologies and decision-support tools to help
safeguard public water systems and groundwater, guide sustainable materials management,
remediate sites from traditional contamination sources and emerging environmental stressors,
and address potential threats from terrorism and natural disasters. CESER collaborates with
both public and private sector partners to foster technologies that improve the effectiveness
and reduce the cost of compliance, while anticipating emerging problems. We provide technical
support to EPA regions and programs, states, tribal nations, and federal partners, and serve as
the interagency liaison for EPA in homeland security research and technology. The Center is a
leader in providing scientific solutions to protect human health and the environment.
This report provides an overview of EPA's Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (l-WASTE) that
provides important information to support planning and response decision-making. I-WASTE
features calculators to generate waste quantity estimates, provides databases of treatment and
disposal facilities, and includes a quick reference to technical information, regulations, and
guidance to address the safe and efficient removal, transport, and disposal of waste materials.
The objective of the decision support tool is to help reduce restoration time and expense by
providing quick access to information that will inform the decision-making process for incident
waste management. Instructions for using l-WASTE and associated technical documentation
describing the technology architecture are also included.
Gregory Sayles, Director
Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Contributions of the following individuals and organizations to this report are acknowledged:
U.S. EPA Technical Reviewers of Report
Timothy Boe (EPA/ORD/CESER/HSMMD)
Melissa Kaps (EPA/OLEM/ORCR)
Christopher Kiser (USDA/APHIS)
Rob Miknis (USDA/APHIS)
Lori Miller (USDA/APHIS)
Dave Olszyk (EPA/ORD/CPHEA/PESD)
George Partridge (Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division of Waste Management)
Shannon Serre (EPA/OEM/CMAD)
Lucy Stanfield (EPA/Region 5)
Alan Woodward (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)
U.S. EPA Quality Assurances
Ramona Sherman (EPA/ORD/CESER/HSMMD)
Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG)
Devin Galloway
Colin Hayes
Molly Rodgers
*ORD, Office of Research and Development
CESER, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response
HSMMD, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division
OLEM, Office of Land and Emergency Management
ORCR, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
USDA, United States Department of Agriculture
APHIS, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
CPHEA, Center For Public Health And Environmental Assessment
PESD, Pacific Ecological Systems Division
OEM, Office of Emergency Management
CMAD, Consequence Management Advisory Division
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Disclaimer i
Foreword ii
Acknowledgments iii
List of Tables vi
List of Figures vi
Acronyms and Abbreviations vii
Executive Summary viii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Purpose 1
1.2 Overview 2
1.3 General Content 2
2 Quality Assurance/Quality Control 4
3 l-WASTE History and Research Approach 4
3.1 Design Philosophy and Technical Approach 5
3.2 Stakeholder Involvement 6
3.3 Outreach 8
3.4 Uses and Application 10
4 l-WASTE Information Architecture 10
4.1 Application-Level Architecture 11
5 Accessing l-WASTE 12
5.1 Primary Tool Navigation 13
5.2 Secondary Tool Navigation 15
6 Waste Materials Estimator 15
6.1 Waste Materials Estimator Page 16
6.2 Parameter Values 18
6.3 Estimated Waste Materials 18
7 Treatment & Disposal Facilities 25
7.1 Landfill Facilities 28
7.1.1 Industrial Waste Landfills 28
7.1.2 Inert or Construction and Demolition (C&D) Landfills 28
7.1.3 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills 28
7.1.4 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C Hazardous Waste
Landfills 28
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7.1.5 RCRA Subtitle C Landfills with Low Activity Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority
28
7.2 Combustion Facilities 29
7.2.1 Hazardous Waste Combustion Facilities 29
7.2.2 Medical/ Biohazardous Waste Incinerators 29
7.2.3 Municipal Combustion Facilities 29
7.3 Recovery Facilities 30
7.3.1 Construction and Demolition (C&D) Recyclers 30
7.3.2 Composting 30
7.3.3 Demolition Contractors 30
7.3.4 Electronics Recyclers 31
7.3.5 Household Hazardous Waste Collection 31
7.3.6 Metal Recyclers 31
7.3.7 Tire Recyclers 31
7.3.8 Transfer Stations 31
7.3.9 Vehicle Recyclers 31
7.4 Wastewater Treatment Facilities 32
7.4.1 Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) Facilities 32
7.4.2 Federally Owned Treatment Works 32
7.4.3 Publicly Owned Treatment Works 33
7.5 Other Facilities 33
7.5.1 Commercial Autoclaves 33
7.5.2 Commercial Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities 33
7.5.3 Electric Arc Furnaces 34
7.5.4 Federal Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities 34
7.5.5 Rendering Facilities 35
7.5.6 Sewage Sludge Incinerators 35
7.5.7 Wood-Fired Boilers 35
7.6 Government-Owned Land/Facilities 36
8 Guidance & Information 36
8.1 Chemical/Biological Related Guidance 39
8.2 Radiological/Nuclear Related Guidance 40
8.3 Natural Disaster Related Guidance 41
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8.4 Agricultural Incidents & Foreign Animal Disease Related Guidance 42
8.5 Critical Infrastructure Related Guidance 43
8.6 Browse Resources 44
8.7 Quick Links 45
8.8 Other Resources 46
9 References 46
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Waste/Materials Categories for Hospitals and Hotels 22
Table 2. Waste/Materials Categories for Offices, Open Spaces, Residences, and Schools 23
Table 3. Waste/Materials Categories Movie Theater and Shopping Malls 24
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. I-WASTE information architecture 12
Figure 2. I-WASTE home page 13
Figure 3. Accessing I-WASTE functionality 14
Figure 4. I-WASTE secondary page navigation 15
Figure 5. Waste Materials Estimator page 17
Figure 6. Parameter values example 18
Figure 7. Waste Materials Estimator results page - chart 20
Figure 8. Waste Materials Estimator results page - table 21
Figure 9. Treatment & Disposal Facilities page 26
Figure 10. Facility search results page 27
Figure 11. Guidance & Information page 38
Figure 12. Chemical/Biological and Decontamination Agent Information page and left
navigation menu 39
Figure 13. Radiological/Nuclear - Basic Information page and left navigation menu 41
Figure 14. Natural Disaster - Case Studies by Natural Disaster Event Type page and left
navigation menu 42
Figure 15. Agricultural Incidents &Foreign Animal Disease - Pathogen Information page and left
navigation menu 43
Figure 16. Critical Infrastructure - View Agent Information page and left navigation menu 44
Figure 17. Browse Resources - Documents & Reports results page 45
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AIST
Association for Iron and Steel Technology
API
application programming interface
C&D
construction and demolition
CWT
centralized waste treaters
DDRT
Disaster Debris Recovery Tool
DHS
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DOE
U.S. Department of Energy
EAF
electric arc furnace
ECHO
Enforcement and Compliance History Online
EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FLIGHT
Facility Level Information on GreenHouse gases Tool
FOTW
federally owned treatment works
HMIWI
Hazardous Medical Infectious Waste Incinerators
HSRP
Homeland Security Research Program (EPA)
JSON
JavaScript object notation
l-WASTE
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool
MSW
municipal solid waste
NARA
North American Renderers Association
NEI
National Emissions Inventory
ORD
Office of Research and Development (EPA)
OTD
Operational Technology Demonstration
PHP
Hypertext Preprocessor
POTW
publicly owned treatment works
PPE
personal protective equipment
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
USDA
U.S. Department of Agriculture
WARRP
Wide Area Recovery and Resiliency Program
WME
Waste Materials Estimator
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project supports United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Homeland
Security Research Program (HSRP) and the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency
Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division's strategic goals as
described in detail in the Homeland Security Strategic Research Action Plan (U.S. EPA, 2020).
This work is pertinent to Long-Term Goal 2, which states, "The [EPA] Office of Land and
Emergency Management (OLEM) and other clients use HSRP products and expertise to improve
the capability to respond to terrorist attacks affecting buildings and the outdoor
environments."
Incidents of national significance that would result in a direct or indirect environmental impact
can be caused by industrial accidents; natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and
earthquakes; terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons; and
disease outbreaks or intentional contamination impacting the safety of the U.S. food supply or
agricultural sector. Past experience with wide-area disasters has underscored the need for
emergency response plans to include tools that will assist decision makers in effectively
managing waste from incidents of national significance to minimize threats to human health
and the environment.
The primary decision makers in the waste management process will be: 1) federal and state
emergency response authorities and property owners who have to decide the most appropriate
decontamination methods and disposal of the resulting waste(s); 2) tribal, state, and local
permitting agencies who have to make decisions about which facilities will be allowed to
manage the waste(s); and 3) the waste management industry that will be called upon to accept
and safely treat or dispose of decontamination waste(s) without affecting the operation of its
facilities and without violating any of its environmental permits. The individuals tasked with
removal and disposal of waste materials will need to access a great deal of technical
information, regulations, and guidance to work through the series of decisions needed to
assure safe and efficient removal, transport, and management of these materials.
EPA's Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (l-WASTE) provides important information to
support planning and response decision-making and features calculators to generate waste
quantity estimates, provides databases of treatment and disposal facilities, and includes a quick
reference to technical information, regulations, and guidance to address the safe and efficient
removal, transport, and disposal of waste materials. The objective of l-WASTE is to help reduce
restoration time and expense by providing quick access to information that will inform the
decision-making process for incident waste management. l-WASTE supports EPA's goals to
strengthen resilience to disasters and complements other EPA tools such as the Disaster Debris
Recovery Tool and the All Hazards Waste Management Planning Tool.
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1 INTRODUCTION
In the event of an incident of national significance involving the deliberate or accidental
contamination of buildings, outdoor areas, agricultural critical infrastructure, transportation
infrastructure, or water treatment/distribution infrastructure, there will be a process of
cleaning up the contaminated site and restoring it to normal operation. After the initial
response and decontamination activities have taken place, the management of waste and
debris is nominally the final step in the restoration process. However, there are several waste
management issues that are inextricably linked with the entire cleanup process, including:
The nature of the event and its impact on waste quantities and degree of contamination;
The impact of decontamination technologies on waste quantities and waste characteristics;
The consideration of tradeoffs between decontamination costs and treatment/disposal
costs; and
The impact of waste characterization, decontamination effectiveness, and contamination
levels on the classification of waste for transportation, treatment, and disposal.
Although decontamination activities might have been completed, the properties of some
contaminated materials, laboratory capacity limitations, or limitations in analytical techniques
might be such that no guarantee can be made that no residual agent is present (e.g., in porous
materials). Ideally, the decontaminated materials should be characterized to determine the
waste class (e.g., hazardous waste, solid waste, special waste), so that waste management
options can be explored, but there is the possibility that decontaminated waste might have to
be managed as if it were still contaminated due to the lack of characterization.
The primary decision makers in the waste management process will be:
1. Federal and state emergency response authorities and property owners who decide the
most appropriate decontamination methods and disposal of the resulting waste(s);
2. Tribal, state, and local permitting agencies who make decisions about which facilities will be
allowed to manage the waste(s); and
3. The waste management industry that will be called upon to accept and safely treat or
dispose of decontamination waste(s) without affecting the operation of its facilities and
without violating any of its environmental permits.
The individuals tasked with removal and disposal of waste materials will need to access a great
deal of technical information, regulations, and guidance to work through the series of decisions
needed to assure safe and efficient removal, transport, and management of these materials.
1.1 Purpose
Incidents of national significance that would result in a direct or indirect environmental impact
can be caused by industrial accidents; natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and
earthquakes; terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons; and
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disease outbreaks or intentional contamination impacting the safety of the U.S. public, the food
supply, or agricultural sector. Past experience with wide-area disasters has underscored the
need for emergency response plans to include tools that will assist decision makers in
effectively managing waste from incidents of national significance to minimize threats to
human health and the environment.
Research is routinely conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's)
Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) to provide technical support to EPA and other
parts of the federal government for dealing with waste management issues. As part of the HSRP
research effort, technical information and tools are developed to help decision makers respond
to incidents of national significance. This waste management research program is coordinated
through the EPA emergency response community, Department of Homeland Security, other
federal agencies, and national laboratories, and with state, tribal, and local government
officials, industry, and international research partners. One of the major outputs from this
research is EPA's Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (l-WASTE).
1.2 Overview
l-WASTE provides important information to support planning and response decision-making
and features calculators to generate waste quantity estimates, provides databases of treatment
and disposal facilities, and includes links to technical information, regulations, and guidance to
address the safe and efficient removal, transport, treatment and/or disposal of waste materials.
The objective of l-WASTE is to help reduce restoration time and expense by providing quick
access to information that will inform the decision-making process for incident waste
management.
1.3 General Content
For the purpose of this tool, the term "waste management" refers to the entire process of
packaging, handling, treating, and transporting the waste until it resides in its final resting
placebe it a secure landfill, as recycled/reused materials, or other locations. The terminology
used in the tool is contextual. Under normal circumstances, EPA differentiates between
"materials" and "wastes" along the waste management continuum3. The term "waste" used
throughout the tool refers to incident-generated wastes, some of which might be materials that
can be treated or diverted to recycling if appropriate.
Information was collected from open literature, state and federal regulatory agencies, and
landfill and incinerator industry stakeholder groups to develop technical guidance for treatment
and disposal of waste resulting from incidents of national significance.
Information contained within or accessible through the tool includes:
An estimator to calculate order-of-magnitude debris/disposal quantities.
a Waste Management Hierarchy and Homeland Security Incidents, https://www.epa.gov/homeland-securitv-
waste/waste-management-hierarchy-and-homeland-security-incidents (last accessed: April 22, 2021).
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A database of treatment and disposal facilities including contact information and
geographic location. Treatment and disposal facilities that are provided include combustion
facilities (e.g., Hazardous Waste Combustion Facilities, Medical/ Biohazardous Waste
Incinerators, Municipal Combustion Facilities), landfills (e.g., Industrial Waste Landfills, Inert
or Construction and Demolition Landfills, Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C Landfill, RCRA Subtitle C Landfill with Low
Activity Waste Authority), recovery facilities (e.g., Construction & Demolition (C&D)
Recyclers, Composting, Demolition Contractors, Electronics Recyclers, Household Hazardous
Waste Collection, Metal Recyclers, Tire Recyclers, Transfer Stations, Vehicles Recyclers), and
other waste management facilities.
Information about on-site segregation and pre-processing of waste to make the material
more suitable for disposal in a given facility.
Information on packaging to minimize risk to workers handling the waste, the treatment
and disposal facility workers, and people along the transportation route to the treatment or
disposal facility, and to minimize potential for contaminating the facility.
Information related to transporting incident-generated waste including links to relevant
packaging regulations, guidance on performance requirements for containers, and possible
suppliers of hazardous material transport containers.
Information on characteristics of waste residues formed during the incineration process and
requirements for their safe disposal.
Natural disaster debris/waste characteristics and guidance.
Radiological/nuclear incident waste information and guidance.
Chemical and biological contaminant and decontaminant characteristics, and a database of
radionuclides.
Water systems equipment and guidance for disposal of water treatment facility equipment
and residues.
Agricultural incident disposal guidance.
A library of waste management resources to assist in the decision-making process.
Waste streams that are addressed include waste from the decontamination of buildings,
including construction materials as well as building contents (e.g., furniture, ceiling tiles, wall
hangings, and carpeting). In the case of natural disasters, there can be significant quantities of
waste that are contaminated from damaged chemical and industrial facilities, household
hazardous waste, mold, and other pollutants. Cleanup of contaminated water treatment and
distribution systems might involve the disposal of pumps, filters, piping, and other equipment.
The waste also might include personal protective equipment (PPE) from the cleanup crews,
which could be contaminated with residual agents at varying and possibly unknown levels. For
agricultural incidents involving animal carcass disposal and animal byproducts, there is a need
for quick response times to minimize further impacts, and to reflect EPA's role as a support
agency working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the lead agency.
This report provides a high-level overview of l-WASTE. I-WASTE is a web-based decision support
tool developed by EPA to assist all the previously listed decision makers through the process of
planning the management of residual materials/waste from incidents of national significance.
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This tool was developed in close collaboration with stakeholders representing all the important
decision-making entities as part of a larger program to investigate issues related to
management of materials from these incidents. Instructions for using l-WASTE and
documentation describing the technology architecture is included. The remainder of this report
is structured in the following manner:
Chapter 2 discusses quality assurance/quality control activities;
Chapter 3 summarizes the history of l-WASTE and its intended uses and applications;
Chapter 4 summarizes l-WASTE's modernized technology architecture;
Chapter 5 provides instructions for accessing and navigating l-WASTE;
Chapter 6 describes the Waste Materials Estimator;
Chapter 7 describes the Treatment and Disposal Facilities inventory; and
Chapter 8 describes the Guidance & Information portal.
2 QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL
The purpose of this project was to modernize a legacy web-based application to provide
continued access to important information to support planning and response decision-making,
including calculators to generate waste quantity estimates, databases of treatment and
disposal facilities, and links to technical information, regulations, and guidance to address the
safe and efficient removal, transport, treatment and/or disposal of waste materials. Software
development activities conducted during this project adhere to industry best practices and
follow the project-approved quality assurance project plan (QAPP) that addresses requirements
for Software and App Development. The security of the application was approved and cleared
by EPA's Office of Research and Development's (ORD) Office of Science Information
Management (OSIM) and EPA's Office of Mission Support (OMS), and the research and content
made available through the application was cleared by ORD's Center for Environmental
Solutions and Emergency Response. No scientific experiments were performed. Technical area
leads evaluated the quality of application code, related technical documentation, and security
controls that were developed during this effort. Separately, the l-WASTE project is governed by
a Configuration Management Plan and undergoes monthly auditing.
3 l-WASTE HISTORY AND RESEARCH APPROACH
Work on the first version of l-WASTE began in September of 2003, and the completed version
1.0 of the tool was released in September of 2004. The project was initiated in response to a
recommendation developed during the May 2003 Workshop on Transport and Disposal of
Wastes from Facilities Contaminated with Chemical or Biological Agents. The workshop was
conducted by ORD, and involved 34 participants representing federal and state agencies, the
solid waste industry, and chemical/biological agent experts from the U.S. Army. Participants
recommended that EPA develop a comprehensive inventory of candidate
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combustion/incineration facilities, as well as create a compilation of guidance that would assist
those responsible for the disposal of building decontamination residue in selecting the
appropriate combustion facility or facilities.
Version 1.0 was developed to address the needs identified by EPA and other stakeholders.
Subsequent versions of the tool were incrementally developed over time. Additional features
were added to comprise a suite of tools, and each version was built upon existing functionality
of the previous version. Content and functionality were developed based on input obtained
from stakeholders during workshops, reviews, and focus group meetings. The tool underwent
external peer review in August 2011 and version 6.2 (released in April 2012) incorporated
revisions to address peer review comments, as well as a new waste estimator for open spaces.
The tool was renamed in April 2012 based on recommendations by the external peer reviewers
from the former Incident Waste Management Planning & Response Tool (IWMPRT) to l-WASTE.
Prior to the current modernization effort, the last significant update of the tool occurred in
December 2016 (v.6.5). Version 6.5 of the tool represented the last iteration of "legacy" I-
WASTE and was replaced with the modernized l-WASTE (v.7.0). The legacy website Uniform
Resource Locator (URL) will remain in place and redirect all past users to the updated tool.
Modernization of l-WASTE leverages technological advances and incorporates a modern look
and feel to the tool. Users will find a familiar overall organization, but within a user interface
that provides a more modern user experience. A notable addition to l-WASTE v.7.0 is the
availability of an application programming interface (API) and web services that can be used to
directly leverage data that is provided by l-WASTE. Emphasizing an API-first approach, this
project supports the Agency's efforts to making APIs the default method for accessing agency
data1. l-WASTE v.7.0 also includes updated facility data and new household hazardous waste
streams estimates within the Waste Materials Estimator.
3.1 Design Philosophy and Technical Approach
l-WASTE is referred to as a decision support toolb and is not an expert system0,2. This distinction
guided the development of the tool from the outset. An opaque system that simply "told" the
user what to do would: 1) not be trusted, and 2) could not address the immense number of
situations and site-specific considerations that could be encountered. The tool is designed to
help users make decisions, not tell the user what to do. The tool is also intended to streamline
activities by anticipating what information might be useful and making it easy to access that
information.
It is important to understand that the information provided within the tool does not override
existing regulatory or legal requirements that might apply. Because the tool is not an expert
system, the information provided should be used as a starting point for understanding some of
b Decision Support Tool: Software, analysis methods, models, data sets, maps, etc. available to inform the decision-
making.
c Expert System: A computer program that mimics the judgment of experts.
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the options available for disposal of these materials. Final disposal decisions can only be made
after contacting the appropriate authorities at local, state, tribal, and regional regulatory offices
and coordinating with the waste management facilities, among many other considerations.
In developing the tool, flexible design considerations were emphasized to make the information
and tool's processes specific enough to be useful, yet adaptable enough to fit the many possible
situations that might result from a chemical or biological attack, an animal disease incident, a
natural disaster, or a radiological incident. To that end, there are several places where users will
find default values in the tools that can be accepted by the user or changed to fit specific
situations. Users are encouraged to adjust default parameters to better reflect incident-specific
characteristics. Additionally, in places where the tool presents certain information (e.g., item
heat content, residual ash), the assumptions involved are presented so that the user can adjust
the results if the assumptions are not valid for the case at hand.
3.2 Stakeholder Involvement
l-WASTE was developed using an iterative approach and in partnership with stakeholders who
could advise in the development and review of each version. During active development,
workshops were held nominally every six months to obtain feedback on the different features
as they were developed. To date, ten stakeholder workshops and four online focus group
meetings have been held. Stakeholders attending and providing input into the development of
l-WASTE have included representatives from the following organizations:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
o Environmental Response Team,
o Consequence Management Advisory Team,
o National Homeland Security Research Center,
o Office of Homeland Security,
o Office of Radiation and Indoor Air,
o Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery,
o Office of Emergency Management,
o Office of Water,
o Region 4, and
o Region 5.
Other Federal Agencies;
o Department of Homeland Security,
o U.S. Department of Agriculture,
o U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
o U.S. Department of Energy,
o U.S. Department of Transportation,
o U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and
o National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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State/Local Agencies;
o California Emergency Management Agency,
o Delaware Solid Waste Authority,
o District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority,
o Fairfax Water,
o Florida Department of Environmental Protection,
o Florida Division of Emergency Management,
o Iowa Department of Natural Resources Emergency Response & Homeland Security,
o Leesburg, Virginia, Department of Utilities,
o Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection,
o Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments,
o Michigan Radiological Protection Program,
o Michigan Department of Environmental Quality,
o Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment,
o Minnesota Pollution Control Agency,
o New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection,
o New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,
o Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,
o Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation Protection,
o Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
o Polk County, Florida,
o Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation,
o Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,
o Vermont Agency of Natural Resources/Solid Waste Management Program, and
o Washington Department of Health.
Waste and Water Industry Groups; and
o American Water Works Association,
o Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies,
o Association of State Drinking Water Administrators,
o Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials,
o Coalition for Responsible Waste Incineration,
o Covanta Energy,
o Integrated Waste Services Association,
o National Association of Clean Water Agencies,
o National Solid Waste Management Association,
o Solid Waste Association of North America, and
o Waste Management, Inc.
Educational Institutions, National Laboratories, and Professional Organizations,
o Argonne National Laboratory,
o Concurrent Technologies Corporation,
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o Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors,
o CSC Biology Studies Group,
o Dewberry,
o Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and
o University of Florida.
3.3 Outreach
Presentations and demonstrations of l-WASTE have been presented at the following
meetings/conferences:
November 2019: Presentation at EPA's 2019 International Decontamination
Research and Development Conference, Norfolk, VA.
March 2019: WM2019 Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
March 2019: 2019 National Association of County and City Health Officials'
Preparedness Summit, St. Louis, MO.
November 2017: EPA Vehicle Disposal Workshop, Arlington, VA.
2015: Poster at ORD Tools Cafe, Narragansett, Rl.
2015: Presentation at the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste
Management Officials' Annual Meeting, Bethesda, MD.
2015: Presentation at EPA's the Consequence Management Advisory Division's
Scientific Support Coordinator Training, Research Triangle Park, NC.
2016: Presentation for EPA Tools and Resources Webinar.
2016: Presentation for the Air & Waste Management Association's Annual Meeting,
New Orleans, LA.
2014: Presentation for White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery
Initiative Demo Day, Washington, DC.
2013: Presentation at EPA's 2013 Research and Development Decontamination
Conference, Research Triangle Park, NC.
2013: EPA Homeland Security Waste Management Tools Presentation for Technical
Coordination Working Subgroup on Systems Modeling and Risk Assessment.
2013: Webinar Presentation at PeerOvation Workshop.
October 2009: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chemical Operational
Technology Demonstration Final Demonstration, Ontario, CA.
October 2009: Twelfth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium,
Cagliari, Italy.
July 2009: Third International Symposium Management of Animal Carcasses, Tissue,
and Related Byproducts, Davis, CA.
March 2009: Presentation to Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste
Management Officials' Radiation Focus Group, Washington, DC.
March 2009: WM2009 Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
November 2008: U.S. Conference of Mayors' Municipal Waste Management
Association 2008 Fall Summit, San Diego, CA.
September 2008: Global Waste Management Symposium, Copper Mountain, CO.
8
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February 2008: WM2008 Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
October 2007: WasteCon 2007, Reno, NV.
October 2007: Sardinia 2007, Eleventh International Waste Management and
Landfill Symposium, Cagliari, Italy.
September 2007: CHEM Restoration U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/ Operational
Technology Demonstration (OTD) Workshop, Los Angeles, CA.
May 2007: WasteExpo 2007, Atlanta, GA.
March 2007: Workshop on Waste Management Options in Natural Disasters, Baton
Rouge, LA.
February 2007: 2007 On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) Readiness Training, Miami, FL.
December 2006: National Carcass Disposal Symposium, Beltsville, MD.
July 2006: 2006 OSC Readiness Training Program, Los Angeles, CA.
June 2006: 99th Annual Air & Waste Management Association Conference, New
Orleans, LA.
January 2006: 2006 Waste Management National Meeting, Washington, DC.
March 2005: Homeland Security Workshop on Transport, Treatment, and Disposal of
Solid Wastes Contaminated with Chemical or Biological Agents, Washington, DC.
June 2004: Integrated Waste Services Association (IWSA) Health & Safety Seminar,
Washington, DC.
April 2004: EPA Safe Buildings Disposal Program's Stakeholder Meeting Hosted by
the Integrated Waste Services Association, Washington, DC.
Ten stakeholder workshops and four online focus group meetings were held following early
releases of the tool to demonstrate the tool's latest enhancements and obtain important
feedback to refine the overall design:
June 2010 (Version 6.0).
January 13, 2010 - Online On-Scene Coordinator Focus Group Meeting.
December 10, 2009 - Online Combined Focus Group Meeting.
July 30, 2009 - Online Radiological Focus Group Meeting.
May 27, 2009 - Online Planner Focus Group Meeting.
August 20, 2008 (Version 5.0).
November 20, 2007 (Version 4.2).
April 2007 (Version 4.1).
February 21, 2007 (Version 4.1 - Water Modules).
. July 18, 2006 (Version 4.0).
July 25, 2006 (Version 4.0 - Water Modules).
January 5, 2006 (Version 2.1 - Water Modules).
November 8-9, 2005 (Version 2.1).
June 2, 2005 (Version 2.0).
9
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3.4 Uses and Application
l-WASTE has been used in responding to events of local, regional, or national significance,
including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. In addition, in February 2006, the tool was used to
obtain information to manage debris from the cleanup of anthrax contamination at a New York
City residence and again in 2007 as a result of an anthrax contamination event in Connecticut.
Most l-WASTE applications thus far have been part of planning exercises as required in the
National Response Framework1 for regional and local authorities to design exercises and waste
management plans for exercise scenarios or real-world incidents. Example applications in
planning include use in developing disaster debris plans. In another instance, l-WASTE was used
to develop estimated remediation costs for the Houston Airport involving a hazardous
substances-related event in an airport terminal. The tool has also been used to conduct
capacity analysis as part of an agricultural waste planning exercise by EPA's Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response. Finally, the tool has been used in several DHS "tabletop"
exercises for generating estimates of waste materials and identifying potential waste
management facilities. These exercises occurred in April 2005 for a scenario based on a
hypothetical mustard gas attack in New London, Connecticut, and in April 2010 in the Liberty
RadEx National Level Exercise3. The tool has also been used in the DHS Airport Biological and
Chemical Operational Technology Demonstration (OTD)4 planning exercises centered on the Los
Angeles International Airport, as well as DHS's Interagency Biological Restoration
Demonstration (IBRD) Program5. l-WASTE was also used in support of the Wide Area Recovery
and Resiliency Program (WARRP)6 in the development of a decontamination selection decision
support tool and in the development of waste estimates for chemical, biological, and
radiological incidents based on WARRP scenarios. In 2011, l-WASTE was used during the DHS-
sponsored interagency field exercise as part of the Bio-Response Operational Testing and
Evaluation (BOTE) project7. In addition, several EPA On-Scene Coordinators have used the tool
as part of planning exercises. l-WASTE is currently being incorporated as a resource in a tool
being developed by EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) and Office of
Homeland Security (OHS) to support state and local agencies developing waste management
plans in anticipation of wide-area all-hazards incidents. l-WASTE is also included in guidance for
agricultural emergency response that was developed by the USDA and DHS.
4 l-WASTE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
l-WASTE's information architecture solution is built upon a cloud-based, open-source
technology stack to leverage a modern framework that enables rapid development and
deployment and optimal performance. The application-level architecture of l-WASTE is
described in the sections that follow.
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4.1 Application-Level Architecture
l-WASTE consists of the following system components:
Front-End - The front-end component powers the user experience. It provides the interface
for the user to allow interaction with all the pages, data, and document access. The front-
end also utilizes a subset of the data that drives the application and supports several
operational and navigational features. The front-end presentation component generally
consists of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 5, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)/syntactically
awesome style sheets (Sass), JavaScript, and API web services consumption. I-WASTE uses
Vue.jsd as its user interface framework. The application utilizes the OneEPA template and
integrates user interface components from the U.S. Web Design System6.
Back-End and Server-Side Programming - The back-end powers the website and consists of
web servers, databases, and the server-side programming components and business logic.
The back-end component provides web services to supply data to the front-end, as needed,
based on user actions. Back-end data are stored in a MySQL database, and server-side
programming prepares blocks of data by way of web services. Server-side programming in
the middle-tier is implemented using Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) (Laravelf framework).
Data are delivered using a representational state transfer (or RESTful) API in JavaScript
Object Notation (JSON) format for consumption by the front-end for display to the user. The
database schema is maintained in version control using Laravel migrations, enabling
consistency across environments and a recorded history of schema updates.
Hosting Environment - l-WASTE is currently deployed in the General Services
Administration (GSA) cloud.gov environment. l-WASTE resides within an EPA/ORD cloud.gov
organization space and uses the standard cloud.gov provided PHP build pack to support
deployments. The cloud.gov environment offers a few noteworthy features to improve the
deployment process and increase website stability, including:
o Dynamic Scalability - If the application receives a large uptick in users or data
processing, the hosting platform can instantly scale to handle increased load.
o Automated Build Processes - Developers can create automated processes that are
triggered as code is updated. A set of steps (e.g., tests, code bundling, code
deployment) can be automatically run.
o Self-service Provisioning and Deployment - Developers can directly provision
services (e.g., increasing resources) and deploy applications.
l-WASTE application source code is available in a public EPA GitHub repository.
d Vue.js, https://vuejs.org/
e U.S. Web Design System, version 2.11.1, https://designsvstem.digital.gov/ (last accessed 14 April 2021).
f Laravel, https://laravel.com/
11
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Figure 1 below illustrates l-WASTE's application-level architecture. Data and information
included in l-WASTE can be searched and retrieved by any public user with a connected internet
browser.
Internet
TLS (encrypted tunnel)
doud.gov boundary
HTTPS / Port 443
Cloud Traffic
Router
Information System
HTTP / Port t
l-WASTE
application
»rt 3306
Figure 1. l-WASTE information architecture.
5 ACCESSING l-WASTE
l-WASTE's features are available to any user who accesses the application at
https://iwaste.epa.gov. Figure 2 presents the l-WASTE home page from which all the
functionality described in the following sections can be accessed.
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v>EPA
United Slates
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Topics Laws & Regulations About EPA
0» Developers 0 Help B Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
Planners, emergency responders, and other individuals responsible for making disposal decisions can access technical information,
regulations, and guidance to work through important disposal issues to assure safe and efficient removal, transport, treatment, and/or
disposal of debris and waste materials.
Using the options below, quickly produce an order of magnitude waste estimate, access the treatment and disposal facility database,
navigate through applicable guidance and information presented in a logical framework, and/or explore other related guidance
information.
a
Waste Materials
Estimator
Calculate an order of magnitude
estimate for the weight and volume of
materia ls that may require disposal.
Treatment &
Hi Disposal Facilities
Search for potential treatment and
disposal facilities using geographic and
waste acceptance filters.
©Guidance &
Information
View guidance and information
compiled to assist with disposal
decisions.
Figure 2. I-WASTE home page.
5.1 Primary Tool Navigation
The I-WASTE home page presents the three key features of the tool:
1. Waste Materials Estimator - Users can produce an order-of-magnitude estimate for the
weight and volume of materials that might require disposal,
2. Treatment & Disposal Facilities - Users can choose one or more filter criteria to
generate a list of treatment and disposal facilities.
3. Guidance & Information - Users can access guidance and information compiled to assist
with disposal decisions.
The three primary features of the tool can be accessed via the corresponding buttons on the
home page. Figure 3 presents an overview of the content organization.
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Home Page
Figure 3. Accessing l-WASTE functionality.
In addition, several utility links are available that provide access to the following resources:
l-WASTE Page Title - D irects users back to the home page from anywhere in the tool.
Developers - Provides access to l-WASTE's API documentation to support developers
directly leveraging l-WASTE's API to share data with other applications. With this feature,
users can directly access data stored in l-WASTE using public web services for use in their
applications. l-WASTE provides a collection of "GET" or query-only RESTIike services,
available through a simple URL Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) link, and provides output
in JSON format.
Help - Provides access to an overview of tool functionality, including a link to a complete
sitemap.
Contact Us - Provides contact information and the ability to send questions or comments to
EPA.
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5.2 Secondary Tool Navigation
As shown in Figure 4, additional navigation is provided on all secondary pages using a
condensed version of the home page where three primary "tabs" are accessible from the top of
every page. This provides one-click access to any of the three key features of the tool from
anywhere within the tool.
vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Topics Laws & Regulations About EPA
4$ Developers O Help B Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
a
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Figure 4. I-WASTE secondary page navigation.
6 WASTE MATERIALS ESTIMATOR
Note: Please refer to the Waste Materials Estimator (WME) Technical Documentation8 for a
more detailed description of the methodology used to create gross estimates for offices, open
spaces, schools, hospitals, hotels, movie theaters, shopping malls, and residences. The user
interface for the waste materials estimator is described below.
The Waste Materials Estimator produces an order-of-magnitude estimate for the weight and
volume of materials/waste that would require management following an incident. Estimates
are based on default values contained in the tool, or users can refine estimates based on more
specific user-defined values. The WME generates these estimates utilizing factors that were
developed for various types of structures and requires minimal user input. Users can access this
feature by clicking the Waste Materials Estimator button from the tool home page. Several
typical structure types are available for the user to select, including:
Offices (individual-walled and cubicle arrangement);
Open spaces;
Schools (elementary, middle, and high);
Hospitals;
Hotels;
15
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Movie theaters;
Single-family residences; and
Shopping malls.
Additionally, users can generate estimates for a single structure type, multiple structures of the
same type, or for a combination of structure types (e.g., an elementary school and an office
building). Two options for generating estimates are available using either: (1) default parameter
values, or (2) user-specified parameter values. Users choosing to generate estimates using
default parameters simply specify the number and type of structures that will form the basis of
the estimate. Users who wish to modify the parameters are asked to input basic information
regarding the structures, such as square footage, number of students, or some other parameter
appropriate for that structure type and for which estimation factors were developed. If users
choose not to modify the default parameter values, then estimates based on the defaults can
be generated quickly in one step.
Multiple WMEs can be combined to generate waste estimates for structure types not explicitly
included in the tool. For example, for the DHS Chemical OTD activities, the waste profile for an
airport terminal was generated using a combination of the office and shopping mall WMEs, and
then supplemented by individual items from the item databases. The resulting inventories were
exported to Excel and combined. The sections that follow provide instructions for using the
WME.
6.1 Waste Materials Estimator Page
After selecting Waste Materials Estimator from the tool home page, users are presented with
the Waste Materials Estimator page shown in Figure 5. On this page, users can specify the
quantity of each structure type included in the estimate. Users can click the hyperlinked
structure type to access a description of the structure type and a description of how it is
represented in the estimator. Additional guidance is accessible within the More Information
box that provides details on the various data, assumptions, and calculations used by the
estimator. Guidance is also provided that briefly outlines the differences between the Waste
Materials Estimator and Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Hazards U.S.-
Multi-Hazard (HAZUS-MH) Loss Estimation Software program9, a freely available loss estimation
software package that uses geospatial data and census information to estimate debris from
natural disasters.
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Environmental Topics Laws & Regulations About EPA
46 Developers Q Help S Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
9
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Waste Materials Estimator
Use the Waste Materials Estimator to generate order of magnitude estimates for the
types and quantities of materials that may require decontamination and/or
disposalfrom one or more structure types. Base your estimates on default
parameter values or modify parameters with user-defined values.
More Information
Default Para meter Values for Structures
Modeling Other Structure Types
Non-Shrljctur',31.'Interior Waste Materials
Structural Waste Materials
Waste Materials Estimator and HAZUS-MH
Waste Materials Estimator results represent an order-of-magnitude estimate based on limited data and information and
should be considered as a reasoned judgment and not a precise estimate. The difference between the estimated mass and
volume of items and materials and actual values will vary considerably, given the wide range of building designs and layouts,
even within a single building type addressed by the tool (e.g., hotels, hospitals, schools, etc).
Specify Structure Quantities & Parameters
Open Space
Movie Theaters
Single-Family Residences £
+ Hospitals
+ Hotels
+ Offices
+ Schools
+ Shopping Malls
Total affected area (square miles):
Qty:
Qty: 150
S Generate Estimates
Figure 5. Waste Materials Estimator page.
After specifying the quantities of one or more structure types to include in an estimate, users
can choose to generate estimates directly using the default parameters for each structure type,
or users can view or modify the default parameters to refine their estimates. Clicking the
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Generate Estimates button will run the calculations and present results described in more
detail below (see Section 6.3). Alternatively, clicking the "editing pencil" icon ^ will expand
the view to allow users to edit default parameter values for a given structure type (see Section
6.2). A Clear button is available to clear entries previously made if users wish to start over.
6.2 Parameter Values
Users that choose to view and/or modify the default parameters are presented with an
expanded view as shown in Figure 6. Users can view and/or modify the default parameters for
each of the structure types specified on the Waste Materials Estimator page. Users can click on
the "editing pencil" icon ^ to view or modify values for the parameters associated with each
structure type that was selected. The default parameter values are pre-populated for each
structure type.
Single-Family Residences! B"
Square footage:
Percent of brick/masonry-faced exterior walls:
Qty: 150
Q Include the additional weight and volume added by packaging materials
Q Include estimates for building structural material
Include structure foundation
Figure 6. Parameter values example.
For each structure type, the default parameters can be modified, and additional options can be
selected to generate estimates for each category. By default, all waste estimates include
building structural materials. Users can review details about the input parameters required to
generate the associated estimate by clicking one of the relevant links in the More Information
box located on each tab.
Users can click the Generate Estimates button to view the results of calculations for gross
weight, volume, and combined total for each waste category grouping.
6.3 Estimated Waste Materials
The Waste Materials Estimator page expands to show the "View Waste Stream Quantity
Distributions" section that presents a chart and tabular view of the estimated waste materials.
Results displayed represent an order-of-magnitude estimate based on limited data and
information and should be considered as a reasoned judgment and not a precise estimate. The
difference between the estimated mass and volume of items and materials and actual values
will vary considerably, given the wide range of building designs and layouts, even within a single
building type addressed by the tool (e.g., hotels, hospitals, schools). Figure 7 and Figure 8
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illustrate an example based on the structure type(s) selected and the parameters used
(whether default or user-modified). Estimates are divided into several categories depending on
the structure type(s) that were selected (and whether users chose to modify the default
parameters). Waste/materials categories that are applicable to more than one structure type
are aggregated as necessary, whereby only one summary row exists for each waste/materials
category. Cautionary language that explains the magnitude of error that might be associated
with the gross estimate is included at the top of the page. The specified criteria on which the
estimates are based can be viewed by clicking the + Show more link.
Users can view the details and assumptions associated with each category by clicking the
hyperlinked waste category name on the left side of the results table. In addition, functionality
to export the tabular data presented to print or save outside the tool is available. Users can
click the "Download" icon bb&b link to save results. Waste estimate results generated are also
A**
available in JSON format. Users can click the "API" icon ***& link to access additional details.
19
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Developers Q Help B Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
0
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Waste Materials Estimator
Use the Waste Materials Estimatorto generate order of magnitude estimates for the
types and quantities of materials that may require decontamination and/or
disposal from one or more structure types, Baseyourestirnates on default
parameter values or modify parameters with user-defined values.
Specify Structure Quantities & Parameters
More Information
Default Parameter Values for Structures
Modeling Other Structure Types
Non-Structural,''Intenor Waste Materials
Structural Waste Materials
Waste Materials Estimator and HAZUS-MH
View Waste/Material Stream Quantity Distributions
Estimate Criteria: Single-Family Residence {150)
Make a Mew Estimate
Waste/Material Category Quantities and Distributions
+ Show more
OS API i Download
Tons
Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Buiidrng Materials
Reinforced Concrete and Steel
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
Electronic Equipment
Furniture
Bathroom and Kitchen Materials
Pharmaceuticals
Personal Effects
Household Hazardous Waste
Compact Fluorescent Lights
250 500 750 10C-D T250 T50O 1750 2000 22 50 2500 2750 3000 3250 3..
Quantity (tons)
I Single-Family Residence
Figure 7. Waste Materials Estimator results page - chart.
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Waste/Material Category
Waste/Material Quantities
Tons Cubic Yaxds
Structural
Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building Materials
3,100
7,800
Reinforced Concrete and Steel
300
330
Interior/Non-Structural
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
2,700
17,000
Drywall
1,800
5,100
Carpet
98
750
Wood
140
300
Other Non-Structural Building Materials
730
11,000
Electronic Equipment
190
2,200
Furniture
350
5,600
Bathroom and Kitchen Materials
220
2,300
Pharmaceuticals
0.068
0.56
Personal Effects
180
2,300
Household Hazardous Waste
5.2
7.6
Oil & Latex Paint
2.8
2.5
Used Oil
0.85
1.4
Lab Packed Aerosols
0.12
0.15
Flammable Liquids
0.24
0.26
Bulk Fuels
0.44
0.55
Flammable Solids
0.029
0.0098
Pesticides
0.05
0.056
Poisons
0.24
0.29
Antifreeze
0.087
0.092
Batteries
0.21
2.3
Other Corrosives
0.082
0.056
Cleaning Supplies
0.00059
0.0035
Compact Fluorescent Lights
0.12
0.39
Totals
7,100
38,000
Figure 8. Waste Materials Estimator results page - table.
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Users have the option to revise the current estimate by revisiting the "Specify Structure
Quantities & Parameters" section of the page or start a new estimate by clicking the Make a
New Estimate button. If users choose to revise their estimates, the previous entries made are
retained, including any modifications made to default parameters for each structure. Clicking
the Make a New Estimate button clears out any previous entries.
Tables 1 through 3 present the waste/materials categories for hospitals, hotels, offices, open
spaces, residences, schools, shopping malls, and movie theaters.
Table 1. Waste/Materials Categories for Hospitals and Hotels
Hospital Categories
Hotel Categories
Structural Materials
Structural Materials
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
Materials
Materials
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
- Drywall
- Drywall
- Ceiling Tiles
- Ceiling Tiles
- Carpet
- Carpet
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
- Marble and Ceramic Tiles
Electronic Equipment
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
- Patient Care Equipment
Electronic Equipment
- Imaging Equipment
- Industrial Electronic Equipment
- Laboratory/Surgery Equipment
-Other Electronic Equipment
- Industrial Electronic Equipment
Furniture
- Other Electronic Equipment
Paper and Office Supplies
Furniture
Food
- Office and Other Furniture
Linens
- Patient Care Furniture
Dishware
Medical Supplies
Personal Effects
Pharmaceuticals
Other Items and Equipment
Linens
Food
Paper and Office Supplies
Medical Waste
Other Items and Equipment
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Table 2. Waste/Materials Categories for Offices, Open Spaces, Residences, and Schools
Office Categories
Open Space Categories
Structural Materials
Soil
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
Vegetation
Materials
Asphalt
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
Concrete
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
- Drywall
- Ceiling Tiles
- Carpet
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
Electronic Equipment
Furniture
Paper and Office Supplies
Residence Categories
School Categories
Structural Materials
Structural Materials
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
Materials
Materials
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
- Drywall
- Drywall
- Carpet
- Ceiling Tiles
- Wood
- Carpet
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
- Wood Flooring
Electronic Equipment
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
Furniture
Electronic Equipment
Bathroom and Kitchen Materials
- Industrial Electronic Equipment
Pharmaceuticals
- Other Electronic Equipment
Personal Effects
Furniture
Household Hazardous Waste
Paper and Office Supplies
- Oil and Latex Paint
Gym and Sports Equipment
- Used Oil
Art and Music Equipment
- Lab Packed Aerosols
- Flammable Liquids
- Bulk Fuels
- Flammable Solids
- Pesticides
- Poisons
- Antifreeze
- Batteries
- Other Corrosives
- Cleaning Supplies
Compact Fluorescent Lights
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Table 3. Waste/Materials Categories Movie Theater and Shopping Malls
Movie Theater Categories
Shopping Mall Categories
Structural Materials
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
Materials
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Structural Materials
- Brick, Wood, and Other Structural Building
Materials
- Reinforced Concrete and Steel
Interior/Non-Structural Materials
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
- Drywall
- Ceiling Tiles
- Carpet
- Curtains and Acoustical Material
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
Electronic Equipment
-Concession Electronic Equipment
-Theater Electronic Equipment
- Other Electronic Equipment
Furniture
Food
Other Items and Equipment
Total Non-Structural Building Materials
- Drywall
- Ceiling Tiles
- Carpet
- Marble and Ceramic Tiles
-Other Non-Structural Building Materials
Electronic Equipment
- Industrial Electronic Equipment
- Other Electronic Equipment
Furniture
- Office and Other Furniture
- Retail Furniture
Paper and Office Supplies
Food
Linens
Other Items and Equipment
Several other factors might affect the amount of materials requiring disposal. These factors are
considered when generating an estimate based on a user's selections. Additional factors
considered can include:
Building structural materials (all structure types);
Additional weight and volume added by packaging materials;
Removal of paper and office supplies from furniture prior to shipment and disposal (for
offices and schools);
Material in common areas (shopping malls);
Whether the hotel is luxurious, containing extensive marble/decorations (hotels only); and
Whether to include only materials in patient care areas (hospitals only).
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7 TREATMENT & DISPOSAL FACILITIES
Access to an inventory of treatment and disposal facilities is available within the tool. Contact
information, location, and other technical information is available for the following categories
of facilities:
Landfill Facilities;
Combustion Facilities;
Recovery Facilities;
Wastewater Treatment Facilities;
Other Facilities; and
Government-Owned Land/Facilities.
It is important to note that the facilities presented in the tool are not endorsed by EPA,
nor have any facility owners agreed to accept any material. Facility location and contact
information is provided to facilitate the initiation of treatment and disposal discussions.
Selecting Treatment & Disposal Facilities from the home page will present the search page. As
shown in Figure 9, the following filter criteria are available to refine user search results:
Facility Type;
State; and
EPA Region.
Users can choose one or more filter criteria. To view all facilities, users would leave the
selection boxes blank. Clicking the View Facilities button will generate a list of facilities that
meet all the specified criteria. Users can click Clear to clear previously selected filter criteria and
start over.
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$6 Developers O Help B Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
a
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Treatment & Disposal Facilities
Search for treatment and disposal facilities using the filters below. Click View Facilities to
generate a list of facilities that meet all of the specified criteria.
More Information
Universe of Facilities
Questions for Facility Contacts
The facilities presented in the tool are not endorsed by EPA, nor have any facility owners agreed to accept any material. A
A facility's ability to accept incident waste is case specific and determined by the facility and its regulators. Facility contact
information is provided to facilitate the initiation of treatment and disposal discussions.
Filter Facilities
Facility Type
Select a facility type
V
State
Select a state
V
EPA Region
Select an EPA region
V
View Facilities
Figure 9. Treatment & Disposal Facilities page.
As shown in Figure 10, facilities will be displayed on a map and presented in tabular format.
Tabular results are paginated by 100 records at a time. The facility name, location, and contact
information are displayed, if available. The facility name is hyperlinked to a detailed facility
page that opens in a new tab that presents additional information
Users can interact with the map using familiar controls such as zooming in/out,
enabling/disabling clustering, and viewing the legend. Similarly, common table controls can be
used to scroll, sort, and paginate through results. Where available, a link to the facility's EPA
Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) 10 Detailed Facility Report is provided by a
hyperlinked Source ID.
Facility data can be downloaded or printed for future reference by clicking the corresponding
icon links. Additionally, facility data are available via an API for direct use in other applications.
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4C Developers Q Help S Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Treatment & Disposal Facilities
Search for treatment and disposal facilities using the filters below. Click View Facilities to
generate a list of facilities that meet all of the specified criteria.
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Filter Criteria: Facility Type: Commercial Autoclaves
Facility Count: 81
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Stericvcle - Concord
4403 Republic
Drive
Concord
NC
04
{336) 578-
8900
9117
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle. Inc.
8 Philips dr
Midfield
AL
04
(205) 923-
1131
9119
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle - Vernon
2775 E. 26th
Street
Vemon
CA
09
{323) 362-
3000
9121
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle. Inc.
5355 Colorado
Boulevard
Dacono
CO
08
(303) 371-
6509
9123
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle
1924 Joy Lake
Road
Lake City
GA
04
(770) 362-
9090
9124
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle - Beaver Dam
One Technology
Place
Beaver Dam
KY
04
(847) 943-
6694
9125
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle - St.Paul
742Vandalia
Street
St. Paul
MN
05
(847)943-
6697
9127
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle - St. Louis
6240 McKissock
Ave.
St Louis
MO
07
(847) 943-
6698
9128
Commercial
Autoclaves
Stericvcle, Inc.
3472 Progress Dr
Dunkirk
NY
02
(716) 366-
9129
Commercial
Displaying 1 through 81 of 81 records
Figure 10. Facility search results page.
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Information describing the sources and methodologies used to compile the facility databases is
provided in the sections below.
7.1 Landfill Facilities
The following types of landfills are included in the tool:
Industrial Waste Landfills;
Inert or Construction and Demolition Landfills;
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills;
RCRA Subtitle C Landfills; and
RCRA Subtitle C Landfills with Low Activity Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority.
7.1.1 Industrial Waste Landfills
Industrial waste landfill facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available Facility Level
Information on Greenhouse gases Tool (FLIGHT)11. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 184
industrial waste landfill facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the
source in February 2021.
7.1.2 Inert or Construction and Demolition (C&D) Landfills
Active C&D landfill facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available Disaster Debris
Recovery Tool (DDRT)12. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 1,495 C&D landfill facilities. Data
presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.1.3 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills
Active, permitted MSW landfill facilities were obtained from EPA's DDRT. Version 7.0 of I-
WASTE includes 1,997 MSW landfill facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed
from the source in February 2021.
7.1.4 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C Hazardous Waste Landfills
Active, permitted RCRA Subtitle C landfills were obtained from EPA's DDRT. Version 7.0 of I-
WASTE includes 54 RCRA Subtitle C landfill facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last
refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.1.5 RCRA Subtitle C Landfills with Low Activity Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority
RCRA Subtitle C landfills that have disposal authority for Low Activity Radioactive Waste are
also identified and listed in l-WASTE. Information on these facilities was compiled from a report
issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advisory Committee on Nuclear Materials &
Waste, dated April 30, 2008, and titled "Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials
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Low-Activity Radioactive Waste Working Group Meeting of February 13-14, 2008." Version 7.0
of l-WASTE contains 11 RCRA Subtitle C landfills with Low Activity Radioactive Waste disposal
authority. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in 2015.
7.2 Combustion Facilities
The following types of combustion facilities are included in the tool:
Hazardous Waste Combustion Facilities;
Medical/Biohazardous Waste Incinerators; and
Municipal Combustion Facilities.
7.2.1 Hazardous Waste Combustion Facilities
Hazardous waste combustion facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available ECHO
application13. ECHO was queried for active facilities subject to the National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)
Subpart EEE - Hazardous Waste Combustors. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 121 hazardous
waste combustion facilities. Where available, a link to the facility's ECHO Detailed Facility
Report is provided. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in February
2021.
7.2.2 Medical/ Biohazardous Waste Incinerators
The original database of Medical/Biohazardous Waste Incinerators facilities was compiled from
an EPA inventory of Hazardous Medical Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI) created in April
2004. The database of facilities was updated in 2009 based on a newer 2008 version of the
internal EPA HMIWI inventory and updated again in 2012 to exclude inactive facilities. The list
of facilities was updated again in 2015 based on 2013 EPA data on the inventory of HMIWI
facilities potentially covered by the final section lll(d)/129 Federal Plan. Hospital-based
incinerator facilities were originally not included in l-WASTE but are now included because of
potential considerations for Ebola-related wastes. Note, however, these incinerators are
typically small, and they might not be approved (or able) to accept Ebola-related waste other
than that which is generated by that hospital. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 25
medical/biohazardous waste incinerator facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last
refreshed from the source in 2015.
7.2.3 Municipal Combustion Facilities
MSW combustion facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available FLIGHT. Version 7.0 of I-
WASTE includes 71 MSW combustion facilities. Where available, a link to the facility's Detailed
Facility Report from the ECHO application is provided. Data presented in l-WASTE were last
refreshed from the source in February 2021.
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7.3 Recovery Facilities
The following types of recovery facilities are included in the tool:
C&D Recyclers;
Composting;
Demolition Contractors;
Electronics Recyclers;
Household Hazardous Waste Collection;
Metal Recyclers;
Tire Recyclers;
Transfer Stations; and
Vehicle Recyclers.
7.3.1 Construction and Demolition (C&D) Recyclers
C&D recyclers include facilities that process C&D materials for recycling/reuse. C&D debris is
generated during construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges. It is
also generated during natural and man-made disasters. Materials accepted might include but
are not limited to concrete, wood, metals, glass, and salvaged building components. These
facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes
2,435 C&D recycling facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in
February 2021.
7.3.2 Composting
Composting facilities include active, permitted facilities that process organic waste for
composting. Materials that might be accepted include but are not limited to: yard waste, such
as fallen leaves, grass clippings, weeds, and other plants, limbs or trunks of trees and other
woody plants; pre- or post-consumer food waste; and manure. These facilities were obtained
from EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 2,824 composting facilities.
Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.3.3 Demolition Contractors
Demolition contractors include companies that provided standard demolition services.
Contractors listed might also provide a range of demolition-related services including
deconstruction. These facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0
of l-WASTE includes 2,046 demolition contractors. Data presented in l-WASTE were last
refreshed from the source in February 2021.
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7.3.4 Electronics Recyclers
Electronics recyclers include active, permitted facilities that process electronic materials for
recycling. Items that might be accepted include but are not limited to cell phones, televisions,
computers, batteries, printers, scanners, telecom equipment, copiers, and gaming systems.
Many electronic devices contain materials and substances that are toxic and must be kept out
of the main waste stream. These facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT.
Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 1,824 electronic recycling facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE
were last refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.3.5 Household Hazardous Waste Collection
Household hazardous waste collection facilities collect household hazardous waste materials
for recycling. Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive
ingredients are considered household hazardous waste. Items that might be accepted include
but are not limited to paints, oils, solvents, batteries, pesticides, and cleaners. These facilities
were obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 934
household hazardous waste collection facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed
from the source in February 2021.
7.3.6 Metal Recyclers
Metal recyclers are facilities that process metals for recycling (e.g., aluminum, steel, copper,
lead, zinc, and auto scrap). These facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT.
Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 4,698 metal recycling facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE
were last refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.3.7 Tire Recyclers
Tire recyclers are facilities that process used tires for recycling. Tires from automobiles,
bicycles, tractors, and other equipment can be recycled. These facilities were obtained from
EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 1,652 tire recycling facilities.
Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.3.8 Transfer Stations
Transfer stations include active, permitted facilities available to store waste temporarily. These
facilities were obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes
4,387 transfer stations. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in
February 2021.
7.3.9 Vehicle Recyclers
Vehicle recyclers include facilities that accept used vehicle and/or vehicle parts for
recycling/recovery. Items that might be accepted include but are not limited to cars, trucks,
farm equipment, construction equipment, and respective vehicle parts. These facilities were
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obtained from EPA's publicly available DDRT. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 2,484 vehicle
recycling facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in February
2021.
7.4 Wastewater Treatment Facilities
The following types of decontaminated wastewater facilities are included in the tool:
Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) Facilities;
Federally Owned Treatment Works and
Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
7.4.1 Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) Facilities
The original list of CWT facilities was obtained from EPA's Office of Water. The list was used for
the promulgation of the effluent guidelines for the CWT industry and is dated February 16,
2000. It is contained in the Centralized Waste Treatment regulatory record at Document
Control Number (DCN) 33.2.4. In 2016, the list of CWTs in l-WASTE was revised using updated
information collected by EPA's Office of Water. While this list was developed for purposes
different than those related to managing incident waste, it represents the most comprehensive
publicly available list of CWTs. In addition to the list of facilities used for the promulgation of
effluent guidelines for CWTs, EPA's Office of Water reviewed the rulemaking record supporting
effluent guidelines for unconventional oil and gas extraction; EPA's work with effluent
guidelines program plans under section 304(m) of the Clean Water Act; information provided
by EPA Regions and state and local government agencies; literature and periodicals, facility and
technology vendor websites and newsletters, and conference proceedings; and EPA data
systems such as ECHO, Envirofacts, and EPA's DMR Pollutant Loading Tool. The list might
include facilities that are no longer operating or now accept different waste or have changed
names or ownership. Facilities noted as accepting wastes specifically from oil and gas extraction
were excluded from l-WASTE. Publicly available data were used to supplement geographic
location data, where possible. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 227 CWT facilities. Data
presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in December 2016.
7.4.2 Federally Owned Treatment Works
Federally Owned Treatment Works were obtained from EPA's publicly available ECHO
application. ECHO was queried for water facilities with a Standard Industrial Classification code
of 4952 or a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 2213, 22132, or
221320 and a permit status of "effective, expired, administratively continued," or "pending."
Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 167 FOTW facilities. Where available, a link to the facility's
ECHO Detailed Facility Report is provided. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from
the source in February 2021.
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7.4.3 Publicly Owned Treatment Works
Publicly Owned Treatment Works were obtained from EPA's publicly available ECHO
application. ECHO was queried for water facilities with an owner/operator designation of
"POTW" and a permit status of "effective," "expired," "administratively continued," or
"pending." Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 16,038 POTW facilities. Where available, a link to
the facility's ECHO Detailed Facility Report is provided. Data presented in l-WASTE were last
refreshed from the source in February 2021.
7.5 Other Facilities
Several other types of disposal facilities are also included in the tool, including:
Commercial Autoclaves;
Commercial Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities;
Electric Arc Furnaces;
Federal Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities;
Rendering Facilities;
Sewage Sludge Incinerators; and
Wood-Fired Boilers.
7.5.1 Commercial Autoclaves
A list of the largest commercial autoclaves was compiled with the assistance of state and
industry stakeholders, particularly Stericycle, Inc. The internal database was updated in March
2012 to add contact information located through internet searches. The database was updated
in 2015 based on internet searches of Stericycle facilities and state regulatory agency websites.
The database was last updated in 2016 using state agency lists for Arizona, California, Florida,
Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 81 commercial autoclave
facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in 2016.
7.5.2 Commercial Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities
The list of commercial radioactive waste disposal facilities was collected from a variety of
publicly available internet sources, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's
website14. Contact information for the commercial facilities was also collected from the
websites of either the facility or the corporate website of the facility owner/operator. Disposal
capacities for the commercial facilities were collected from the following sources:
1. Chem-Nuclear Systems Barnwell Disposal Facility: "Barnwell Disposal Capacity Projection
South Carolina Energy Office Radioactive Waste Disposal Program." March 27, 2007.
2. EnergySolutions LLC Clive Disposal Site: "Minutes of the Utah Radiation Control Board."
June 1, 2007.
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3. U.S. Ecology Washington, Inc.: "Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Availability
Adequate in the Short Term, but Oversight Needed to Identify Any Future Shortfalls."
United States General Accounting Office. GAO-04-064. June 2004.
Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes six commercial radioactive waste disposal facilities. Data
presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in 2015.
7.5.3 Electric Arc Furnaces
Three sources of data were used to compile the original electric arc furnace list. The first was
the 2003 National Emissions Inventory (NEI), which listed 95 sites. Data available from the NEI
included facility name, address, city, and the latitude and longitude coordinates. The second
data source was the 2003 Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Roundup from the Association for Iron and
Steel Technology (AIST). In addition to location information, the 2003 Roundup contained
numbers of furnaces as well as production data. The third data source was the 2006 Directory
of Iron and Steel Plants, also from AIST. This source provided contact information for all
facilities.
Each of the internal databases contributed a unique set of data characterizing each arc furnace.
NEI and EAF Roundup data were initially integrated and cross-referenced to match facilities
from each data source. Duplicate facility records were merged and where uncertainty about
potential duplicates existed, web searches were conducted for maps, corporate websites, and
press releases that would help resolve whether two facilities were duplicates of each other or
had been closed.
Lastly, contact and location information for each facility was added from the 2006 AIST
directory. If a facility was not in the directory, internet searches were performed for corporate
headquarters contact information. Typically, corporate websites only included contact
information on how to reach a central office rather than plant-specific information.
The electric arc furnace database of facilities was updated in 2009 using the 2009 Directory of
Iron and Steel Plants from AIST and the 2005 NEI. In December 2010, the electric arc furnace
database was updated with information from the 2010 EAF Roundup from AIST. The database
was updated again in 2015 based on data obtained from the 2013 NEI. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE
includes 179 electric arc furnace facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from
the source in 2015.
7.5.4 Federal Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities
The internal list of federal radioactive waste disposal facilities was derived from the following
source: "The Current and Planned Low-Level Waste Disposal Capacity Report, Revision 2"
(December 2000). U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management. Retrieved
in December 2008.
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Contact information for the federal disposal facilities, or for the host DOE National Laboratory
sites where specific facility contact information could not be identified, was located from the
internet through publicly available information. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes five federal
radioactive waste disposal facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the
source in 2015.
7.5.5 Rendering Facilities
The rendering facilities database accessible through this tool comprises companies identified as
producers of animal fats and proteins by the North American Renderers Association (NARA)15.
This information was obtained from the NARA's public active member directory that was last
updated in June 2020. Users are encouraged to contact the facility using the provided contact
information to confirm that the facility is operating and will accept specific animal material. This
database does not include NARA members identified as associate members (including brokers
and equipment manufacturers) or international members. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 143
rendering facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in February
2021.
7.5.6 Sewage Sludge Incinerators
Sewage sludge incinerator facilities were identified in EPA's internal Inventory Database for the
Sewage Sludge Incinerator Source Category compiled in 2010 and updated in 2016. The
facilities scheduled to cease operation were excluded. Some sewage sludge incinerator facilities
were obtained from the EPA's 2012 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Detailed Report. Version
7.0 of l-WASTE includes 81 sewage sludge incinerators. Data presented in l-WASTE were last
refreshed from the source in September 2020.
7.5.7 Wood-Fired Boilers
Data for wood-fired boilers were compiled from three sources:
NEI - EPA's National Emissions Inventory was last conducted in 2002 and was primarily
comprised of data acquired from state agencies. NEI uses Source Classification Codes (SCC)
and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes to identify fuel types and industry sectors.
In the 2002 NEI, 1,520 wood-fired boilers in the pulp and paper industries were listed.
Industrial Combustion Coordinated Rulemaking (EPA) - This database used survey data
collected in 1996-1997 and contains facility, fuel, and emissions data on 4,446 boilers in use
at pulp and paper mills, 721 of which were listed as wood-fired boilers. The data include
capacity data and supplemental fuel usage for some of the units. Addresses of the facilities
were also provided. The survey used to collect these data, however, was not a complete
survey of the industry and therefore the list of boilers provided by this resource is not
complete.
Lockwood-Post's Directory of the Pulp, Paper, and Allied Trades - Lockwood-Post's directory
provides a listing of all major pulp and paper mills across North America and Latin America,
with profiles of onsite equipment, production capacity, and location. Data for mills with
wood-fired boilers were retrieved from the 2002 directory.
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Data from each of the three sources were compiled into a single file and condensed down to
facility-specific records. Fields such as Facility Contact Name, Facility Contact Phone Number,
Latitude, and Longitude were also imported from the native files. Once the data were compiled
and formatted properly, duplicate facilities were identified. In cases where duplicates were
identified, NEI-native records were retained, as the NEI is the most recent and complete data
source. If any additional information existed in the duplicate Industrial Combustion Coordinated
Rulemaking or Lockwood-Post record that was not present in, or was less specific than, the NEI
data for that facility, the data were copied to the NEI record.
In December 2010, the wood-fired boiler database was updated using the 2005 NEI and a
survey database containing results of the 2008 EPA Questionnaire for Boilers, Process Heaters,
and other Combustion Units (Information Collection Request (ICR) No. 2286.01) April 30, 2010 -
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Source
Industrial/Commercial/lnstitutional Boilers: Proposed Rule. In 2015, the wood-fired boiler
database was updated with new information from the 2013 NEI database. Version 7.0 of I-
WASTE includes 901 wood-fired boiler facilities. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed
from the source in 2015.
7.6 Government-Owned Land/Facilities
The government-owned land/facilities database contains data on name, owning agency, state,
and size, and was retrieved from the federal lands map layer provided by the National Atlas of
the United States (a part of the U.S. Department of Interior). This database includes
government land/facilities that are greater than 640 acres (approximately one square mile).
Taking into consideration the potential use of federal land/facilities for temporary storage or as
transfer stations, a decision was made to include sites with an administrator listed as the
Department of Defense (DOD), DOE, or the USDA only. Additionally, national cemeteries were
excluded from the database. Version 7.0 of l-WASTE includes 420 government-owned
land/facilities records. Data presented in l-WASTE were last refreshed from the source in
December 2015.
Note: the contact person provided in the database might not have the decision-making
authority to commit the site for its intended purpose but is a starting point from a management
perspective.
8 GUIDANCE & INFORMATION
l-WASTE does not promulgate any new guidance but has links to existing guidance documents
for various activities. Guidance and information related to managing incident-related waste are
available in the tool. The Guidance and Information area of l-WASTE provides a compilation of
documents and resources related to specific categories of events, as shown in Figure 11. Users
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can view guidance and information related to chemical/biological incidents,
radiological/nuclear incidents, natural disasters, agricultural/foreign animal disease incidents,
and incidents affecting critical infrastructure. Users access the Guidance and Information page
by clicking Guidance & Information from the home page.
Users will be presented with a portal of quick links, reports, guidance, and other resources. A
brief description of what users can expect to find within each event area is described below.
Users can click View More to access event-specific information. In addition, access to guidance
contained throughout the tool is available, as well as to the compendium of useful documents
and reports. Users can select an event and corresponding topics to narrow their search results
by using the drop-down lists in the Browse Resources box.
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OS Developers O Help 3 Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
0
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & information
Guidance & Information
l-WASTE does not promulgate any new guidance but has links to existing guidance documents for various activities. Guidance and
information related to managing incident related waste are organized and tailored to specific categories of events and accessible
through the links below.
#
Chemical/Biological
M
Radiological/Nuclear
Natural Disaster
Provides access to contaminant and
decontaminant agent information.
Detailed information on building debris
contaminated by biological or chemical
agents is also available, along with
sample building inventories.
View More >
Provides access to information on nuclear
materials, nuclear incidents and cleanup,
radioactive waste, regulations, and
properties of selected radionuclides.
Guidance and documents on radioactive
waste types, waste treatment, and
disposal is available.
View More>
Addresses disposal of waste and debris
resultingfrom a natural disaster. Provides
access to case studies, preparedness
guidance documents, and applicable
rules and regulations.
View More >
a*
Agricultural Incidents &
o Foreign Animal Disease
Provides access to information related to
the disposal of animal carcasses in the
aftermath of an event. Disposal
hierarchies and training modules can be
accessed, as well as information on
pathogens and past events.
^ Critical Infrastructure
Provides access to information related to
water contaminant information and
equipment associated with water
systems.
Browse Resources
Choose a resource type, followed by event
and topic of interest to view a list of
relevant resources.
Resource Type
O Documents & Reports O Guidance
Event Type
All Events
V
Topic
All Topics
V
View More >
View More >
Quick Links
Treatment & Disposal Facilities
Disposal Guidance
Size Reduction Guidance
Packaging/Container Guidance
Hazardous Waste Transportation Regulations
Waste Transportation Guidance
Other Resources
Key Terminology
Response Management Jurisdictional
Boundaries
Regional, State, and Local Contacts
Other Planning & Response Tools
Laboratory Information
Figure 11. Guidance & Information page.
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8.1 Chemical/Biological Related Guidance
Users can access guidance and functionality specific to chemical/biological events, including:
Chemical/Biological and Decontamination Agent Information - View detailed information
available for chemical agents, biotoxins, biological agents, or decontamination agents.
Hyperlinks to Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)/Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Fact Sheets, and PPE guidance provide users access to
additional information. Figure 12 displays the Chemical/Biological and Decontamination
Agent Information page.
Enviionmeiiul Topics Laws & Regulations About EPA
OS Developers ©Help ¦ Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
s
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Chemical/Biological
Chemical/Biological and
Decontamination Agent
Information
Sample Building Inventories
Building Waste Characteristics
Chemical/Biological and Decontamination Agent
Information
Contaminants are categorized into three types: chemical agents, biotoxins, and
biological agents. These contaminants were chosen because of their potential to be
used in terrorism attacks and their ability to be dispersed within a building,
potentially leaving some residue on surfaces or in absorbent materials that will
require some level of cleanup after initial decontamination is completed. Select a
contaminant or decontaminant below to view chemical summary information.
Contaminants
Chemical Agents Biotoxins
More Information
» EPA'sComputational Toxicology
Dashboard
Decontaminants
Decontamination Agents
Figure 12. Chemical/Biological and Decontamination Agent Information page and left
navigation menu.
Sample Building Inventories - View representative building waste inventories for the
following:
o
Airports,
o
Individual Walled Offices,
o
Open-Space Cubical Offices,
o
Elementary Schools,
o
Middle Schools,
o
High Schools,
o
Hotels,
o
Movie Theaters,
o
Hospitals,
o
Shopping Malls,
o
Single Family Residences, and
o
Underground Transportation Stations.
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Building Waste Characteristics - Access characteristics of building waste for over 900 items.
Default values for weight, volume, and dimensions can be viewed. The item inventory can
also be downloaded or accessed via an API.
8.2 Radiological/Nuclear Related Guidance
The radiological/nuclear related guidance provides access to information on nuclear materials,
nuclear incidents and cleanup, radioactive waste, regulations, and properties of selected
radionuclides. Users can access information and guidance on the topics listed below and access
functionality to search for information that is specific to radiological/nuclear events using the
corresponding left navigation menu items, as shown in Figure 13:
Incident Response and Cleanup Information;
Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) Information;
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compacts;
Radionuclide Information;
Radioactive Materials & Waste Regulations; and
Nuclear Materials.
Additional information available from the Basic Information page includes quick access to
information on radiological incidents, nuclear materials, and radioactive wastes.
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Developers Q Help ¦ Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
S3
¦ . . Treatment & Disposal
Waste Materials Estimator Kaiifti Guidance & Information
Facilities
Radiological/Nuclear
| Basic Information
Radiological/Nuclear
Incident Response and Cleanup
Information
Radiological Dispersal Device
(RDD) Information
Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Compacts
Radionuclide Information
Radioactive Materials & Waste
Regulations
Nuclear Materials
Source Material
Special Nuclear Material
Byproduct Material
Additional guidance and functionality specific to radiological/nuclear events can be accessed using the left navigation menu
items or accessing the quick links below:
Radiological Incidents
Radiological Dispersal Device I RDD)
Orphan Sources
Nuclear Power Plant Accidents
Transportation Accidents
Satellites and Rockets
Nuclear Materials
Source Material
Special Nuclear Material
Byproduct Material
Radioactive Waste
Categories
o High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW1 and Spent
Nuclear Fuel
o Transuranic Waste /TRU)
o Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW)
o n.e.(2) Byproduct Material
o Mixed Wastes (MHLW. MTRU. MLLW)
Other Waste Types
o Orphan Sources
o Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM1
Transportation
Treatment
Brokers and Processors disclaimer
Storage
o Government-Owned Land/Facilities
Waste Classification
Disposal
o Federal Facilities
o Commercial Facilities
Figure 13. Radiological/Nuclear - Basic Information page and left navigation menu.
8.3 Natural Disaster Related Guidance
The natural disaster related guidance addresses disposal of waste and debris resulting from a
natural disaster and is designed to provide access to case studies, preparedness guidance
documents, and applicable rules and regulations. Users can access guidance and functionality
specific to natural disaster events using the following left navigation menu items, as shown in
Figure 14;
Case Studies by Natural Disaster Event Type - Access brief descriptions of types of natural
disaster events, along with information about the types of debris expected to be generated
and links to relevant case studies.
Waste & Debris Fact Sheets - Access over twenty fact sheets that address disposal issues
related to special considerations waste.
Regulations, Guidance, and Facilities - Access links to related content and "canned" queries
to access categories of facilities.
Debris Management Equipment - Access an inventory of FEMA debris removal equipment.
Planning Documents - Access a library of natural disaster case studies, preparedness
guidance documents, and planning documents.
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OS Developers O Help 8 Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
Case Studies by Natural Disaster Event Type
Brief descriptions of types of natural disaster events are presented below, along with information about the types of debris
expected to be generated and links to relevant case studies.
Earthquake
Flooding
Hurricane
Tornado
Wildfire
Earthquake
An earthquake is a naturally induced shaking of the ground, caused by a major shift of rock along a fracture in the earth's
crust. Typically earthquakes generated near the surface are the most damaging due to their close proximity to the built
environment (ref: http://www.answers.com/toDic/earthouake Disclaimer ).
Earthquakes are relatively infrequent compared to the other types of natural disasters; however they can bring down
buildings and infrastructure in a localized area and damage buildings and other structures in a far wider area.
Typical debris generated as an aftermath of an earthquake include building and infrastructure damage, damage to equipment
and personal property from collapsed walls and roofs and sediment from earthquake induced landslides.
Unlike hurricanes and floods, an earthquake will also generate ash and charred wood debris. An earthquake will also produce
considerable amount of sediment debris.
Case Studies:
Integrated Waste Management Disaster Plan. Case Studies. North ridge Earthquake disclaimer
Figure 14. Natural Disaster - Case Studies by Natural Disaster Event Type page and left
navigation menu.
8.4 Agricultural Incidents & Foreign Animal Disease Related Guidance
The agricultural incidents and foreign animal disease guidance provides users access to
information related to the disposal of animal carcasses in the aftermath of an event. Waste
management hierarchies and training modules can be accessed, as well as information on
pathogens and past events. Users can access information and guidance on the topics listed
below and access functionality to search for information that is specific to agricultural incidents
and foreign animal disease events using the corresponding left navigation menu items, as
shown in Figure 15:
Pathogen Information;
Agricultural Waste Disposal Guidance;
Training Modules; and
Case Studies.
B
H,, . Treatment & Disposal
Waste Materials Estimator Guidance & Information
-J Facilities
Natural Disaster
I Case Studies by Natural Disaster
Event Type
Waste & Debris Fact Sheets
Regulations, Guidance, and
Facilities
Hazardous
Transportation Regulations
Other Disposal Guidance
Hazardous Waste Disposal
Facilities
Non-Hazardous
Disposal Guidance
Disposal Facilities
Recycling Guidance
Recycling Facilities
Debris Management Equipment
Planning Documents
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OS Developers Q Help S Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
0
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Agricultural Incidents & Foreign
Animal Disease
| Pathogen Information
Agricultural Waste Disposal
Guidance
Training Modules
Case Studies
Pathogen Information
African Horse Sickness
African Swine Fever
Akabane Virus
Avian Influenza
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Classical Swine Fever
Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia
Coxiella Burnetii (0 Fever)
Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Ehrlichia Ruminantium (Heartwater)
Exotic Newcastle Disease
Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Japanese Encephalitis
Nipah and Hendra Viruses
Rift Valley Fever
Rinderpest
Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis
African Horse Sickness
USDA Resources
Carcass Management Dashboard
Animal Health Emergency Management
National Animal Health Emergency
Management Svstem (NAHEMSfGuidelines
Animal Diseases Card: African Horse Sickness (PDFH5 pp, 80K). World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), 2002
African Horse Sickness Fact Sheet. Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2009
Figure 15. Agricultural Incidents &Foreign Animal Disease - Pathogen Information page and
left navigation menu.
8.5 Critical Infrastructure Related Guidance
Access to information related to the disposal of materials resulting from compromised critical
infrastructure components is accessible from the left navigation menu items, including
information that addresses disposal issues resulting from chemical or biological contamination
of water systems as shown in Figure 16, Users can access end user items and other equipment
that might be found in wastewater treatment, distribution system, and drinking water
treatment systems. Users can also access water contaminant summary information and link to
EPA's Water Contaminant Information Tool16, which requires a separate user ID and password
to access.
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Ob Developers Q Help ¦ Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
Waste Materials Estimator
Treatment & Disposal
Facilities
Guidance & Information
Critical Infrastructure
| View Agent Information
View End User Items
View Other Equipment
View Agent Information
Water contaminant information can be accessed by selecting a contaminant agent below. Click View Agent Information to
view agent summary information.
Contaminant Agents:
Aldicarb
Visit EPA's Water Contaminant Information Tool fWCIT'i disclaimer for more detailed contaminant information. Note that you
must have an active EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX)/WCIT user account (separate user ID and password) to access the WCIT
tool.
Aldicarb
Contaminant
Type:
Contaminant
Description:
116-06-3
Pure agent
In its pure form aldicarb is a white crystalline solid with a slight sulfurous odor. It is a non-volatile
carbamate compound and is used as an insecticide.
Physical Form: Solid - crystal
Chemical Formula: C7H14N202S
Figure 16. Critical Infrastructure - View Agent Information page and left navigation menu.
8.6 Browse Resources
Users can access documents and reports that have been indexed to specific event types and
topics using the Browse Resources functionality. In the corresponding box, users can specify
whether to search Documents 8s Reports or Guidance incorporated throughout l-WASTE. Users
can then select an Event Type and a Topic and click the Search button. If Documents & Reports
is selected, the user is presented with a results page displaying the documents associated with
the event and topic that the user selected, as shown in Figure 17. Users can select "All event
types" to view all documents and reports.
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OS Developers © Help 3 Contact Us
Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST)
¦ Treatment & Disposal
Waste Materials Estimator . . Guidance & Information
I Facilities
General Guidance
Quick Links
Treatment & Disposal Facilities
Universe of Facilities
Disposal Guidance
Size Reduction
Packaging/Container Guidance
Transportation Regulations
Waste Transportation Guidance
Other Resources
Key Terminology
Response Management
Regional, State, and Local Contacts
Other Planning & Response Tools
Laboratory Information
Browse Documents and Reports
Chemical/Biological - Disaster Response Documents
Some links presented on this page may provide access to external
websites, disclaimer
More Information
Additional information may also be available
by searching EPA's Science Inventory,
FEMA National Response Framework.
By: FEMA
Presents the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters
and emergencies - from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe. The Framework establishes a comprehensive, national, all-
hazards approach to domestic incident response, January 2008.
CDC Bioterrorism Emergency Preparedness and Response.
By: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Provides fact sheets for various biological agents; planning, communication, and training resources; laboratory information; and
guidance for first responders.
CDC Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Response.
By: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Provides fact sheets for various chemical agents; information for professionals and the public; planning, communication, and training
resources; laboratory information; and guidance for first responders.
Figure 17. Browse Resources - Documents & Reports results page.
If Guidance is selected, the user is presented with links to guidance pages within l-WASTE that
match the search selections. The user can access the guidance page associated with the topic
that was selected. Users need to specify an event and a single topic to view guidance.
8.7 Quick Links
Links to sought-after guidance are available to users in a Quick Links panel in the lower left of
the page (see Figure 11). The quick links include access to;
Treatment & Disposal Facilities;
Disposal Guidance;
Size Reduction Guidance;
Packaging/Container Guidance;
Hazardous Waste Transportation Regulations; and
Waste Transportation Guidance.
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8.8 Other Resources
Links to other useful resources are available to users in the lower right panel of the page (see
Figure 11). The other resources include access to:
Key Terminology - Defines terminology used throughout the tool that might be subject to
varying interpretation by different user groups is described to provide context and meaning
for its use within l-WASTE;
Response Management Jurisdictional Boundaries - Provides links to agencies that have
specific emergency support functional roles;
Regional, State, and Local Contacts - Provides links to contacts of entities that support
response activities;
Other Planning & Response Tools - Provides a links to other planning and response tools
that might be useful; and
Laboratory Information - Provides links to laboratory resources.
9 REFERENCES
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1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Open Government Plan 5.0. September 2018. Last
accessed April 22, 2021.
2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Terms and Acronyms (Online resource).
https://iaspub.epa.gov/sor internet/registrv/termreg/searchandretrieve/termsandacronyms/s
earch.do. Last accessed July 23, 2021.
3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Liberty RadEx National Level Exercise. April 2010. Last
accessed April 23, 2021.
4 U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Airport Biological and Chemical Operational
Technology Demonstration, October 2009.
5 U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Interagency Biological Restoration Demonstration
(IBRD), October 2009.
6 U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Denver Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Wide
Area Recovery and Resiliency Program (WARRP). March 2012. Last accessed April 23, 2021.
7 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bio-Response Operational Testing and Evaluation
Project. Last accessed April 22, 2021.
8 Eastern Research Group, Inc. Technical Documentation for the Incident Waste Management
Planning and Response Tool - Waste Materials Estimator, Version 6.1, January 2011.
9 Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hazards U.S.-Multi-Hazard Loss Estimation Software
(HAZUS-MH). Last accessed April 22, 2021.
10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)
Detailed Facility Report. Last accessed October 22, 2021.
11 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Facility Level Information on Greenhouse gases Tool
(FLIGHT). Last accessed July 23, 2021.
12 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Disaster Debris Recovery Tool (DDRT). Last accessed
April 22, 2021.
13 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO).
Last accessed July 23, 2021.
14 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Website. Last accessed July 23, 2021.
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15 North American Renderers Association (NARA) Member Directc ober 2020. Last
accessed July 23, 2021.
16 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Water Contaminant Information Tool (WCIT). Last
accessed October 22, 2021.
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vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
PRESORTED STANDARD
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT NO. G-35
Office of Research and Development (8101R)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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