lest rnetnoas for toxic pollutants
On Dec. 3, 1979, EPA published proposed regulations for test procedures for toxic pollutants, including requirements for sample preservation and holding times, to be used for filing permit applications and for compliance monitoring under the Clean Water Act (CWA). These proposed procedures become critically important when one considers that in April 1980 EPA is schedliled to promulgate a series of regulations which will radically revamp how discharges, particularly those of toxic materials, are controlled. Regulatory background On June 7, 1979, EPA published proposed regulations reflecting the realization that emphasis in the N a tional Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ( N P D E S ) must shift toward tighter regulation of toxic and hazardous materials. A week later, on June 14, 1979, EPA proposed landmark regulations to consolidate the permit programs governing Hazardous Waste Management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( R C R A ) , the Underground Injection Control program under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the NPDES under the C W A . (For a more detailed discussion of EPA’s long-planned consolidated permit program, see “Regulatory Alert,” ES& T , April 1979, p 399.) The June 14 proposals contained “Draft Application Forms;” this was the first step in initiating the 0013-936X/80/09 14-0263$01.00/0
consolidated program. EPA admitted that “permit writers and industrial dischargers have not focused upon organic pollutants to any great extent in the past,” and stated that “the agency has begun to develop treatability studies for all the organic toxic pollutants.” Similarly, the agency acknowleged that the “methods of sampling and analyzing for most organics are in their relative infancy compared to those used for other pollutants,” and that associated costs were far higher than for traditional pollutants and “may be expected to be in the vicinity of $4500” per outfall. Given this uncertainty, specific monitoring requirements were not proposed, but rather a “range of choices available to permit writers” was set forth. This entire major package of regulations is to be published in final form next month. At the same time, EPA is continuing to promulgate “Round 2” of effluent guidelines on an industryby-industry basis. Also, since final R C R A regulations have not yet been promulgated, the agency has implemented a “Hazardous Waste Site Enforcement and Response System,” specifying how EPA gathers information and initiates enforcement on hazardous waste disposal. Thus far, the missing link in these interlocking new regulatory proposals has been the test methods by which toxicity will be determined and measured. Until these methods are definitely established, the first step in any regulatory program, both the agency and industry will be operating from a base of unconscionable uncertainty.
The testing proposals The Dec. 3, 1979 proposal sets forth analytical test methods for 1 13 organic toxic pollutants which can be tested by either of two methods: 1 ) gas chromatography (GC) with selected detectors, or high-performance liquid chromatography (H PLC) depending on the particular pollutant; or 2) GC
@ 1980 American Chemical Society
coupled with mass spectrometry ( G C / M S ) . An additional option for inorganic toxic pollutants of analysis by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP), “which may be less time-consuming and costly than existing methods,” is also proposed. Sample preservation and maximum holding time for a large number of pollutants is spelled out, and a method for analysis of carbonaceous BOD5 is also included. EPA admits that these proposed methods are “state of the art.” Since “only on rare occasions had industry monitored for, or had EPA regulated these pollutants,” new methods had to be developed by “an intensive literature search and laboratory programs,” conducted both by EPA and outside contractors. The comment period on these proposals was to have closed on Feb. 1, 1980, but because the documents and contractor reports upon which the EPA proposal was predicated were not available for public review, it has been extended until the backup data can be assimilated and made available at EPA headquarters and in the regional offices. The new closing date should fall sometime in April, very close to the promulgation date for the new N P D E S and Consolidated Permit regulations, making April 1980 a milestone month. The proposed test protocols will govern the method and cost of regulating toxics under N P D E S and other permit programs, and will influence the impact of effluent guidelines and the monitoring of hazardous wastes under RCRA. How these test procedures are finally cast will significantly effect the cost of controlling the discharge of toxic pollutants. Very little time remains for industry and other interested parties to make their views known and to provide input to EPA on whether, in fact, the agency has captured in a workable and economically feasible fashion, the “state of the art” for toxic test procedures. Volume 14, Number 3, March 1980
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