The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - ACS Symposium

Aug 15, 1984 - Background. RCRA mandates the EPA to identify those residuals which, if improperly managed, pose a hazard to either human health or the...
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2 The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

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DAVID FRIEDMAN Office of Solid Waste, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460 Background RCRA mandates the EPA to i d e n t i f y those residuals which, if improperly managed, pose a hazard to either human health or the environment. In implementing the Act, EPA has promulgated regulations i n Parts 260 through 270 of T i t l e 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Parts 260 and 261 e s t a b l i s h the conditions under which a material becomes a waste and i d e n t i f y those wastes which are "hazardous wastes" and must be managed according to the management standards of Parts 262 through 270. Pesticide-containing materials may be c l a s s i f i e d as wastes subject to RCRA if they have served t h e i r intended use and are sometimes discarded, i r r e s p e c t i v e of whether they are being disposed of or are destined for r e c y c l i n g . A waste i s a "hazardous waste" if i t exhibits any of the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a hazardous waste, or i s l i s t e d i n sections 261.31, .32, or .33. Pesticide wastes that are hazardous by reason of the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are those which are e i t h e r : solvent based and have a flash point AND LOGS IN EXISTING PART Β FACILITY

PREPARATION ' OF DRAFT PERMIT

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TECHNICAL EVALUATION

PUBLIC NOTICE OF DRAFT J PERMIT, COMMENT PERIOD, AND HEARING

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PANEL HEARING

Figure 1. EPA's permitting process f o r e x i s t i n g land disposal facilities.

Figure 2. Q u a n t i t i e s of hazardous waste disposed i n 1981 (preliminary data).

Krueger and Seiber; Treatment and Disposal of Pesticide Wastes ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

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T R E A T M E N T A N D DISPOSAL O F PESTICIDE WASTES

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i o n a s p a r t o f t h e RCRA r e a u t h o r i z a t i o n p r o c e s s l e g i s l a t e a lowering o f t h e exemption t h r e s h o l d p e c t i v e o f Agency a c t i o n .

a n d may irres-

P r e s e n t hazardous waste i d e n t i f i c a t i o n characteri s t i c s g e n e r a l l y do n o t i n c l u d e a means o f i d e n t i f y i n g t h o s e w a s t e s w h i c h p o s e a p r o b l e m due t o t h e p r e s e n c e of organic t o x i c a n t s . The E x t r a c t i o n P r o c e d u r e T o x i c i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c only includes thresholds f o r s i x organic compounds. To c o r r e c t t h i s d e f i c i e n c y , t h e Agency i s working t o include a d d i t i o n a l t o x i c organic chemicals. The e x p a n s i o n may t a k e t h e f o r m t h a t a n y w a s t e c o n t a i n i n g any o f t h e l i s t e d compounds a t o r above a c e r t a i n t h r e s h o l d i s a hazardous waste. The t h r e s h o l d s would be a c o m p o u n d s p e c i f i c a n d b a s e d o n s u c h f a c t o r s a s NOAELs (No O b s e r v e d A d v e r s e E f f e c t L e v e l s ) a n d A D I s (Acceptable D a i l y Intake L e v e l s ) . Any such e x p a n s i o n w i l l l i k e l y i n c l u d e a number o f p e s t i c i d a l c o m p o u n d s . T h r e e o t h e r a c t i o n s a r e b e i n g s t u d i e d t h a t may have a s i g n i f i c a n t , i f n o t s u b s t a n t i a l b e a r i n g on p e s t i c i d e w a s t e d i s p o s a l u n d e r RCRA. T h e s e a r e (1) expansion o f the l i s t i n g o f commercial chemical products t h a t a r e h a z a r d o u s w a s t e when d i s p o s e d o f , (2) e x p a n s i o n of the discarded commercial chemical product l i s t i n g to i n c l u d e products which a r e mixtures o f a c t i v e i n g r e d i e n t s , a n d (3) e s t a b l i s h m e n t of concentration limits f o r t h e compounds o n t h e l i s t . While t h e f i r s t and second o f these a c t i o n s would a c t t o b r i n g a l a r g e number o f c o m m e r c i a l p e s t i c i d e p r o d u c t s u n d e r RCRA control, the t h i r d (establishment of threshold levels) w o u l d a c t t o e x e m p t many, i f n o t m o s t , a p p l i c a t i o n s t r e n g t h s o l u t i o n s f r o m RCRA c o n t r o l . Once t h e s e t h r e s h o l d s have been e s t a b l i s h e d , p r o d u c t s o r s o l u t i o n s containing the toxic chemicals at concentrations below t h e t h r e s h o l d w o u l d a u t o m a t i c a l l y be e x c l u d e d from r e g u l a t i o n as a hazardous waste. The f i n a l r e g u l a t o r y c h a n g e b e i n g contemplated t o be d i s c u s s e d i s t h e l a n d d i s p o s a l b a n . Both C o n g r e s s and t h e A g e n c y a r e c o n c e r n e d t h a t f o r c e r t a i n w a s t e s l a n d d i s p o s a l may n o t b e p r o t e c t i v e o f human h e a l t h a n d the environment f o r as l o n g as t h e waste remains h a z a r dous, t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e u n c e r t a i n t i e s a s s o c i a t e d with land disposal. In order t o e l i m i n a t e such p r a c t i c e s , changes a r e being formulated t o b o t h t h e RCRA i t s e l f and t h e hazardous waste r e g u l a t i o n s which w i l l prevent the land d i s p o s a l o f c e r t a i n wastes. It i s c o n c e i v a b l e t h a t some p e s t i c i d a l w a s t e s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e t h a t a r e p e r s i s t e n t , t h a t have a p o t e n t i a l t o

Krueger and Seiber; Treatment and Disposal of Pesticide Wastes ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

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FRIEDMAN

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

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b i o a c c u m u l a t e , and a r e p o t e n t i a l l y l e a c h a b l e i f p l a c e d i n a n o n - s e c u r e l a n d f i l l w o u l d b e among t h o s e b a n n e d u n l e s s t h e y have been t r e a t e d by such methods as stabilization, neutralization, or destruction of toxic species. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e House a n d S e n a t e a r e c o n s i d e r i n g enactment o f bans on d i s p o s a l o f b o t h c o n t a i n e r i z e d and b u l k l i q u i d s i n l a n d f i l l s and a ban on underground i n j e c t i o n o f hazardous waste i n C l a s s IV we11s. I n c o n c l u s i o n , t h e h a z a r d o u s w a s t e management r e g u l a t o r y s y s t e m u n d e r RCRA i s b o t h d y n a m i c a n d complex. P e s t i c i d e s , by t h e i r v e r y n a t u r e , pose unique d i s p o s a l problems. I t i s t h u s incumbent upon p e r s o n s managing such m a t e r i a l s t o keep a b r e a s t o f c u r r e n t s t a n d a r d s and r e g u l a t i o n s . EPA h a s e s t a b l i s h e d a t o l l f r e e " h o t l i n e " f o r such a purpose. The t e l e p h o n e number i s 8 0 0 - 4 2 4 - 9 3 4 6 o r i f i n W a s h i n g t o n , D.C., 382-3000.

RECEIVED February 13, 1984

Krueger and Seiber; Treatment and Disposal of Pesticide Wastes ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.