Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(b) Is It an Excluded Waste?
As can be seen from Figure 3.2, the second step to identify a hazardous waste is to
determine whether or not the waste is excluded from the definition of solid or
hazardous waste. Some special wastes containing dangerous chemicals are imprac-
tical or undesirable to be regulated under stringent RCRA waste management reg-
ulations, such as household solvents. As a result, they are excluded or exempted by
Congress and EPA from the definitions and regulations of hazardous waste.
The exclusions are divided into five categories as follows:
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•
Solid waste exclusions. If a material does not meet the definition of a
solid waste, it cannot be considered as a hazardous waste. Obviously, the
exclusions of solid waste will not be subject to RCRA hazardous waste
regulation. They are (1) domestic sewage and mixtures of domestic sew-
age; (2) industrial wastewater discharges; (3) irrigation return flows; (4)
radioactive waste; (5)
in situ
mining waste; (6) pulping liquors; (7) spent
sulfuric acid; (8) closed-loop recycling; (9) spent wood preservatives; (10)
coke by-product wastes; (11) splash condenser dross residue; (12) haz-
ardous oil-bearing secondary materials and recovered oil from petroleum
refining operations; (13) condensates from kraft mill steam strippers; (14)
processed scrap metal; (15) shredded circuit boards; (16) mineral process-
ing spent materials; (17) petrochemical recovered oil; (18) spent caustic
solutions from petroleum refining; (19) glass frit and fluoride-rich bag-
house dust generated by the vitrification of K088; and (20) zinc fertilizers
made from recycled hazardous secondary materials.
•
Hazardous waste exemptions. They are (1) household hazardous waste;
(2) agricultural waste; (3) mining overburden; (4) Bevill and Bentsen
wastes including fossil fuel combustion wastes, oil, gas, and geothermal
wastes, mining and mineral processing wastes, and cement kiln dust; (5)
trivalent chromium wastes; (6) arsenically treated wood; (7) petroleum-
contaminated media and debris from underground storage tanks; (8) spent
chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants; (9) used oil filters; (10) used oil distilla-
tion bottoms; (11) landfill leachate or gas condensate derived from K169,
K171, and K172 listings; (12) project XL pilot project exclusions.
•
Raw material, product storage, and process unit waste exclusions. If a
hazardous waste remains in units of tanks, pipelines, vehicles, and vessels
used either in the manufacturing process or for storing raw materials or
products (surface impoundments are not included), it is exempted from
RCRA hazardous waste regulation. When a unit stops operation for over
90 days, or when the waste is removed from the unit, the waste will be
considered generated and regulated as hazardous waste under RCRA.
•
Sample and treatability study exclusions. Hazardous waste samples are
small amounts of waste that are essential to ensure accurate characteriza-
tion and proper hazardous waste treatment. Samples sent to a lab to
determine whether or not a waste is hazardous or to determine if a
particular treatment method will be effective on a given waste or what
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