Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
to. addressing. how. RCRA. and. the. EPA's. implementing. regulations. might. apply. to.
nanowaste..The.RCRA.implications.of.nanotechnology.are.less.well.deined.
In.determining.under.RCRA.whether.a.material.is.a.hazardous.waste,.the.irst.
step.is.to.determine.whether.it.is.a.solid.waste..Section.1004(5).of.RCRA.deines.the.
term.“hazardous.waste”.to.mean:
A.solid.waste,.or.combination.of.solid.wastes,.which.because.of.its.quantity,.concentra-
tion,.or.physical,.chemical,.or.infectious.characteristics.may.(a).cause,.or.signiicantly.
contribute.to.an.increase.in.mortality.or.an.increase.in.serious.irreversible,.or.incapaci-
tating.reversible,.illness;.or.(b).pose.a.substantial.present.or.potential.hazard.to.human.
health.or.the.environment.when.improperly.treated,.stored,.transported,.or.disposed.
of,.or.otherwise.managed.
If.a.waste.is.considered.a.solid.waste,.the.next.step.is.to.determine.whether.the.
waste.is.speciically.excluded.from.RCRA.regulation,.is.a.“listed”.hazardous.waste,.
or.is.a.“characteristic”.waste..Congress.excluded.several.classes.of.solid.waste.from.
regulation. as. hazardous. waste.. Congress. did. not. exclude. these. materials. because.
they.are.inherently.different.or.“less.hazardous”.than.other.materials.deemed.solid.
waste,.but.because.it.lacked.data.enabling.it.to.determine.whether.these.materials.
should. be. regulated. as. hazardous.. In. some. cases,. the. EPA. excluded. a. solid. waste.
from.regulation.as.hazardous.waste.after.determining.it.would.be.impractical,.unfair,.
or. otherwise. undesirable. to. regulate. the. waste. as. hazardous.. As. discussed. below,.
an. important. category. of. waste. currently. excluded. from. registration. is. household.
hazardous. waste.. Given. the. increasing. number. of. consumer. products. enabled. by.
nanotechnology,.this.class.of.exempt.waste.arguably.could.exclude.larger.quantities.
of.nanoscale.waste.from.being.regulated.under.RCRA.when.disposed.
4.5.2
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astes
Under.RCRA.Subtitle.C,.a.solid.waste.can.be.a.hazardous.waste.in.one.of.two.ways..
First,.a.solid.waste.that.is.“listed”.—.that.is,.appears.on.one.of.three.lists.found.in.40.
C.F.R..Part.261,.Subpart.D.—.is.a.hazardous.waste.unless.excluded.as.the.result.of.a.
petition.to.delist.iled.by.an.interested.party..Second,.a.solid.waste.that.is.not.listed.
can.still.be.considered.hazardous.if.it.exhibits.one.of.four.characteristics:.ignitabil-
ity,.corrosiveness,.reactivity,.or.toxicity.
Currently,.there.are.three.lists.of.hazardous.waste:
.
1.. Hazardous.Wastes.from.Nonspeciic.Sources.(found.at.Section.261.31.and.
commonly.called.the.“F.list”)
.
2.. Hazardous.Wastes.from.Speciic.Sources.(at.Section.261.32.and.known.as.
the.“K.list”)
..For.a.more.detailed.review.of.these.issues,.see.ABA,.SEER,.RCRA.Regulation.of.Wastes.from.the.
Production,.Use,.and.Disposal.of.Nanomaterials.(June.2006),.available.at.http://www.abanet.org/envi-
ron/nanotech/pdf/RCRA.pdf;.see.also.L..K..Breggin.and.J..Pendergrass,.Where.Does.The.Nano.Go?.
End-of-Life. Regulation. of. Nanotechnologies,. Woodrow. Wilson. International. Center. for. Scholars,.
Project.on.Emerging.Nanotechnologies.(July.2007).
