Hazardous waste is any waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can come in many forms, such as liquids, solids, gases, or sludges, and are generated from sources like industrial manufacturing and batteries. For a waste to be considered hazardous, it must first meet the definition of a solid waste and then exhibit one of four hazardous characteristics - ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity - or be listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulations. The Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 regulates the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste between Australia and other countries to protect human and environmental
Hazardous waste is any waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can come in many forms, such as liquids, solids, gases, or sludges, and are generated from sources like industrial manufacturing and batteries. For a waste to be considered hazardous, it must first meet the definition of a solid waste and then exhibit one of four hazardous characteristics - ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity - or be listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulations. The Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 regulates the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste between Australia and other countries to protect human and environmental
Hazardous waste is any waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can come in many forms, such as liquids, solids, gases, or sludges, and are generated from sources like industrial manufacturing and batteries. For a waste to be considered hazardous, it must first meet the definition of a solid waste and then exhibit one of four hazardous characteristics - ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity - or be listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulations. The Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 regulates the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste between Australia and other countries to protect human and environmental
Hazardous waste is any waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can come in many forms, such as liquids, solids, gases, or sludges, and are generated from sources like industrial manufacturing and batteries. For a waste to be considered hazardous, it must first meet the definition of a solid waste and then exhibit one of four hazardous characteristics - ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity - or be listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulations. The Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 regulates the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste between Australia and other countries to protect human and environmental
The hazardous waste management program uses the term solid waste to denote something that is a waste. EPA developed hazardous waste regulations that define in more detail what materials are solid waste for the purposes of RCRA Subtitle C (hazardous waste) regulation.
Simply defined, a hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it dangerous or capable of having a harmful effect on human health or the environment. Hazardous waste is generated from many sources, ranging from industrial manufacturing process wastes to batteries and may come in many forms, including liquids, solids gases, and sludges.
EPA developed a regulatory definition and process that identifies specific substances known to be hazardous and provides objective criteria for including other materials in the regulated hazardous waste universe. This identification process can be very complex, so EPA encourages generators of wastes to approach the issue using the series of questions described below:
n order for a material to be classified as a hazardous waste, it must first be a solid waste. Therefore, the first step in the hazardous waste identification process is determining if a material is a solid waste. The second step in this process examines whether or not the waste is specifically excluded from regulation as a solid or hazardous waste.
Once a generator determines that their waste meets the definition of a solid waste, they investigate whether or not the waste is a listed or characteristic hazardous waste. Finally, it is important to note that some facilities petitioned EPA to delist their wastes from RCRA Subtitle C regulation. You can research the facilities that successfully
Characteristics of Hazardous Waste
A waste is hazardous if it exhibits a hazardous characteristic or if it is found on any of four specific hazardous waste lists. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, there are four characteristics that can make a waste hazardous.
Ignitability - If liquid waste has a flash point of less than 140oF, it is an ignitable hazardous waste. Some solid wastes are characterized as ignitable hazardous wastes if they spontaneously combust and/or meet certain ignition/burning testing criteria. Ignitable hazardous wastes have the EPA waste code of D001. Examples are: o Petroleum parts washer solvents; o Solvent-based paint waste; o Waste kerosene or gasoline; and o Spent paint booth exhaust filters.
Corrosivity - Aqueous wastes that have a pH less than or equal to 2.0, or greater than or equal to 12.5, are considered corrosive hazardous wastes. Corrosive hazardous wastes have the EPA waste code D002. Examples are: o Acid or alkaline cleaning solutions; o Rust removers; o Battery acid; and o Caustic hot tank waste. Reactivity - A waste is reactive if it reacts violently with water, forms potentially explosive mixtures with water, generates toxic gases when mixed with water, contains cyanides, or sulfides that are released when exposed to acid or alkaline materials, or is explosive. Reactive hazardous wastes have the waste code D003. Examples are: o Cyanide plating wastes; o Waste concentrated bleaches; o Pressurized aerosol cans; and o Metallic sodium and potassium.
Toxicity - A waste is toxic if it fails the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure
(TCLP) lab test for any one of 40 parameters. Examples are: o Painting wastes that contain toxic metal based pigments and/or certain solvents (i.e., MEK); o Treated wood waste where the treatment was done with "penta", or pentachlorophenol; o Oily wastes, such as used oil filters that exceed the levels for benzene and/or lead.
Listed Hazardous Wastes
The federal EPA has designated four "lists" of hazardous wastes, designated by the letters "F", "K", "P", and "U". If a material is found on one or more of these lists, it is considered a "listed hazardous waste". Each of these lists is explained briefly below:
F Listed Wastes - The F listed wastes include a wide variety of commonly found wastes, ranging from solvents to wastewater treatment sludges to dioxin contaminated materials. K Listed Wastes - These are hazardous wastes from specific processes, many of which are chemical or pesticide manufacturing. Examples are "distillation bottoms from the production of aniline" or "wastewater treatment sludge from the production of toxaphene". K listed wastes are relatively uncommon in Iowa. P Listed Wastes - These are known as "acute" hazardous wastes because they are highly toxic. Many are unusual chemicals that are not likely to be found. Some, especially the pesticides, are still in use or were formerly used and may be stored as unusable materials. Examples include endrin, arsenic trioxide (gopher bait), and warfarin (rat poison). U Listed Wastes - U listed wastes are less toxic commercial chemicals, off-specification products, or manufacturing chemical intermediates. They are normally waste materials only if they can't be used (off-specification) and must be discarded. Examples include benzene, DDT, formaldehyde, and vinyl chloride.
Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989
The main purpose of the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 (‘the Act’) is to regulate the export, import and transit of hazardous waste to ensure that hazardous waste is dealt with appropriately so that human beings and the environment, both within and outside Australia, are protected from the harmful effects of the waste. The original Act of 1989 only controlled movements of wastes that lacked financial value, usually destined for final disposal operations (for example, by incineration or landfill). In 1996, the Act was amended to include wastes that possess financial value, usually destined for recycling and recovery operations. These amendments enabled Australia to meet all of its obligations under the Basel Convention.
