Hazardous waste management

Important facts for optical laboratories

A lot of waste is produced in a lab every single day and among them are hazardous substances. Proper handling of sensitive waste is important for the environment, but it is also in the company's own interest.

By Roger Arrowood (this topic

was first published at The Vision Council).

Should optical labs be concerned about managing hazardous waste? This is a fair question and the answer is clearly yes – for a number of reasons. In the United States optical labs are routinely inspected by local, state, and federal environmental regulators. Fire and health department inspectors may report observations to appropriate authorities and violations can become costly. In 2018 optical labs fined $750,000 for repeatedly discharging untreated wastewater containing cadmium, lead, acid lens cleaner, potassium hydroxide, and muriatic acid.

Chemical accidents and the political consequences

The reason for this also lies in history. Prior to 1976, there were very few regulations regarding management of hazardous waste in the United States.

But this lack of regulation paved the way for catastrophic pollution of soil, water, and air. Therefore the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was passed in 1976, with periodic reviews and updates. It is the primary law governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste. RCRA was signed into law to address the increasing problems the nation faced from the growing volume of municipal and industrial waste.

The chemical incidents of the past have led to:

▶ Laws

▶ Codification of regulations

▶ Annual book of regulations (CFRs)

▶ Daily federal register

▶ Proposed rules

▶ Final rules

Today 10 national EPA regions implement the federal program.

The RCRA allows the EPA to turn over the responsibility of regulating hazardous waste to the states if certain conditions are met. States may adopt hazardous waste regulations, but the program must be at least as stringent as the federal program and a state can have federal and state hazardous waste rules for generators to follow at the same time.

Violations of RCRA

The EPA is authorized to enter, inspect, and obtain samples anytime from any facility where hazardous wastes are generated, stored, treated, transported from, or disposed. Various type of failures to comply with hazardous waste rules can lead to violations. This happens regularly also because the management is typically held to the standard that they “knew or should have known.”

Penalties that a company or an individual may face – for not following the regulations – range from fines to jail and not to underestimate the damage to the public image.

Once the EPA notifies of a violation, and the violation is not corrected within 30 days, the EPA can issue an order requiring compliance by a specified time. If the violation is not corrected within the specified time, civil action in U.S. District Court will commence.

If the violation is not corrected within the specified time, the violator is liable for civil penalties over $50,000 up to $76,764 per day. Any environmental permits they have can be suspended or revoked. Criminal penalties include criminal fines of over $50,000 for each day of violation or imprisonment of one year, or both for anyone who knowingly violates a regulation.

Violations considered knowing (willful) violations are for example:

▶ Transporting hazardous wastes or listed waste to a facility, which does not have a permit to accept waste.

▶ Treating, storing, or disposing of any hazardous waste, characteristic or listed without having a permit.

▶ Making false statements on any legal document used for purposes of compliance with the regulations.

The cradle to grave principle always applies. Therefore, please note: You are always liable for your waste – EVEN if you handled it properly and send it to a proper recycling, treatment, disposal facility! Ensure that the companies you use to manage your waste are properly licensed and comply with all local, state and federal regulations.

What is hazardous waste?

RCRA defines hazardous waste as a solid waste. It can be any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities.

Hazardous waste characteristics

1. Ignitability (D001)

▶ An ignitable waste will present a fire hazard during routine management. It is a liquid, other than an aqueous solution, that contains less than 24% alcohol by volume and has a flashpoint less than 140° F (60° C) as determined by a Penske-Martens Closed Cup Tester.

▶ Ex: Alcohols, acetone, and some coating liquids

2. Corrosivity (D002)

▶ A corrosive waste is able to deteriorate containers, damage human tissue and dissolve things. Acids with a pH below 2 or bases with a pH above

▶ Ex: Sulfuric acid, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, or acetic acid 12.5 are corrosive.

3. Reactivity (D003)

▶ A reactive waste is unstable and has the ability to liberate toxic gases or to react violently or to explode when exposed to air and water.

▶ Ex: Cyanide containing waste, peroxide, or per chlorates

4. Toxicity

▶ This is a list of 20+ chemicals with an identified limit. If you have more than the limit, your material is hazardous.

▶ Ex: Alloy contains lead D008 5 mg/l, and cadmium D006 1.0 mg/l

Types of hazardous waste possibly found in optical labs vary by types of labs: toxics (alloy contaminated wastes), flammables and/or corrosives. It is the responsibility of the facility to determine the waste type and develop a waste management program.

Determining if your waste is hazardous

Use the information on the DOT shipping containers (approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation) that the chemical was shipped in. Look at the label on the chemical container and read the safety data sheet (SDS) for the chemical (look especially at last sections of SDS). Furthermore, you can contact the manufacturer of the chemical or test the material containing the chemical.

Once you know what materials are hazardous at your facility, you must keep a monthly record for twelve months running on how much of each type of hazardous waste you generate. Then record your waste volume each month to determine your level as a hazardous waste generator.

Three categories of hazardous waste generators

1. Very small quantity generator “VSQG”

▶ Produces < 220 lbs /month (less than half a drum or about 25 gallons).

▶ Produces less than 2.2 lbs of acutely hazardous waste/month.

▶ No storage time limit if the total waste stored is under 2200 lbs (about five drums).

▶ Must ensure that hazardous waste is delivered to a person or a facility that is authorized to properly manage its disposal.

▶

VSQGs may, but are not generally required to, notify state department of environmental management to obtain a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) identification (ID) number.

▶ Check with your local regulators to be safe.

▶ A RCRA ID number may be necessary if there is a planned or unplanned episodic event:

An activity that does not normally occur during a generator’s operations and that causes the generator to exceed the threshold for its normal generator category for that month.

Revised in 2016. More information about episodic generation is available on U.S. EPA’s hazardous waste generator site.

2. Small quantity generator

▶ Produces 220 lbs. – 2200 lbs./month (about one half to five drums or 25-250 gallons)

▶ Produces less than 2.2 lbs. of acutely hazardous waste/month

▶ Must obtain an EPA ID number to ship waste

▶ Can store hazardous waste up to 180 days

3. Large quantity generator

▶ Produces more than 2200 lbs/month (more than five drums or 250 gallons)

▶ Produces more than 2.2 lbs of acutely hazardous waste/month

▶ Must obtain an EPA ID number to ship

▶ Storage of hazardous waste is limited to 90 days

Before a hazardous waste can be shipped to a disposal facility, the disposal facility must know what chemical and how much is in the waste. A profile sheet describing the waste must be completed and provided to the disposal facility. A profile provides the necessary information needed to classify the waste for disposal (if the profile is wrong, it can be costly).

Please note: This is where most people make mistakes!

Waste container requirements

Six steps to safe shipping:

▶ Classification: shipping description

▶ Packaging: selection and assembly

▶ Marking of packages

▶ Labeling of packages

▶ Shipping papers & emergency response info

▶ Placarding and marking of vehicles

Storage

A rule of thumb is that the original container that the material arrived in can be used for the waste.

Obviously a container holding hazardous waste must not be handled in a way to cause rupture or a leak and a container holding hazardous waste must be kept closed during storage except when necessary to add or remove waste.

A container storage system must have a base underlying the containers that is free of cracks or gaps and impervious to contain leaks, spills, or precipitation. The container storage system must have sufficient secondary containment capacity to contain 10% of the volume of containers or the volume of the largest container, whichever is greater. Water run-on into the container storage system must be prevented unless the secondary containment capacity is sufficient to hold the required volume and the run on. Spilled or leaked waste and accumulated precipitation must be removed from the collection. Containers holding ignitable or reactive waste must be located at least 50 feet from the facility property line. It should also be noted that a storage container, holding a hazardous waste, must be separated from the other materials or protected from them by means of a dike, berm, wall, or other device.

CFR 262.32 marking

Before transporting hazardous waste or offering hazardous waste for transportation off-site, a generator must mark each container of 110 gallons or less used in such transportation with the following words and information displayed in accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 172.304:

▶ HAZARDOUS WASTE- Federal Law Prohibits Improper Disposal. If found, contact the nearest police or public safety authority or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

▶ Generator’s name and address

▶ Manifest document number

CFR 262.34 accumulation volume

An appropriate container must be selected for the hazardous waste. Waste containers must be in good condition and compatible with the waste that will be placed into them. Acids and caustics which are corrosive cannot be put into metal containers and a container with a lining must be used for materials that are not compatible with the container.

(c)(1) A generator may accumulate as much as 55 gallons of hazardous waste or one quart of acutely hazardous waste or listed in CFR 261.33(e) in containers at or near any point of generation where wastes initially accumulate which is under the control of the operator of the process generating the waste.

Note: You may also store non-hazardous waste at the same site and it does not count.

Satellite accumulation

For satellite accumulation applies: the waste must be kept at or near the process that generates the waste. It needs to be under the control of the process operator and waste from different types of processes cannot be introduced into this waste drum. The waste should be kept at or near the process until it is full (this drum is not dated). Once this drum is full you have three days to move the drum to storage and put a date on it. Some states now require that as soon as one drop of waste goes into the drum you must date it even at a satellite accumulation site. In general, a hazardous waste label should be on the drum when it is in the work area.

Point accumulation

The same types of waste (hazard classes) from different processes may be placed into a point accumulation drum. As soon as one drop of waste is placed into this drum, an accumulation start date must be placed on the drum.

This drum is usually located in your waste storage area. A hazardous waste label and a hazard label shall be on the drum when it is in the work area.

Shipping

As a general rule hazardous waste is shipped on a hazardous waste manifest (manifest is a tracking tool). This manifest has several copies and the copies are given to: Generator, transporter 1, transporter 2 and the treatment, storage, disposal facility (TSDF). Any alterations must have a line drawn through it, it must be dated, and initialed. The return manifest should be returned to the waste generator within 35 days. If not, call the disposal facility. If the return manifest is not returned within 45 days to the generator, you must notify EPA. The manifest must be kept three years. (CFR 40 Part 262.40 Recordkeeping Requirements).

The EPA requires companies to maintain a supply of placards for the chemicals they ship and to be prepared to make them available to drivers transporting their products.

Universal hazardous waste

Examples for universal hazardous waste are batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing-equipment, bulbs (lamps – fluorescent, high intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium and metal halide).

Those containers should be marked or labeled: “Universal Waste –Lamps” or “Waste Lamps”. The containers must be structurally sound, adequate to prevent breakage, remain closed and show no evidence of leakage. Containers need to be marked with a start date and should not accumulate longer than one year.

Training

And last but not least: do not forget to share your knowledge! The generator must ensure all employees that handle hazardous waste are trained and thoroughly familiar with proper waste handling and emergency procedures, relevant to their responsibilities during normal facility operations and emergencies.

Roger Arrowood has studied graduate level safety and industrial hygiene. He worked for 34 years in environmental health and safety management with major optical manufacturing organizations. Furthermore, he has been working more than 20 years with the laboratory division, created written safety and environmental compliance policies, created employee training modules, developed employee driven safety compliance programs and worked three years as consultant to independent optical laboratories.