Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

The RCRA, enacted in 1976, is the principal federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste (RCRA 1976).

History and Goals

Congress enacted RCRA to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. It set national goals for

• protecting human health and the natural environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal
• energy conservation and natural resources
• reducing the amount of waste generated, through source reduction and recycling
• ensuring the management of waste in an environmentally sound manner (USEPA 2010b)

It is now most widely known for the regulations promulgated under RCRA that set standards for the treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) of hazardous waste in the United States.

RCRA Implementation

The USEPA has published waste management regulations, which are codified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations at parts 239 through 282 (USEPA 2011a). Regulations regarding management of hazardous waste begin in part 260 (USEPA 2011b). As noted in the following, most states have enacted laws and created regulations that are at least as stringent as the federal regulations. Furthermore, the RCRA statute authorizes states to carry out many of the functions of the federal law through their own hazardous waste programs (as well as their state laws) if such programs have been approved by the EPA.

Identification and Characterization of Hazardous Waste

For a material to be classified as hazardous waste, it must first be considered a waste and also at least one of the following criteria:

1. It exhibits any characteristic of a hazardous waste.
2. It has been named a hazardous waste and listed as such in the EPA regulations (Table C.2).
3. It is a mixture containing a listed hazardous waste and a nonhazardous solid waste.
4. It is a mixture containing a listed or characteristic hazardous waste and special nuclear material.
5. It is a waste residue generated from the TSD of a listed hazardous waste (i.e. is a “derived‐from” waste).

Characteristics

Characteristic wastes are those that exhibit measurable properties indicating that a waste poses enough of a threat to deserve regulation as a hazardous waste. The USEPA decided that the characteristics of hazardous waste should be detectable by suing a standardized test method or by applying general knowledge of the waste properties. Given these criteria, the EPA established four hazardous waste characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity.

1. Ignitability – Ignitable wastes are easily combustible, or flammable, and they may cause fires during their transport, storage, or disposal. Examples include paint waste, certain degreasers, or other solvents. Regulations describing the characteristic of ignitibility are found in 40 CFR 261.21. A waste that exhibits any of the following properties is considered to be hazardous waste identified by the waste code D001:
   • A liquid, except aqueous solutions, containing less than 24% alcohol and that has a flash point of less than 60 °C (140 ^°F).
   • A nonliquid capable of spontaneous and sustained and sustained combustion under normal conditions.
   • An ignitable, compressed gas as defined by US DOT regulations.
   • An oxidizer as defined by US DOT regulations.
2. Corrosivity – Corrosive wastes can react dangerously with other wastes, dissolve metal or other materials, or burn the skin. Examples include waste rust removers, waste acid or alkaline cleaning fluids, and waste battery acid. The regulations describing the corrosivity characteristic are found in 40 CFR 261.22. A waste that exhibits either of the following properties is considered to be hazardous waste identified by the waste code D002.
   • An aqueous material with a pH of less than or equal to 2 or of greater than or equal to 12.5.
   • A liquid that corrodes steel at a rate greater than 0.25 in./year at a temperature of 55 °C (130 °F).
3. Reactivity – Reactive wastes are unstable and undergo a rapid or violent chemical reaction with water or other materials. Examples include cyanide plating wastes, waste bleaches, and other waste oxidizers. Reactivity characteristic is described in the regulations at 40 CFR 261.23. A waste that exhibits any of the following properties is considered to be a hazardous waste identified by the waste code D003.
   • Normally unstable and reacts violently without detonating.
   • Reacts violently with water (i.e. causes sudden flash of fire accompanied by spattering).
   • Forms an explosive mixture with water (i.e. causes an explosion) that may damage the container and anything or anyone near it.
   • Generate toxic gases, vapors, or fumes when mixed with water that are not necessarily accompanied by a violent reaction or explosion.
   • Contains cyanide or sulfide and generates toxic gases, vapors, or fumes at a pH of between 2 and 12.5.
4. Toxicity – Toxic wastes are considered to be hazardous because of the presence of toxic constituents in the wastes at greater than the established regulatory levels. To determine if a waste displays a toxicity characteristic, a test method (i.e. the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure or TCLP) is performed. The TCLP regulations describing the toxicity characteristic are described in 40 CFR 261.24.
5. Other characteristics – Medical waste that may be infectious include used bandages and hypodermic needle, human tissue and blood, and biological substances generated by hospitals and research institutions. Because of its infectious nature, this waste is handled and disposed of according to specific EPA guidelines.

Listed Hazardous Wastes

Listed hazardous wastes are generated by specific industries and processes and are automatically considered hazardous waste based solely on the process that generates them and irrespective of whether a test of the waste shows any of the “characteristics” of hazardous waste. Examples of listed wastes include

• many sludges left over from electroplating processes
• certain waste from iron and steel manufacturing
• wastes from certain cleaning and/or degreasing processes

Hazardous wastes are incorporated into lists published by the USEPA. These lists are organized into three categories:

1. The F‐list (nonspecific source wastes). This list identifies wastes from common manufacturing and industrial processes, such as solvents that have been used in cleaning or degreasing operations. Because the processes producing these wastes can occur in different sectors of industry, the F‐listed wastes are known as wastes from nonspecific sources (see 40 CFR 261.31).
2. The K‐list (source‐specific wastes). This list includes certain wastes from specific industries, such as petroleum refining or pesticide manufacturing. Certain sludges and wastewaters from treatment and production processes in these industries are examples of source‐specific wastes (see 40 CFR 261.32).
3. Discarded wastes: P‐list and U‐list wastes are actually sublists of the same major list applying to discarded wastes. These wastes apply to commercial chemical products that are considered hazardous when discarded and are regulated under the following U.S. Federal Regulation: 40 C.F.R. 261.33 (e) and (f). P‐list wastes are wastes that are considered “acutely hazardous” when discarded and are subject to more stringent regulation. Nitric oxide is an example of a P‐list waste and carries the number P076. U‐listed wastes are considered “hazardous” when discarded and are regulated in a somewhat less stringent manner than P‐listed wastes. Acetone is an example of a U‐listed waste and carries the number U002.