Hazardous Waste

Every year, 3.36 billion lbs of toxic waste is disposed of or released into the environment Waste categories can include solid waste, exploration and production waste, universal waste, and hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is a solid, liquid, or gaseous material with certain properties that could be dangerous to human health or the environment

In regulatory terms, hazardous waste is waste that appears on one of the four Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste lists or displays one of the four characteristics of hazardous waste: ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and toxic

Characteristic Description Ignitable Catches fire under certain conditions Corrosive Corrodes metal or has a very high or low pH Reactive Unstable and explodes or produces toxic fumes, gases, and vapors when mixed with water or under other conditions, such as heat or pressure Toxic Harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed, or it leaches toxic chemicals into the soil or ground water when disposed of on land

Hazardous waste is generated from many sources, such as Metal production Metal fabrication Petroleum processing Chemical manufacturing

Some ways to reduce waste include Using catalysts to speed up chemical reactions and convert oil into useful products efficiently Recovering products from process waters Using cogeneration (generating electricity and steam for facility use; allows waste heat to be captured for use in refinery processes) Using collection sites to properly dispose of motor oil

Many companies are required to have a waste management plan that gives workers information on proper disposal procedures

It is your company’s responsibility to make sure every effort is made to prevent hazardous waste spills and to clean them up immediately

The purpose of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule is to help facilities prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines

The SPCC applies to a facility that Stores, transfers, uses, or consumes oil or oil products, such as diesel fuel, gasoline, and lube oil Stores more than 1,320 US gal in aboveground containers (only count containers with 55 gal or greater storage capacity) or more than 42,000 gal in completely buried containers Could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into navigable waters of the US or adjoining shorelines, such as lakes, rivers, and streams

The SPCC rule requires facility owners or operators to create and use an SPCC plan The plan Must be in writing and maintained at the facility May include the facility’s storage capacity, discharge prevention measures and drainage controls, ways to dispose of recovered materials, and emergency contact lists and phone numbers

Some safety precautions for storing and handling hazardous waste drums and containers to prevent leaks and spills include Unlabeled drums and containers must be considered hazardous and handled accordingly until the contents are positively identified and labeled Fire extinguishing equipment must be on hand and ready for use to control incipient fires Workers not actually involved in opening drums or containers must be kept a safe distance away from the drums or containers being opened

The first step of an emergency response operation is to observe that a spill or release has happened

Signs of a hazardous release can include Workers can usually detect an emergency release through their senses Signs of a hazardous release can include Liquid in unusual places Visible vapors, fumes, bubbles, or foam A high pitched whistling sound Strange odors

Review your company’s emergency response plan to find out what the company considers an emergency release Depending on the size and location of the release, it may be necessary to get state and local emergency response organizations and agencies involved

Untrained workers must not respond to a hazardous spill Workers who perform hazardous waste cleanup operations or perform hazardous waste operations at treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities in both general and construction industries require special training

There are five levels of HAZWOPER training Training Level Duty First Responder – Awareness Level Workers who may witness or discover a hazardous substance release and have been trained to start an emergency response sequence by notifying the proper authorities about the release; do nothing beyond notifying the authorities First Responder – Operations Level Workers who respond defensively to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances by containing the release from a safe distance, keeping the release from spreading, and preventing nearby workers from being exposed; must not attempt to plug, patch, or stop the release; must only set up initial site control

Training Level Duty Hazardous Materials Technician Responds to stop the release and knows how to implement the company’s plan and carry out decontamination Hazardous Materials Specialist Requires specific knowledge of the substances to be contained and acts as the point of contact with all government authorities On-scene incident commander Assumes control of the scene and implements the command system, the company’s plan, and state and local emergency response plans

Hazardous waste can be dangerous to human health and the environment, and must be managed by trained workers. Stay informed and know how to act if there is a leak or spill.