Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste
A hazardous waste can be a liquid, solid, or gas that is acutely or chronically hazardous
to human health if not managed or handled properly. By definition, these substances
may be toxic, corrosive, ignitable, or reactive. Hazardous waste can be a by-product of
a manufacturing process or may simply be a commercial product, such as a cleaning
fluid, that contains ingredients hazardous to the environment. Hazardous waste can be
both persistent and bioaccumulative in ecosystems and food chains, remaining in the
environment for long periods of time. Toxics can bioaccumulate in the bodies of
mammals, fish, and birds, and may eventually be passed on to humans who consume
them.
Hazardous waste indicators presented in this catalog fall under volume generated,
management, spills, and sites. Radioactive waste indicators are split between low-level
and high-level waste.
How is Hazardous Waste Generated?
Industries produce waste that is sometimes toxic (harmful to human health or the
environment even in very small quantities) or dangerous if mishandled. Common
household garbage, also referred to as municipal solid waste, is primarily
nonhazardous, but it frequently contains wastes that are hazardous, spread disease, or
disrupt the environment in other ways.
Many chemical wastes are classified as hazardous wastes. They include materials that
are: explosive or highly reactive; flammable; corrosive, such as acids and bases; and,
toxic or poisonous, which may cause long-term physiological problems such as cancer,
birth defects, and other abnormalities. Chemical wastes come from three main
sources. The first source includes chemical manufacturing processes, all of which
produce certain wastes. For example, raw materials such as crude oil are made into
numerous synthetic organic chemicals used in plastics, synthetic fibers, coatings,
pesticides, drugs, and other products. The second source includes the numerous
chemicals used as solvents, cleaning fluids, or other agents in various processes; these
“process materials” are also discarded after use. The third source includes residues
that remain as residuals in “empty” containers and drums along with unused portions of
chemicals that are discarded.
Federal Initiatives
Numerous regulations have been passed to support toxic-free communities. The Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulates the manufacture, use, distribution, and
disposal of chemicals, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
authorizes USEPA to regulate hazardous waste generation, transport, treatment,
storage, and disposal. The RCRA requires records to be kept on the handling and
transfer of all hazardous wastes from their point of origin to their ultimate disposal. All
landfills or other facilities receiving hazardous wastes must be authorized by the
issuance of a permit.
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The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(CERCLA) is a major federal program aimed at identifying and cleaning up existing
hazardous waste sites. The law is well known for establishing the Superfund.
CERCLA, through a tax on the chemical industry, provides a fund to clean up those
sites where parties responsible for the dumping of hazardous substances could not be
found. Where responsible parties could be found, the law forces them to clean up the
site. To address health-related issues surrounding Superfund sites, the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) was established. ATSDR is
mandated to prevent exposure, adverse human health effects, and diminished quality
of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned
releases, and other sources of pollution present in the environment.1
In 1986, Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA Title III) required
states to establish a process for developing local chemical emergency preparedness
programs and to receive and disseminate information on hazardous chemicals present
at facilities within local communities. The USEPA has since increased actions to
achieve faster Superfund cleanups at sites with high economic reuse potential. The
Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990 established pollution prevention as a national
objective and required the USEPA to identify measurable goals, consider the effects of
Agency programs on source reduction, and evaluate existing barriers to source
reduction.
Examples of Hazardous Waste: Heavy Metals
Heavy metals are metallic elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium, tin, chromium,
zinc, and copper. Heavy metals are contained primarily in the wastes of metal
processing industries and industries producing pigments. As ions or in certain
compounds, these metals are soluble in water and may be ingested and absorbed into
living tissue. They are extremely toxic because atoms tend to combine with and inhibit
the functioning of particular enzymes. Thus, very small amounts can have severe
physiological and/or neurological consequences.
Examples of Hazardous Waste: Synthetic Organic Chemicals
Organic chemicals are based on various arrangements of carbon atoms bonded with
hydrogen or other certain elements. Organic chemists have learned to make hundreds
of thousands of unique organic molecules, which are referred to as synthetic organic
chemicals. Production of these chemicals has grown rapidly and thousands of new
compounds are produced each year.
Many synthetic organic compounds are similar enough to natural organic compounds
that they interact with particular enzymes or other biochemicals. This results in some
synthetic organics being acutely poisonous while others may serve as beneficial drugs.
Adverse effects of synthetic organic chemicals include mutagenesis (occurrence of
genetic mutations), carcinogenesis (causing cancer), and terategenesis (causing birth

1 Don’t Hazard A Guess, Addressing Community Health Concerns at Hazardous Waste Sites,
National Association of County and City Health Officials, 1994.
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defects). In addition, they may cause serious liver and kidney dysfunction, sterility, and
numerous other physiological problems.
Examples of Hazardous Waste: Halogenated Hydrocarbons
Halogenated hydrocarbons are compounds of hydrogen and carbon in which one or
more of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by atoms of chlorine, bromine,
fluorine, or iodine. Those compounds containing chlorine (referred to as chlorinated
hydrocarbons) are by far the most common. Such compounds are widely used in
plastics (e.g., polyvinyl chloride), pesticides (e.g., DDT, kepone, and mirex), solvents
(e.g., carbon tetrachloride), wood preservatives (e.g., pentachlorophenol), electrical
insulation (e.g., PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls), flame retardants (e.g., TRIS), and
many other products. Consequently, such compounds are common in the wastes of
industries that produce or use these products. PCBs and dioxins are examples of
chlorinated hydrocarbons that are notorious for their pollution hazard. Heavy metals
and halogenated hydrocarbons are particularly detrimental because they
bioaccumulate. Halogenated hydrocarbons may persist more or less indefinitely in the
environment.
Radioactive Waste
Approximately 800,000 cubic feet of low-level radioactive wastes were disposed of in
1993.2 28,000 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste remains stored at nuclear
power reactor sites. Radioactive wastes are the by-products of radioactive substances
that emit ionizing radiation. These substances may be used in medical, education, or
research facilities (generally low-level), or as part of a nuclear power plant’s core
operations (high-level). Numerous issues exist in dealing with low-level and high-level
radioactive waste, including transportation within a state or across state boundaries,
where or how to store waste, preparing for potential hazards, and assigning
responsibility.

2 Radioactive Waste, available through the USEPA Homepage: http://www.epa.gov/
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List of Indicators
Waste indicators are grouped according to the following categories:
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous Waste Generation
Hazardous Waste Management
Treatment/Disposal
Reduction Activities
Underground Injection
Shipping/Tracking
Toxics and Metals-Incinerator Discharges
Compliance/Enforcement
Spills
Hazardous Waste Sites
Number of Sites
Sites With Cleanup Activities
Superfund
Radioactive Waste
Low-level Radioactive Waste
Sites
Generation/Volume
Shipping/Transfer
High-level Radioactive Waste
The list is summarized from state and federal environmental reports with the source for
each indicator given in parenthesis. The category listings are to facilitate ease of use
of the information. There will be numerous occasions where one indicator can fit into
another category in addition to the one in which it is listed here.
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Hazardous Waste Generation
• Hazardous Waste Generation and Management: Amounts Generated,
Recovered/Recycled, Incinerated, Stored (EPA92) Source: Biennial Reporting
System.
• Total Hazardous Waste Generation at RCRA Regulated Facilities by Industry
Type (EPA92) Source: Biennial Reporting System. Description: This includes only
waste generated on-site from production processes, service activities, or
management of non-hazardous waste. The analysis does not include wastes
resulting from “secondary” generation, meaning hazardous waste residuals resulting
from treatment or recycling of previously existing hazardous waste. Examples of
“secondary” generation wastes are landfill leachates or a solid resulting from a
stabilization process. This indicator shows that the dominant industry category in
waste generation is “Manufacturing of Chemicals and Allied Products” (SIC 28),
representing 85 percent of total primary hazardous waste generated.
• Amount of Hazardous Waste Generated, by Waste Category (Normal
Operations, RCRA Large Generator Cleanups, and One-time Cleanups) (NC95)
Source: State Solid Waste Management.
• Progress in Pollution Generation (Large Generator, Small Generator, and
Exempt) (VT96) Source: State Agency of Natural Resources. Description: An
indicator of change in hazardous waste generator status.
• Quantity of Hazardous Waste Generated (MN92) Source: State Pollution Control
Agency.
• Hazardous Waste Generation Trends (KY94) Source: State Division of Waste
Management.
• Percentage Reduction of Hazardous Waste Generated From 1991 Base Year
(CT95) Source: State Hazardous Waste Management Section.
• Percent Hazardous Waste Generated, by Series Category (NC95) Source: State
Solid Waste Management. Description: For regulatory purposes, USEPA places
hazardous waste into categories: D Series wastes exhibit at least one of the four
hazardous substance characteristics (ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity). F
Series waste represents hazardous solvents and sludge waste from non-specific
sources. K Series represents waste from specific manufacturing processes. P and
U Series represent waste from discarded commercial chemical products,
containers, and spill residues.
• Ratio of Hazardous Waste Generated to Production Quantity Ratio (Cat95)
Proposed in the “Inventory of Indicators” and at the “Environmental Indicators
Workshop, July 1991.”
• Volume of Hazardous Waste (Federal, Other, Remediation, Businesses,
Shipments) (CA95) Source: State and federal government. Description: There has
been a decrease in federal hazardous waste volume, increase in recycling of other
hazardous waste, and an increase in remediation waste volume; the total number of
regulated businesses and shipments per year has increased dramatically.
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• Pounds per Year of Hazardous Waste Generated per Capita (WA95) Source:
State Department of Ecology.
• RCRA Hazardous Waste Generation (DIIR95) Source: The Biennial RCRA
Hazardous Waste Report. Description: Indicator shows millions of tons of Newly-
Regulated RCRA Waste, Status Uncertain, and Waste Regulated Under RCRA in
1989.
• Top Ten Hazardous Waste Generating Counties (NC95) Source: State Solid
Waste Management.
• Top Ten Hazardous Waste Generators (NC95, KY94) Source: State Solid Waste
Management departments.
• Hazardous Waste Generated by County/ by Year (NC95, FL94) Source: State
Solid Waste Management departments.
• Full Quantity Hazardous Waste Generators (KY92) Source: State Division of
Waste Management. Description: These are facilities that produce over 2,200
pounds of hazardous waste each per month.
• Reportable Hazardous Waste Generation by County (KY92) Source: State
Division of Waste Management.
• Major Sources of Hazardous Waste Generated (KY92) Source: State Division of
Waste Management. Description: The chemical (and allied products) industry
produced 96 percent of the hazardous waste generated in Kentucky during 1989.
Paper industries produced 3 percent of the total.
• Hazardous Waste Generation by Physical State (Liquid Waste or Sludge and
Solid Waste) (KY92) Source: State Division of Waste Management.
• Hazardous Waste Generation by Waste Type (KY92) Source: State Division of
Waste Management. Description: It is important to determine the composition and
risk of hazardous waste. Most of Kentucky’s hazardous waste is corrosive
wastewater, which poses little risk if treated properly.
• Groups of Hazardous Waste Generators (Very Small Quantity Generators,
Small Quantity Generators, Large Quantity Generators) and Total Waste
Amounts (MN95) Source: State Pollution Control Agency. Description: A new
focus of the MPCA is on the large number of businesses that generate less than 22
gallons of waste per month. These “very small quantity generators” are typically
small businesses with few resources and little knowledge of how to properly handle
their hazardous wastes.
• Number of Hazardous Waste Generators, by Category (Generators, Treatment,
Storage & Disposal Facilities, One-Time Generators) (NC95) Source: State Solid
Waste Management.
• Generators of Medical Waste (KY92) Source: USEPA. Description: According to
the USEPA, about 80 percent of the medical waste generators are physicians,
dentists, laboratories, nursing homes, and veterinarians, which each produce less
than 50 pounds of medical waste per month. The Kentucky Hospital Association
estimates that hospitals generate from 13 to 15 pounds of medical waste per
patient each day.
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• Generators of Infectious Wastes (KY92) Source: USEPA.
Analysis
These indicators measure hazardous waste by generation and management, by
industrial type, by county or generator, and by type of waste. Some of the
indicators deal with abandoned sites that are still hazardous and need to be
remediated. Many are tied directly to hazardous waste regulations. The
indicators can measure increases or decreases in hazardous waste generation,
effectiveness of regulatory programs, or reductions in risks if measured for a
minimum of three years.
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Hazardous Waste Management
Treatment/Disposal
• Permanent Household Hazardous Waste Collection Programs (OPPE95)
Proposed.
• Hazardous Waste Treatment (Chemical, Physical, Incineration, Biological)
(KY92) Source: State Division of Waste Management. Description: Measured in
tons, Kentucky industries treat a majority of the hazardous waste produced to
render it legally non-hazardous.
• RCRA Hazardous Wastes Treated or Disposed at TSDFs (Treatment, Storage,
and Disposal Facilities) (DIIR95) Source: The Biennial RCRA Hazardous Waste
Report. Description: The quantities reported include both primary and secondary
wastes. “Treatment” includes aqueous organic and inorganic units. “Recovery”
includes waste sent to metals recovery, energy recovery and fuel blending, solvent
recovery, and other recovery. “Other” includes surface impoundment, stabilization,
sludge treatment, land application, and other treatment and disposal methods.
• Hazardous Waste Management by Treatment Practice (Incineration,
Recovery/Recycling, Land Disposal, Waste Water, Other) (EPA92) Source: 1989
Biennial Reporting System.
• Hazardous Waste Managed by Treatment or Recovery (DIIR95) Source: USEPA
Biennial Reporting System, 1994. (OPPE95 Proposed).
• Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies Trends (Biological, Incineration,
Physical, Chemical, Other) (KY94) Source: State Division of Waste Management.
Description: The shift toward more physical treatment, which includes distillation,
fuel blending, and sedimentation, reflects the growing trend by generators to
minimize treatment and disposal costs.
• Percent Hazardous Waste Processed by Facility (NC95) Source: State Solid
Waste Management.
• Locations of Commercial Hazardous Waste Processing Facilities (NC95)
Source: State Solid Waste Management.
• Hazardous Waste Disposal Trends (Landfilled and Underground Injection)
(KY94) Source: State Division of Waste Management.
• Number of Permitted and Illegal Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and
Disposal (TSD) Facilities (KY94) Source: State Division of Waste Management.
Analysis
These indicators measure the treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes.
Some of the indicators measure by different types of treatment and different
methods of disposal. These indicators can be used to establish trends in
certain types of disposal or treatment methods, and in whether the amount of
hazardous waste needing treatment or being disposed is growing.
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Reduction Activities
• Percent of Hazardous Waste Reduced, Recycled, or Treated at Industries
Participating in Pollution Prevention Efforts (WA95) Source: State Department of
Ecology.
• Hazardous Waste Reduction (TN94) Source: not given. Description: Waste
reduction measured in thousand tons from 1989 to 1992. In 1990, the Tennessee
General Assembly passed the Hazardous Waste Reduction Act, requiring most
industries to cut their hazardous waste by 25 percent by 1995.
• Percentage of Operators/Facilities Practicing Waste Reduction or Prevention
(CT95) Source: State Underground Storage Tank Program, and Registration of
Pesticide Application Businesses. Description: Indicator includes a variety of
measurements: Non-residential underground storage tank systems meeting leak
prevention installation standards; certified pesticide applicators practicing Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) for structural pest control; state agencies completing
environmental audit and plans to reduce air, water, solid, and hazardous waste
pollution; Large Quantity Generators participating in waste minimization activities;
farmers operating under a Farm Resource Management Plan and Integrated Pest
Management Plan.
• Hazardous Waste Reduction Activities (KY92) Source: State Division of Waste
Management quarterly reports, 1984 and 1988. Description: Waste generators
must provide a statement describing their efforts to reduce waste volume and
toxicity as part of Kentucky’s annual reporting requirements.
• Hazardous Waste Minimization Activities Reported by Major Generators (KY92)
Source: State Division of Waste Management. Description: Largest reduction
activities in the most recent year of data (1989) were from changes in production
process or equipment, recycled on-site contractors, and recycled off-site
contractors.
• Hazardous Waste Collected at Local Collection Centers (FL94) Source: State
Hazardous Waste Management Section. Description: This indicator shows how
many pounds of hazardous waste have been collected through the Florida
Hazardous Waste Collection Center Grant Program. The indicator is important
because the greater the amount of hazardous waste collected, the greater the
reduction in hazardous waste being improperly disposed of.
• Percentage Reduction in the Number of Transformers at Greatest Risk of
Becoming a Source of Pollution (CT95) Source: State Department of
Environmental Protection, PCB Transformer Registration Database. Description:
General disrepair and vandalism of transformers at abandoned and under-utilized
facilities have resulted in major discharges of PCBs.
Analysis
These indicators measure hazardous waste reduction activities. One
measurement describes hazardous waste collected at collection centers as
an indicator of reduced improper disposal. The indicators can measure
progress if estimated for a minimum of three years.
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Underground Injection
• Hazardous Wastes Managed by Underground Injection (DIIR95) Source: The
Biennial RCRA Hazardous Waste Report.
• Hazardous Wastes Managed by Underground Injection (OPPE95) Proposed.
• Oil and Gas Brine Injection Wells (KY94) Source: USEPA, Underground Injection
Program, Region 4. Description: Salty brine water, extracted during oil drilling, can
degrade streams and is toxic to aquatic life.
Analysis
This indicator measures hazardous waste disposed of deep underground.
The growth in this type of disposal can be gauged if measured for a
minimum of three years. This indicator can also be used as an indirect
indicator of risk to groundwater.
Shipping/Tracking
• Breakdown of Hazardous Waste Management Methods (On-site Processing,
Shipped In-State, Shipped Out-of-State) (NC95) Source: State Solid Waste
Management.
• Amount of Hazardous Waste Shipped Off-site to In-State Facilities, by
Processing Method (Storage, Recycling, Treatment) (NC95) Source: State Solid
Waste Management.
• Amount of Hazardous Waste Received at Commercial Facilities from In-State
and Out-of-State Sources (NC95) Source: State Solid Waste Management.
Description: In millions of pounds since 1989.
• Amount of Hazardous Waste Shipped Off-site to Out-of-State Facilities by
Processing Method (NC95) Source: State Solid Waste Management.
• Hazardous Waste Imported Into and Exported Out of State (KY94) Source: State
Division of Waste Management.
• Toxic Chemical Transfers Into and Out of State (KY94) Source: TRI.
• Tons of Hazardous Waste Followed to Safe Disposal (MN93) Source: State
Pollution Control Agency. Description: The MPCA has an energetic state outreach
program that tracks the tons of hazardous waste to final disposal as well as the
number of companies reporting waste generated.
• Hazardous Waste Imports and Exports (KY92) Source: State Division of Waste
Management.
Analysis
These indicators measure the shipping and tracking of hazardous waste.
They can relate changes in the number of shipments, changes in the types
of shipments such as in-state or out-of-state, and any changes in the
amounts of hazardous waste shipped. These indicators are important
because of increased risk of exposure from spillage during shipment. An
increase in shipments may also be a sign of hazardous waste reaching
capacity in some states.
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