Characteristic Waste: What you need to know

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 USC 6903, and regulations at 40 CFR 260 and 40 CFR 261

Hazardous waste characteristics:

Ignitability: 40 CFR 261.21

Corrosivity: 40 CFR 261.22

Reactivity: 40 CFR 261.23

Toxicity: 40 CFR 261.24

Test methods: 40 CFR 260.11 and 40 CFR 261.24

EPA hazardous waste numbers: 40 CFR 261.20 to 261.24

Generator knowledge: 40 CFR 261.10(a)(2)(ii) and 40 CFR 262.11(d)(1)

Sampling and testing:

Sampling: 40 CFR 260.10; 40 CFR 261, Appendix I; 40 CFR 264.13; 40 CFR 265.13; and 40 CFR 262.11(d)(1)

Testing: 40 CFR 261.20 to 261.24

Waste analysis plan: 40 CFR 264.13 and 40 CFR 265.13

Waste characterization samples: 40 CFR 261.4(d)

Recordkeeping: 40 CFR 262.11(f), 40 CFR 262.44(a), 40 CFR 264.73(b)(3), and 40 CFR 265.73(b)(3)

Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR): 40 CFR 261.3(g)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR)

CHARACTERISTIC WASTE

Determining whether a waste is a characteristic waste is only one step in the process of hazardous waste identification. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) require that any person who produces or generates a waste must determine if that waste is hazardous.

RCRA defines "hazardous waste" as solid waste that may pose a substantial present or potential threat to human health and the ...