It would appear that the highly intelligent, highly educated people at EPA would know that the so called regulated levels
of inorganic and organic chemicals which determine a hazardous waste have nothing to do with how dangerous the
chemicals are to human and animal health.
Do you really think these highly educated people failed to find out that the regulated level of a chemical is only that level
which is expected to leach out of a mismanaged landfill and contaminate the groundwater under the site above the level
established for drinking water?
The EPA definition of a hazardous waste still does not fulfill the requirements of the RCRA concerning the infectious
characteristics of a hazardous waste in Sec. 6903. The government likes to call these infectious disease-causing agents
--ETIOLOGIC AGENTS. In 30 years, EPA has still not acknowledged them in the regulation.
§ 261.10 Criteria for identifying the characteristics of hazardous waste.
top
(a) The Administrator shall identify and define a characteristic of hazardous waste in subpart C only upon determining
that:
(1) A solid waste that exhibits the characteristic may:
(i) Cause, or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating
reversible, illness; or
(ii) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when it is improperly treated,
stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed; and
(2) The characteristic can be:
(i) Measured by an available standardized test method which is reasonably within the capability of generators of solid
waste or private sector laboratories that are available to serve generators of solid waste; or
(ii) Reasonably detected by generators of solid waste through their knowledge of their waste.
(b) [Reserved]
§ 261.11 Criteria for listing hazardous waste.
top
(a) The Administrator shall list a solid waste as a hazardous waste only upon determining that the solid waste meets one
of the following criteria:
(1) It exhibits any of the characteristics of hazardous waste identified in subpart C.
(2) It has been found to be fatal to humans in low doses or, in the absence of data on human toxicity, it has been shown
in studies to have an oral LD 50 toxicity (rat) of less than 50 milligrams per kilogram, an inhalation LC 50 toxicity (rat) of
less than 2 milligrams per liter, or a dermal LD 50 toxicity (rabbit) of less than 200 milligrams per kilogram or is otherwise
capable of causing or significantly contributing to an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness.
(Waste listed in accordance with these criteria will be designated Acute Hazardous Waste.)
(3) It contains any of the toxic constituents listed in appendix VIII and, after considering the following factors, the
Administrator concludes that the waste is capable of posing a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or
the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported or disposed of, or otherwise managed:
(i) The nature of the toxicity presented by the constituent.
(ii) The concentration of the constituent in the waste.
(iii) The potential of the constituent or any toxic degradation product of the constituent to migrate from the waste into the
environment under the types of improper management considered in paragraph (a)(3)(vii) of this section.
(iv) The persistence of the constituent or any toxic degradation product of the constituent.
(v) The potential for the constituent or any toxic degradation product of the constituent to degrade into non-harmful
constituents and the rate of degradation.
(vi) The degree to which the constituent or any degradation product of the constituent bioaccumulates in ecosystems.
(vii) The plausible types of improper management to which the waste could be subjected.
(viii) The quantities of the waste generated at individual generation sites or on a regional or national basis.
(ix) The nature and severity of the human health and environmental damage that has occurred as a result of the
improper management of wastes containing the constituent.
(x) Action taken by other governmental agencies or regulatory programs based on the health or environmental hazard
posed by the waste or waste constituent.
(xi) Such other factors as may be appropriate.
Substances will be listed on appendix VIII only if they have been shown in scientific studies to have toxic, carcinogenic,
mutagenic or teratogenic effects on humans or other life forms.
(Wastes listed in accordance with these criteria will be designated Toxic wastes.)
(b) The Administrator may list classes or types of solid waste as hazardous waste if he has reason to believe that
individual wastes, within the class or type of waste, typically or frequently are hazardous under the definition of
hazardous waste found in section 1004(5) of the Act.
(c) The Administrator will use the criteria for listing specified in this section to establish the exclusion limits referred to in
§261.5(c).
[45 FR 33119, May 19, 1980, as amended at 55 FR 18726, May 4, 1990; 57 FR 14, Jan. 2, 1992]
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?
c=ecfr&sid=7288ab9dae5d9364929cc16d7433adda&rgn=div5&view=text&node=40:24.0.1.1.2&idno=40#40:
24.0.1.1.2.3.1.1
§ 261.24 Toxicity characteristic.
(a) A solid waste (except manufactured gas plant waste) exhibits the characteristic of toxicity if, using the Toxicity
Characteristic Leaching Procedure, test Method 1311 in “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical
Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, as incorporated by reference in §260.11 of this chapter, the extract from a
representative sample of the waste contains any of the contaminants listed in table 1 at the concentration equal to or
greater than the respective value given in that table. Where the waste contains less than 0.5 percent filterable solids,
the waste itself, after filtering using the methodology outlined in Method 1311, is considered to be the extract for the
purpose of this section.
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?
c=ecfr&sid=7288ab9dae5d9364929cc16d7433adda&rgn=div5&view=text&node=40:24.0.1.1.2&idno=40#40:
24.0.1.1.2.3.1.1
§ 260.10 Definitions.
Discharge or hazardous waste discharge means the accidental or intentional spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring,
emitting, emptying, or dumping of hazardous waste into or on any land or water.
Disposal means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste or hazardous
waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the
environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters.
Food-chain crops means tobacco, crops grown for human consumption, and crops grown for feed for animals whose
products are consumed by humans.
Hazardous waste means a hazardous waste as defined in §261.3 of this chapter.
Appendix V to Part 261 [Reserved for Infectious Waste Treatment Specifications]
Appendix VI to Part 261 [Reserved for Etiologic Agents]
(Disease Causing Agents) See below.
Appendix VIII to Part 261 --Hazardous Constituents
Hazardous waste constituent means a constituent that caused the Administrator to list the hazardous waste in part 261,
subpart D, of this chapter, or a constituent listed in table 1 of §261.24 of this chapter.
Hazardous waste management unit is a contiguous area of land on or in which hazardous waste is placed, or the largest
area in which there is significant likelihood of mixing hazardous waste constituents in the same area. Examples of
hazardous waste management units include a surface impoundment, a waste pile, a land treatment area, a landfill cell,
an incinerator, a tank and its associated piping and underlying containment system and a container storage area
Land treatment facility means a facility or part of a facility at which hazardous waste is applied onto or incorporated into
the soil surface; such facilities are disposal facilities if the waste will remain after closure.
Run-off means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from any part of a facility.
Run-on means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land onto any part of a facility
Sludge means any solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater
treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility exclusive of the treated effluent from a
wastewater treatment plant.
Solid waste means a solid waste as defined in §261.2 of this chapter.
Treatment means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical,
chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste, or so as to
recover energy or material resources from the waste, or so as to render such waste non-hazardous, or less hazardous;
safer to transport, store, or dispose of; or amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.