Question of the Week | RCRA News, Rules, & Interpretations | NEW!! State HW News

Hazardous Waste News

Volume 8, Issue 16

April 24, 2007

Question of the Week

How Should I Manage Used Oil Containing Lead?

Q. On my site, I have a drum of used oil that failed the TCLP test for lead. The automotive mechanic who generated this used oil said he did not do anything different in his process, although none of the other drums he generated failed the TCLP for lead. Can I still manage this particular drum of waste as used oil like the rest of the drums, or do I have to manage it as a hazardous waste with a D008 waste code?

A. How you manage the used oil depends on whether it was a D008 waste due to lead content when it was generated or if it was later mixed with a lead-containing waste.

40 CFR 261.6(a)(4) states that "used oil that is recycled and is also a hazardous waste solely because it exhibits a hazardous waste characteristic is not subject to the requirements of parts 260 through 268 of this chapter."

Therefore, if your used oil exhibited the toxicity characteristic when it was generated, then it is excluded from the hazardous waste regulations and can be managed under the used oil rules. In other words, the used oil in question would be managed just like the other, non-hazardous used oil [40 CFR 279.10(a)].

However, 40 CFR 279.10(b) clarifies that if you mix a characteristic waste with used oil, then the mixture is regulated as hazardous waste unless it no longer poses a characteristic. Meaning, if your used oil has been mixed with a hazardous waste that was toxic due to lead, then it must be managed as a hazardous waste since it still exhibits this characteristic. Learn more about the complexities of handling, recycling, and disposing of used oil in Lion’s upcoming Managing Used Oil web seminar.

Join the conversation! Visit the waste Discussion Group to post comments, ask questions, and get answers!

Getting More Answers
Lion Members gain access to our extensive online databases of helpful compliance advice, regulatory documents, and resources. E-mail your question to our regulatory experts or open your own hotline account. Membership services are free to workshop attendees for one year. Or, purchase or renew your membership online.

Back–to–top

RCRA News, Rules, and Interpretations

04/12/2007—EPA Cites EMCO Chemical for Hazardous Waste Violations; Proposes $349,015 Penalty
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has filed an administrative complaint and compliance order against EMCO Chemical Distributors Inc., North Chicago, Ill., for alleged violations of federal hazardous waste regulations. A $349,015 penalty is proposed. Read more...

03/27/2007—EPA Settlement with the University of the Virgin Islands to Benefit All Schools
A unique agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) promises a safer environment for students, faculty and workers not only at the university's campuses but at all the schools in the Territory. EPA has cited the university for multiple violations of rules under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that govern how to handle hazardous waste. Read more...

View more RCRA news

For Lion Members and Recent Course Attendees: Visit the Lion Online Library to view the most recent RCRA rules and interpretive letters.

Back–to–top

04/10/2007—California Department of Toxic Substances Control Reaches $495,000 Settlement with Defense Industry Manufacturer
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has announced a $495,000 settlement with the Joslyn Sunbank Company LLC of Paso Robles, a military and aerospace conduits and thermoplastics manufacturer. In its manufacturing process, the company routinely generates and treats large quantities of hazardous wastes, including corrosive plating solutions, rinse waters, and sludges, which contain cyanide, chromium, cadmium, copper, and nickel. In 2005, DTSC found a number of violations of the state’s Hazardous Waste Control Law at the facility, violations that could have significant health and environmental risks. In one of the most serious violations, DTSC inspectors observed large quantities of cyanide crystals in the floor grates in the plating area adjacent to an acid tank, where acid rinse waters drip off parts.

View more California news

04/03/2007—Pete Grannis Confirmed as DEC Commissioner
Governor Eliot Spitzer's nominee for Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, State Assemblymember Pete Grannis, was recently confirmed by the State Senate and begins serving in the post this month. Mr. Grannis chaired the Assembly's first Subcommittee on Toxic Wastes, sponsored legislation ensuring a worker's right to know about hazardous materials in the workplace, and has worked to regulate the transport, storage and disposal of toxic wastes.

View more New York news

04/11/2007—TCEQ Approves Fines Totaling $454,250
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has approved penalties totaling $454,250 against 71 regulated entities for violations of state environmental regulations, including three industrial hazardous waste violations. Agreed orders were issued for the following enforcement categories: nine air quality, 21 dry cleaner, one Edwards Aquifer, six field citations, three industrial hazardous waste, one licensed irrigator, four multi-media, four municipal waste discharge, one on site sewage facility installer, nine petroleum storage tank, and seven public water system, and two water quality. In addition, there were default orders as follows: one dry cleaner order and two public water system orders.

View more Texas news

For hazardous waste news from your state, visit Lion's State Links page

Back–to–top