The
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. … The term RCRA is often used interchangeably to refer to the law, regulations and EPA policy and guidance.
What is the RCRA and what does it do?
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from cradle to grave
. This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA also set forth a framework for the management of non-hazardous solid wastes.
What are RCRA materials?
RCRA states that “solid waste” means
any garbage or refuse, sludge from
a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities.
What is the main goal of RCRA?
RCRA, which amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, set national goals for:
Protecting human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal
. Conserving energy and natural resources.
What does RCRA hazardous waste mean?
In regulatory terms, a hazardous waste is a waste that appears on one of the four RCRA (
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
) hazardous wastes lists (the F-list, K-list, P-list, or U-list) or that exhibits one of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste – ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity.
How does the RCRA work?
In its mission to protect human health and the environment, RCRA
regulates the management of hazardous waste using a “cradle-to-grave” approach
. In other words, a hazardous waste is regulated from the moment it is created to the time of its final disposal.
Is the RCRA effective?
RCRA standards, when properly implemented, have
proven to be highly effective in preventing these and other hazards associated with acute-risk wastes
. In doing so, the RCRA program saves lives and property. Long-term Stewardship Wastes that are generated and cannot be reused or recycled must be permanently disposed.
Who needs RCRA training?
RCRA training is required for
personnel who work at large and small quantity generator facilities
. For very small quantity generators, we strongly recommend RCRA training to ensure your facility can achieve and maintain compliance.
Who is affected by RCRA?
RCRA mainly applies to active facilities, although, through §7003, it can address
the serious problem of abandoned and inactive facilities
. These abandoned facilities also may be covered under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). (Find RCRA at 42 U.S.C. §6901 et seq.
What are the 3 categories of hazardous waste?
The EPA defines three types of hazardous waste:
listed, characteristic, and mixed radiological waste
. Each of these categories has subcategories that can become very precise, but the basics are as follows.
How has the RCRA helped?
“RCRA is one of the great environmental success stories of the past 40 years.” The law’s
effects on restoring contaminated land, reducing emissions, preventing improper handling of waste
, raising recycling rates and a wide range of other environmental benefits cannot be understated.
What is RCRA corrective action?
Corrective action is a requirement under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) that
facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, ground water, surface water and air
.
What determines RCRA status?
The determination of your hazardous waste generator status is necessary in order to identify which of the RCRA regulations (Federal & State) apply to your operations and what you must do to ensure compliance. This determination is
based on the amount of non-exempt hazardous waste you generate in a calendar month.
When has the RCRA been used?
RCRA was signed into law on
October 21, 1976
to address the increasing problems the nation faced from our growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA was an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, which was the first statute that specifically focused on improving solid waste disposal methods.
What are the two main types of hazardous waste?
- Class 1: Explosives.
- Class 2: Gases.
- Class 3: Flammable Liquids.
- Class 4: Flammable Solids or Substances.
- Class 5: Oxidizing Substances and Organic Peroxides.
- Class 6: Toxic and Infectious Substances.
- Class 7: Radioactive.
- Class 8: Corrosive Substances.
What are the 7 categories of hazardous waste?
- Cylinders.
- Flammable.
- Flammable Solid.
- Oxidizer.
- Toxic Metals.
- Toxic.
- Radioactive.
- Corrosive.
