CE 589Industrial Materials and Waste

Topic 2Regulatory Overview: U.S.

Laws, Regulations, and Standards

Chapters 8, 9, 11, 17, 18, and 19

Scenario

• Owner of a plant that manufactures widgets

• 1 gallon of a hazardous waste per widget produced

• Free discharge into Cougar Lake

• Biological and chemical transformations in the lake to become harmless

Why do you, as a manufacturer, want to properly manage hazardous material and waste?

What are the methods used to regulate?

Polluter’s Dilemma 1

• The situation– Each pair works for the same company.– The company is suspected of polluting.– The company is polluting.– Each are interrogated separately.

• The options– Neither confesses. Both fined $500.– One confesses. Confessor goes free. Other

serves 10 days and is fined $2,500.– Both confess. Both serve 5 days and are

fined $1,000.

Polluter’s Dilemma 2

• The situation– Each works for a different company.– There are no other regional competitors.– Production Method I generates BadStuff while

Production Method II does not.

• The options– Both use PM II. Each earns $2,000.– Both use PM I. Each earns $1,000.– One uses each. The company using PM I

earns $4,000 while the other earns $0.

Process of Regulating

Laws (or Acts)

Vs.

Regulations and Standards

What about the Judicial Branch?

What about the states?

Permitting

• Ensure compliance by regulated community

• Process…

Key U.S. HMW Laws and International Treaties

Regulatory Overview: Defining Hazardous Material

and Waste

How do you determine whether or not a substance is a regulated hazardous waste?

Overlapping Regs

Categories of Radioactive Waste

• High-level radioactive waste (HLW)

• Transuranic (TRU) waste

• Low-level radioactive waste (LLW)

• Uranium and thorium mill tailings

• Naturally-occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material (NARM)

• Mixed waste

Regulatory Overview: Administrative Requirements

What do you want to see on a label for a hazardous substance?

Placards

Shipping Waste

Who should receive training?

What are you going to inspect?

Paperwork Requirements - Plans and Controls

• RCRA

• OSHA

• NRC

Paperwork Requirements - Tracking and Reporting

• RCRA

• TSCA

• SARA

• CAA

• CWA

• NRC

Spills/Releases

Notification requirements under:

– CERCLA– RCRA– SARA– DOT– CWA– CAA– NRC

How can you stay up-to-date?