From: Margaret Rakas <mrakas**At_Symbol_Here**SMITH.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Nerdy RCRA question
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2019 11:04:57 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: CAAszpkxar7iuQTU=Sgu25v7gLTPBDaNwL1YnjHe-WOc_wKJOtg**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To


So since I started here in 2001, I have kept a weekly log of how much waste is brought to our main accumulation areas (the Sciences have two RCRA IDs, as our buildings are separated by a public street and we're a SQG).

We participated in the EPA-University Initiative in 2002, and consultants (our outside auditors) reviewed the labs and waste documents and didn't have a problem with SQG status.

Then in 2005 we were inspected by MA DEP and the inspector asked me if I could show why I thought we deserved SQG status. I showed him the log and it was enough.

I agree that 'waste generated in the labs' and "waste brought to the accumulation area" are 2 different things. However, given the quantity an SQG is allowed to accumulate, my sense is that the MAA is sort of the key to whether you're really an SQG or not. Given that you can generate up to 1000 Kg/Month as an SQG, and can accumulate up to 6000 Kg in 6 months. My MAA couldn't even hold the first amount, let alone the second. You could keep track during a busy month--how much have you pulled from each lab plus how much is sitting there at the end of the month...

I think the real key to SQG vs LQG is--do you generate any P-listed waste? We do, and I work very hard with the PIs who use these materials to ensure that they understand what does and doesn't 'count', and that they cannot generate all they want. I don't think there's any way a large institution could manage this--larger number of labs and researchers.

My thoughts on this "nerdy" question...I don't think the DEP inspectors we've had come through have ever thought about this the way your student has, and honestly, I hope they don't!
Margaret



On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 8:54 AM Stuart, Ralph <Ralph.Stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu> wrote:
I was talking to a student about the wonders of RCRA and he asked a question that I'm not sure of the answer to. Perhaps people on the list have some experience with it.

We were talking about the RCRA system of classifying waste generators into various classes based on the amount generated - large quantity generators, small quantity generators, etc. (I would note that New Hampshire does not follow the federal model in this regard, but I don't think that nuance affects this question.) The student asked whether there was a presumption that a particular waste generator was a large quantity generator until they proved otherwise or if a generator could presume to be a small quantity generator until proven otherwise by the regulator.

Complicating this question is the fact that the regulatory concept of waste generation rates is separate from the shipping of hazardous waste from a location in this regard. So you can't just look at your manifests to determine what size generator you are. The practical version of this question is how do people track intermittent waste generators such as labs to identify what size RCRA generator a location is?

Thanks for any experiences you have on this deep dive topic.

- Ralph


Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859

ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu

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--
Margaret A. Rakas, Ph.D.
Lab Safety & Compliance Director
Clark Science Center
413-585-3877 (p)

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