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EPA FINALIZES LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS FOR METAL-BEARING WASTES
Release Date: 05/15/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1998
EPA FINALIZES LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS FOR
METAL-BEARING WASTES
METAL-BEARING WASTES
On April 30, EPA issued the Phase IV final rule that encourages the safe recycling and disposal of hazardous metal waste and newly identified waste from mineral processing. EPA’s Phase IV rule establishes Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) treatment standards for 12 metal constituents based on the latest performance data from the best demonstrated technologies available to treat metal-bearing wastes. These treatment standards, known as Universal Treatment Standards (UTS), are expected to be published in the Federal Register by late May. The standards, effective 90 days after publication, must be met by the entire universe of metal-bearing hazardous wastes prior to any type of land disposal. This rule also modifies EPA's hazardous waste regulations to define which secondary materials from mineral processing are being recycled and which are considered waste and therefore subject to LDR treatment standards. The rule establishes a conditional exclusion for materials that are legitimately recycled and kept off the land prior to recycling. These provisions promote safe recycling of mineral processing secondary materials by reducing regulatory obstacles to recycling, while ensuring the proper treatment and disposal of hazardous waste. EPA also retains the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure as a test for evaluating the toxicity characteristic in these wastes. Finally, the third main aspect of EPA's rule establishes special LDR treatment standards for soil contaminated with hazardous waste or hazardous constituents. Contaminated soils will need to meet LDR treatment levels of 10 times the UTS standards or achieve a 90 percent reduction in the levels of hazardous constituents present in the soil. The soil treatment standards allow this extra degree of leniency to make it more feasible to clean up contaminated soils without having to rely upon high temperature combustion technologies. The rule also establishes, for the first time, a risk-based variance process for contaminated soils that might not otherwise meet the soil treatment standards. The Federal Register notice is available on the Internet at: www.epa.gov/laws and regulations. A fact sheet and other documents related to this rule is available at: www.epa.gov/osw/treat, store, and dispose of waste by mid-May.
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