The following definitions will help you as you work your way through the site to determine your SQG status:
• accumulate - to temporarily store hazardous waste at your place of business for a limited amount of time (180 days if you typically generate between 220 and 2200 pounds of waste per month, 90 days if you generate more).
• acute hazardous waste - certain listed hazardous wastes or discarded chemical products that are very dangerous and strictly regulated in quantities of more than 2.2 pounds.
• annual report - a yearly summary of your hazardous waste activities submitted to Ecology by March 1 of each year. Required of businesses with RCRA Site Identification Numbers.
• batch - an amount of waste which is generated less frequently than once a month.
• characteristics of hazardous wastes –there are four characteristics that can cause a waste to be hazardous: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity.
• community right-to-know - Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) establishes requirements for government and industry regarding emergency response planning and everyone's right to know about hazardous chemicals in their community. Many hazardous waste generators have requirements under community right-to-know.
• corrosive - a solid or liquid that is a strong acid (pH less than 2), such as battery acid, or a strong caustic (pH greater that 12.5), like drain cleaner (see characteristics).
• criteria waste - wastes that are hazardous in Washington
State because they are toxic or persistent in the environment.
• dangerous waste sources – specific and generic operations
that create dangerous wastes that are "listed" in the
Dangerous Waste Regulations, Chapter 173-303-9904.
• dangerous waste - same thing as the federal term "hazardous waste" but with additional "Washington only" wastes, such as criteria wastes. Generators typically become regulated under the Dangerous Waste Regulations when more than 220 pounds 1 are generated per month OR they accumulate more than 2200 pounds 1 on-site at any one time.
• Dangerous Waste Regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC - regulations that implement the state's Hazardous Waste Management Act and parts of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
• designate - the act of determining whether your wastes are hazardous and if so, why (i.e., are they "listed" waste, characteristic wastes, etc?).
• discarded chemical products – pure unused products that you intend to dispose of that are regulated as hazardous waste (for example many pesticides). See the list in the Dangerous Waste Regulation, Chapter 173-303-9903.
• empty - containers are legally empty when less than one inch of waste re-mains on the bottom or the volume of waste remaining is less than three percent of the container's total capacity.
• RCRA Site Identification number – a unique, 12
character number assigned to generators, transporters, transfer
facilities and treatment, storage and disposal facilities. Required
for regulated generators and recommended for small quantity generators.
• extremely hazardous waste - EHWs" are those dangerous
wastes that are especially dangerous to the environment and require
greater control. Many solvents are EHWs. EHWs cannot be land disposed.
• fully regulated generator - see regulated generator.
• generator - the person, business or institution that actually produces a hazardous waste. Liability for proper management follows generators from "cradle to grave" from point of generation to final destination.
• hazardous waste - the term used by EPA to identify those solid wastes with properties that could pose dangers to human health and the environment (for example, spent solvents, ink sludges, cyanide wastes, etc.).
• ignitable - liquid wastes with a flashpoint of less than
140° F, such as paint thinner or waste easily capable of causing
a fire, such as dirty shop rags (see characteristics).
• land disposal restriction – Federal land disposal
restrictions (LDR) restrict wastes from being land disposed unless
certain treatment standards or limits have been met. State land
disposal restrictions restrict extremely hazardous waste (EHW),
such as dry cleaner PERC, from land disposal in order to encourage
more favorable management options such as waste reduction, recycling,
or treatment.
• listed wastes - these are regulated hazardous wastes that are listed in the Dangerous Waste Regulations, Chapter 173-303-9903 and 9904. Checking the lists is the first step in designating your waste.
• manifest - a shipping document you fill out that accompanies your hazardous waste from point of generation to the final destination. Required of all but small quantity generators and universal waste handlers.
• moderate risk waste - hazardous waste that is exempt from most state and federal regulations because it is generated in households, or by businesses in quantities typically less than 220 pounds per month 1 . Such businesses are known as "small quantity generators.
• MSDS - manufacturers are required by law to provide Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on all products they manufacture and sell. Material Safety Data Sheets provide information which is useful in evaluating a waste to deter-mine it is hazardous.
• notify - state and federal regulations require you to notify Ecology if the amount of hazardous waste you generate per month or batch is more than 220 pounds 1 OR if you accumulate more than 2200 pounds 1 on-site at any one time. 220 pounds is roughly one-half of a 55-gallon drum. You can satisfy this requirement by requesting a Form 2 from Ecology and completing it.
• permit-by-rule - businesses that want to treat wastes on-site to make them less hazardous and/or discharge the treated wastes to the sewer, must notify Ecology by filling out a Form 2 and get permission from their sewer authority.
• persistent - containing greater than the allowable concentrations of certain hydrocarbons. For example: metal cutting oil, oil with freon (see criteria wastes).
• QEL - Quantity Exclusion Limits are used to distinguish whether a hazardous waste is subject only to the small quantity generator requirements or the more stringent fully regulated generator requirements. The most common QEL is 220 pounds per month or batch (or about one-half of a 55-gallon drum). The QEL for some pesticides and poisons is 2.2 pounds (or about a quart).
• RCRA - the Resource Conservation and Recovery ACT is federal legislation passed in 1976 that initiated regulation of hazardous wastes. Washington State implements parts of RCRA through its Dangerous Waste Regulations.
• reactive - a substance that is very unstable, such as metallic sodium, or capable of detonation, such as explosives or picric acid crystals (see characteristics).
• regulated generator (or fully regulated generator) - typically a business that generates more than 220 pounds per month or accumulates more than 2200 pounds of hazardous waste at any one time or that generates 2.2 pounds of some pesticides and poisons. Generators of more than 2200 pounds per month have more requirements than generators of between 220 and 2200 pounds.
• small quantity generator - typically, a business (auto repair, printing, etc.) or institution (park, school, etc.) that always generates less than 220 pounds of hazardous waste per month or 2.2 pounds of some pesticides and poisons AND accumulates less than 2200 pounds of hazardous waste or 2.2 pounds of some pesticides and poisons at any one time. Small quantity generators are subject to far fewer requirements (see QEL).
• solid waste - any material that you no longer use which you either throw away, recycle or store temporarily until you have accumulated enough to recycle or dispose of it economically.
• special wastes - state-only dangerous wastes in solid form that are corrosive, slightly toxic, persistent but not extremely hazardous, or have polychlorinated biphenyl components. These wastes may be disposed of in solid waste landfills if certain requirements are met.
• toxic characteristic waste - a substance is toxic if it is poisonous or harmful to plant or animal life. Examples: used antifreeze, paint booth washwater (see criteria waste).
• TCLP - a test used to determine if a waste is hazardous under the characteristic of toxicity. The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) checks for high concentrations of certain heavy metals, organic chemicals and pesticides (see characteristics).
• TSD - Treatment, Storage and Disposal facilities are the final destination of hazardous waste. All TSD's must be permitted and have RCRA Identification numbers.
• Transfer Facility - means any transportation related facility including loading docks, parking areas, storage areas, buildings, piers, and other similar areas where shipments of dangerous waste are held, consolidated, or transferred within a period of ten days or less during the normal course of transportation.
• transporter - a person engaged in the off-site transportation of dangerous waste.
• triple rinse - rinsing a container three times in order to ensure that it's legally empty. Applies to pesticides and acutely hazardous wastes. Rinse water should be reused in a manner consistent with the original intended purpose
• worker right-to-know - The Department of Labor and Industries administers worker right-to-know. The rules require all Washington state employers to inform and train employees about hazardous chemicals in the workplace.
• universal waste - Batteries, mercury-containing thermostats and lamps can be managed according to special requirements that are less burdensome than those normally required for fully regulated generators.
Take the Next Step!
If you think your business generates hazardous waste, contact your nearest Ecology regional office to request other information that will help you understand and comply with the hazardous waste regulations:
• Hazardous Waste Generator Checklist for a quick summary of your legal responsibilities as a generator of hazardous waste;
• Checklist Fact Sheets that describe each section of the Hazardous Waste Generator Checklist in more detail;
• Hazardous Waste Services Directory to help you find waste haulers, laboratories, recyclers, and other services;
• Dangerous Waste Regulations (Chapter 173-303 WAC).
