Page 38 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition
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                       Introduction                                                                  9
                          Industrial waste is usually not classified directly by federal or state laws as either municipal
                       waste or hazardous waste. If an industrial waste stream, based on a knowledge of the processes
                       involved and laboratory testing, is designated as hazardous waste, the waste must be managed as
                       such and shipped to a licensed treatment, storage, and disposal facility. Wastes designated as non-
                       hazardous are placed in landfills or land application units (typically installed on company property),
                       or incinerated. A large proportion of industrial waste is composed of wastewater, which is stored or
                       treated in surface impoundments. Treated wastewaters are eventually discharged into surface waters
                       under Clean Water Act permits issued by the U.S. EPA or state governments via the National
                       Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
                          State and some local governments have regulatory responsibility for ensuring appropriate man-
                       agement of industrial waste. Regulatory programs will therefore vary widely.

                       1.2.4 MEDICAL WASTE
                       Medical waste is generated during the administration of healthcare by medical facilities and home
                       healthcare programs, or as a result of research by medical institutions. The U.S. institutions gener-
                       ating most of the medical waste include hospitals, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, long-term
                       healthcare facilities, clinics, laboratories, blood banks, and funeral homes. The majority of regu-
                       lated medical waste, however, is generated by hospitals. Although not all waste generated by the
                       above sources is considered infectious, many facilities choose to handle most or all of their medical
                       waste streams as potentially infectious.
                          Specific classes of regulated medical wastes include: cultures and stocks of infectious agents
                       (e.g., cultures from medical, pathological, research, and industrial laboratories); pathological wastes
                       (tissues, organs, body parts, body fluids); waste human blood and blood products; sharps (both used
                       and unused hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpel blades, etc.) for animal or human patient care or
                       in medical, research, or industrial laboratories; animal waste (contaminated carcasses, body parts,
                       and the bedding of animals exposed to infectious agents); and isolation wastes (discarded materials
                       contaminated with fluids from humans who are isolated to protect others from highly communica-
                       ble diseases) (40 CFR Part 259).
                          Congress passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act in November, 1988, which directed the U.S.
                       EPA to develop protocols for the comprehensive management of infectious waste. RCRA was
                       amended to include medical waste management. The Act established a cradle-to-grave medical
                       waste tracking program. The medical waste tracking program had limited participation, and the pro-
                       gram expired in June 1991 without being reauthorized by Congress; however, the course of U.S.
                       medical waste management changed significantly as a result of this legislation.


                       1.2.5 UNIVERSAL WASTE
                       Universal wastes include: (1) batteries such as nickel–cadmium and small lead–acid batteries found
                       in electronic equipment, mobile telephones, and portable computers; (2) agricultural pesticides that
                       have been recalled or banned from use, or are obsolete; (3) thermostats that contain liquid mercury;
                       and (4) lamps that contain mercury or lead.
                          Universal wastes are generated by small and large businesses regulated under RCRA; these
                       businesses had been required to classify the above materials as hazardous wastes. The Universal
                       Waste Rule, first published in the May 1995 Federal Register, was implemented to ease the regula-
                       tory burden on businesses that generate these wastes. Specifically, the Rule simplifies requirements
                       related to notification, labeling, marking, prohibitions, accumulation time limits, employee training,
                       response to releases, offsite shipments, tracking, exports, and transportation. Universal wastes are
                       also generated by households, which are not regulated under RCRA and are permitted to dispose of
                       these wastes in the trash.
                          Many industries strongly support the Universal  Waste Rule because it facilitates company
                       efforts to establish collection programs and participate in manufacturer take-back programs
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