EH&S assists in the identification, safe handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste in accordance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act, The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) federal regulations, and Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-303, “Dangerous Waste Regulations”.
Any materials that are classified as hazardous or may pose a threat to human health or the environment must be disposed of in accordance with the above regulations. Hazardous wastes contain one or more of the following characteristics:
- Flammable
- Corrosive
- Reactive
- Toxic
- Contain Halogenated Organic Compounds (HOC) or Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)
These regulations do not apply to asbestos waste, radioactive waste, infectious/biological waste, and other problem wastes that do not fall into the regulatory hazardous waste criteria. These wastes are covered by other regulations and are dealt with separately.
Information for Waste Generators
Anyone who generates waste on campus has responsibilities according to Washington state law. Please read through the Information for Waste Generators page. Waste generators are responsible for understanding their role in waste compliance and appropriately handling their waste.
Hazard Definitions
All waste must be appropriately labeled with the hazards it possesses. Waste hazards have specific definitions and it is important that the correct hazards are selected on waste labels. Below are the official definitions for hazards associated with waste.
Ignitable (Flammable)
- A liquid with a flash point less than 140°F
- A solid that under standard temperature and pressure can cause a fire through friction, absorption of moisture, or spontaneous chemical changes, and when it catches fire it burns vigorously or persistently enough to create a hazard
- A compressed gas that forms a flammable mixture with air either:
- When the compressed gas has a concentration of less than 13% (by volume), or
- When the flammable range is wider than 12% (for example, if concentrations of 20% to 33% are flammable the gas is flammable)
Corrosive
- Material with a pH less than or equal to 2, or greater than or equal to 12.5
Reactive
- Material is normally unstable and readily undergoes violent change without detonating
- It reacts violently with water
- It forms potentially explosive mixtures with water
- When mixed with water is generates toxic gases, vapors, or fumes in a quantity that would present a danger to human health or the environment
- It is a cyanide or sulfide bearing waste that can generate toxic gases, vapors, or fumes when exposed to pH conditions between 2 and 12.5
- It is capable of detonation or explosive reaction if subjected to a strong initiating source or heated under confinement
- It is readily capable of detonation or explosive decomposition or reaction at standard temperature and pressure
Toxic
- Waste containing any of the following contaminants at or above the Dangerous Waste (DW) threshold:
| Contaminant | CAS number | DW Threshold (mg/L) |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenic | 7440-38-2 | 5.0 |
| Barium | 7440-39-3 | 100.0 |
| Benzene | 71-43-2 | 0.5 |
| Cadmium | 740-43-9 | 1.0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 56-23-5 | 0.5 |
| Chlordane | 57-74-9 | 0.03 |
| Chlorobenzene | 108-90-7 | 100.0 |
| Chloroform | 67-66-3 | 6.0 |
| Chromium | 7440-47-3 | 5.0 |
| 0-Cresol* | 95-48-7 | 200.0 |
| m-Cresol* | 108-39-4 | 200.0 |
| p-Cresol* | 106-44-5 | 200.0 |
| Cresol | *if 0, m, and p-Cresol cannot be differentiate use this for the total concentration | 200.0 |
| 2,4-D | 94-75-7 | 10.0 |
| 1,4-Dichlorobenzene | 106-46-7 | 7.5 |
| 1,2-Dichloroethane | 107-06-2 | 0.5 |
| 1,1-Dichloroethylene | 75-35-4 | 0.7 |
| 2,4-Dinitrotoluene | 121-14-2 | 0.13 |
| Endrin | 72-20-8 | 0.02 |
| Heptachlor (and its epoxide) | 76-44-8 | 0.008 |
| Hexachlorobenzene | 118-74-1 | 0.13 |
| Hexachlorobutadiene | 87-68-3 | 0.5 |
| Hexachloroethane | 67-72-1 | 3.0 |
| Lead | 7439-92-1 | 5.0 |
| Lindane | 58-89-9 | 0.4 |
| Mercury | 7439-97-6 | 0.2 |
| Methoxychlor | 72-43-5 | 10.0 |
| Methyl ethyl ketone | 78-93-3 | 200.0 |
| Nitrobenzene | 98-95-3 | 2.0 |
| Pentachlorophenol | 87-86-5 | 100.0 |
| Pyridine | 110-86-1 | 5.0 |
| Selenium | 7782-49-2 | 1.0 |
| Silver | 7440-22-4 | 5.0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene | 127-18-4 | 0.7 |
| Toxaphene | 8001-35-2 | 0.5 |
| Trichloroethylene | 79-01-6 | 0.5 |
| 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol | 95-95-4 | 400.0 |
| 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol | 88-06-2 | 2.0 |
| 2,4,5-TP (Silvex) | 93-72-1 | 1.0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 75-01-4 | 0.2 |
- Waste with an equivalent concentration (EC) at or above 0.001%.
- EC% = Σx% + ΣA%/10 + ΣB%/100 + ΣC%/1000 + ΣD%/10,000
- Each component of the waste is assigned a Toxic Category based on the highest toxicity information for the following categories (a * indicates additional information is available if you hover over the text):
| Toxic Category | Fish LC50 (mg/L)* | Oral Rat LD50 (mg/kg) | Inhalation Rat LC50 (mg/L)* | Dermal Rabbit LD50 (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | <0.01 | <0.5 | <0.02 | <2 |
| A | 0.01 - <0.1 | 0.5 - <5 | 0.02 - <0.2 | 2 - <20 |
| B | 0.1 - <1 | 5 - <50 | 0.2 - <2 | 20 - <200 |
| C | 1 - <10 | 50 - <500 | 2 - <20 | 200 - <2000 |
| D | 10 - 100 | 500 - 5000 | 20 - 200 | 2000 - 20,000 |
Halogenated Organic Compounds
- More than 0.01% of any compound that contains one or more atoms of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine bonded directly to a carbon atom
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
- More than 1% of any hydrocarbon molecules composed of two or more fused benzene rings, specifically:
- Acenaphthene
- Acenaphthylene
- Fluorene
- Anthracene
- Fluoranthene
- Phenanthrene
- Benzo(a)anthracene
- Benzo(b)fluoranthene
- Benzo(k)fluoranthene
- Pyrene
- Chrysene
- Benzo(a)pyrene
- Dibenz(a,h)anthracene
- Indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene
- Benzo(g,h,i)perylene
- Dibenzo [(a,e), (a,h), (a,i), and (a,1)] pyrenes
- Dibenzo(a,j) acridine
Waste Pickup
Click the button below to access the Waste Pick Up Request Form. You will need to download the Waste Inventory Word document and fill it out with all the information about your waste. Include every chemical, even water, inside each container along with the amount of the chemical(s).
Label your waste containers with numbers that match the entries on the Waste Inventory.
To Dispose of Your Own Waste:
If you have waste you think isn’t hazardous and you want to be able to dispose of it yourself, fill out the Waste Evaluation Request form. This form must be submitted and approved before you can dispose of waste without using the Hazardous Waste Pickup Request.
Provide all of your information, the pH and complete chemical composition of the waste, and how you want to dispose of it. Send the form to envhea@ewu.edu for evaluation.
Permits usually take 1-2 days to evaluate, please plan ahead.
