Hazardous Waste — Compliance

The EPA has mandated that all existing dental practices have amalgam separators installed on dental engines by July 14, 2020 with all new dental practices installing them prior to seeing patients. Liability for mercury amalgam waste rests on the dental practice that generates the waste until you receive documentation from a licensed hazardous waste removal company that certifies it was disposed of properly.

The Clean Water Act (CWA) was created to protect the nation’s surface water, including lakes, streams, ponds, and oceans. The CWA controls both direct discharges to surface waters as well as storm water runoff and indirect discharge in the public sewer system. The portion of the CWA most pertinent to dry cleaners involves the statute’s regulation of perc, trichloroethane, and CFC-113, as well as NPDES. Your state water authority, regional EPA office, or local POTW can provide you with additional guidance regarding CWA compliance.

Like the CWA, the Clean Air Act (CAA) also regulates pollution, only it focuses on national emissions standards. The CAA regulates the discharge of hazardous air pollutants (HAP), including perc. To remain compliant with the CAA, dry cleaners who use perc must follow several specific prevention steps. CAA compliance requires regular inspection of dry cleaning equipment, leak detection and repair logs, good housekeeping practices, and a record of the total perc amount purchased over the last 12 months. You can contact your local Air Pollution Control District or Air Quality board for additional CAA compliance information.

A contingency plan is basically the entire "backup process" you have in place in the event of an accident involving your generated hazardous material. This encompasses both the business-specific system your company has devised, as well as the subsequent written document for training and informing your employees about that protocol.

Everyone who generates hazardous waste is legally obligated to create a Hazardous Waste Contingency Plan irrespective of your EPA generator status and what state the waste is generated (this is a federal mandate)

Whether your generated waste is hazardous or nonhazardous, it’s the responsibility of the waste generator to create the actual profile. It requires a signature from a qualified and trained representative of the business (whether a manufacturer, a hospital or a laboratory) to confirm what’s in the shipment. The paperwork is then sent to the Treatment and Disposal facility, where it’s reviewed to confirm that facility can accept whatever is going to be in that shipment.

Often, the facility requires some form of proof to confirm they are able to accept the shipment. This frequently comes in the form of analytical work or an SDS (Safety Data) sheet in order to confirm the content of the given shipment. This helps the receiving facility ensure they are clear to accept the shipment, and it provides insurance to that facility in case there are ever any discrepancies between what was stated on the profile and what was actually shipped.

Firstly, you will not be informed or alerted before a compliance-based inspection. The person leading that inspection will simply show up, ask for the person in charge of your facility, and commence the audit. This can happen at any time.

Because these kinds of inspections can happen without warning, you must be absolutely certain that you comply with all relevant regulations and rules—at all times. Never wing it. Have a thorough, researched hazardous waste management plan, and be diligent about ensuring all employees follow that plan. From using the right hazardous waste label to ensuring you’re using the proper containers, this plan should cover every possible contingency.

A contingency plan will vary slightly for every company, depending on the type and amount of hazardous waste you produce. Whether you’re a small quantity generator or a large quantity generator, you must adhere to the following guidelines:

Assign one or more people to be the emergency coordinator. Include the contact information for this person (or people) within the plan.
Include the location of both emergency equipment and emergency telephones.
Ensure all employees know this plan exists and are familiar with the procedures. (Obviously, an emergency situation is never planned or expected and can arise at any moment. Therefore, all employees need to be prepared and equipped to respond quickly and accurately to minimize safety hazards.)