Residential Construction Contractor's Guide: Hazardous Materials

Waste minimization (also called pollution prevention or source reduction) is the best way to curb your hazardous waste generation and reduce potential liability. Minimizing waste involves good housekeeping practices, employee training, process modifications, or substitution of a non-hazardous material for a hazardous one. Examples include:

You may often not be aware of hazardous wastes you generate, but it is your responsibility to identify and separate hazardous wastes from non-hazardous wastes. Hazardous wastes commonly generated during construction activities include paints, solvents, adhesives, caulks, pesticides, wood preservatives, oil, or stored materials (such as solvents or pesticides) that have exceeded their shelf life.

Reusing materials saves you money by extending the useful life of your materials and by reducing waste. You should always try to reuse your wastes before you opt to recycle them. A possible option for reusing even your hazardous wastes are Material Exchange Programs. See Section 7-Solid Waste for more information about the ME programs.

When you can't reuse a material, recycling is the next best option. Recycling facilities and waste exchanges provide opportunities to transform a waste into another useful product.

Best Pollution Prevention Practices

Objective:

Maximize the useful life of materials before discarding them.

Practices:

Use solvents such as mineral spirits and paint thinners more than once. Reusing thinner as a wash thinner to clean equipment reduces waste as well as the costs for raw materials or disposal.
Keep lids closed to prevent product loss through evaporation.
Use up or reuse all leftover paint.
Recycle as many materials as possible. Check to see if there is a waste exchange in your community.

Determining the type and quantity of hazardous waste you generate makes it easier to see where wastes can be minimized. Reducing the amount of hazardous waste you generate reduces your regulatory burden and saves you money.

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), published by a manufacturer for each product, can help you determine whether the waste produced could be hazardous. See the content under Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) in Section 3-Employee Health & Safety for more information.

Characteristic Wastes
A waste may be considered hazardous if it exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

Listed Wastes
A waste can also be considered hazardous if it appears on any one of four lists of hazardous wastes contained in the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations These wastes contain toxic constituents that have been found to be harmful to human health and the environment.

Potentially Exempt Wastes
Specific wastes may be exempt from state and federal hazardous waste regulations. Be aware, however, that even though these wastes are not subject to hazardous waste regulations, they are managed under other state or federal regulations. Potentially exempt wastes include:

Universal Wastes are hazardous wastes destined for recycling not disposal. You may encounter Universal Wastes during remodeling. Examples covered under the federal Universal Waste Rule include:

If you generate hazardous waste, determining the amount enables you to define your generator status and dispose of your waste properly for regulatory compliance.

Your generator status depends on how much hazardous waste you accumulate per calendar month. Calculate waste quantities in either pounds (lbs) or kilograms (kgs). The MSDS for each product should have conversion information to help you convert liquids to pounds or kilograms. Your generator status can change each month, so it is very important to keep good records.

Regulatory requirements for CEGs are less stringent than those for either SGs or LGs. Your goal should be to meet CEG requirements every month.

Reporting Requirements
Reporting requirements and fees vary depending on your generator status you may have to submit reports to the appropriate agency in your state, fees may also apply:

Toxics Use Reduction Plans
Contractors who are SGs and LGs should develop plans that help reduce the amount of toxic substances they use and the amount of hazardous waste they generate. While you may not be required by law to develop these plans, they may help you establish new ways to minimize your handling of hazardous waste and might even allow you to drop your generator status from a SG or LG to a less stringent CEG status.

Always dispose of hazardous wastes through a reliable hazardous waste management company or Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) facility. The MSU Extension Service at (406) 994-3451 distributes two helpful fact sheets: A Checklist for Selecting a Hazardous Waste Transporter and Choosing a Hazardous Waste Management Facility.

Best Pollution Prevention Practices

Objective:

Properly manage hazardous wastes.

Practices:

Oil- and water-based paints - Leave excess paint with the property owner for touch-ups. Let small amounts of paint solidify, then take to a licensed Class II landfill.
Used oils - Recycle if possible. It is illegal to spill or apply oil on the ground (as for dust or weed suppression). Waste oil is different from used oil, which has been refined from crude oil and used. Waste oil is basically crude oil, the by-product of an oil field operation, and has not been used. As a contractor or designer, you should not come in contact with waste oil. Never place used oil in a dumpster or pour it on the ground. Never bury used oil or mix it with solvents or water. Never pour it down a sink, sanitary sewer, septic system, or storm drain.
Sealers - Use leftover sealer at another site. Determine if waste is hazardous.
Degreasers (such as mineral spirits, paint thinners, and chlorinated solvents) - Allow paint thinners to settle, then strain and reuse the liquid. Store the solids in a leak-proof container. When the solvent can no longer be reused, dispose of it through a hazardous waste management facility. Both the solvent and solids may be hazardous wastes. Water-based degreasers may also be hazardous waste due to the metals they may have collected.
Pesticides and herbicides - Unless the product has been banned, use up according to the directions. Triple-rinse containers before disposal and apply the rinse water as you would apply the product. Otherwise, dispose of it through a hazardous waste management facility. If the product has been banned, it is illegal to use and may require being disposed of as a hazardous waste. Some pesticide and herbicide manufacturers will take back the banned product for proper disposal.
Vehicle batteries - Recycle if possible. If not, they must be managed as a hazardous waste. Take batteries to a retailer that sells lead-acid batteries, a solid waste facility that accepts auto batteries, or to a licensed recycler. Contact DEQ for more information. Do not dispose of vehicle batteries in the trash.
Petroleum products (such as waste gasoline, diesel, or kerosene) - If it has been determined to be hazardous, then reuse, recycle, or manage it as a hazardous waste. Can possibly use in equipment such as lawnmowers.

Be aware there are many additional federal and state regulations for the management of hazardous waste that are not listed in this document. These requirements vary depending on a your generator status and location.

A critical step in pollution prevention is recognizing when a problem arises and acting quickly. For example, a spill of a hazardous material can pollute the air, water, or soil. Therefore, several federal and state laws require you to report a spill or release of hazardous waste. All spills and releases must then be cleaned up immediately. Requirements for cleaning spills or releases vary with the material. You should become familiar with spill and cleanup procedures for the materials you use (see MSDS for product assistance).

Spill Reporting
When a spill occurs, the proper authorities must be notified. Below is a guide for determining whether a spill should be characterized as a crisis and, if so, what agency to notify.

Complaint Reporting
There are times you may encounter situations that are not as serious as those described above, but still warrant notification of the proper authorities. Complaints of spills or other environmental harms are lodged both by and against contractors for such things as:

Cleanup
Anyone responsible for a spill or release of a deleterious (harmful) material is required to take action to clean up the spill or release. Cleanup must employ the best available methods to achieve the lowest practicable level of contamination. Cleanup might involve such steps as the removal of contaminated soil, the use of absorbent material to soak up spills, or the aeration of the soil.