Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response Legislation

• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA Act) of 1970.  Established OSHA and its regulations.  for OSHA Act audio

• Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. Authorized the evaluation and regulation of new and existing chemicals.

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). Regulates treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) facilities and established a "cradle to grave" tracking system for hazardous materials (hazardous waste manifest) and defines hazardous wastes and exemptions. In summary, This law developed the regulations for TSD facilities and developed the hazardous waste manifest that allows regulators to track a waste from its generation to its termination.  If a hazardous waste is discharged illegally, this system allows the EPA, Coast Guard, etc. to better identify the culprits.

for RCRA audio

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, Superfund). Established guide lines for cleaning up known hazardous waste sites and established government funding for cleaning up sites where no known liable party is identifiable.

In summary: CERCLA was responsible for assigning responsibility on all parties that may have directly or indirectly contributed to the illegal hazardous waste disposal.  developed the "potential responsible party" liability

• Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA).  Established requirements guaranteeing safety and protecting health of workers who are involved with RCRA and CERCLA sites and/or for emergency response teams, authorized OSHA to develop regulations and provide training for workers dealing with hazardous materials, and established the community right-to-know requirements.

• Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Regulations (Title 29 CFR 1910.120). This rule regulates:

Cleanup operations required by a federal, state, or local governmental body including but not limited to: EPA National Priority List (NPL) sites, state priority list sites, sites recommended to the EPA NPL, and initial investigations of government identified sites.

• Corrective actions required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA).

• Voluntary cleanup operations at sites recognized by Federal, state or local governmental bodies as uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

• Hazardous waste operations at treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facilities regulated by 40 CFR parts 264 and 265 pursuant to RCRA.

• Emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances without regard to the location of the hazard. Note: OSHA considers small and large quantity generators of hazardous waste to possess substantial threats of releases of hazardous substances if they store hazardous wastes on their premises.

Thought Questions (You do not need to respond)

Would a plant that produces chemicals be regulated under "Hazardous Waste Operations" or "Emergency Response"?

Would a company that recycles motor oil be regulated by HAZWOPER?

Do you think government workers have to comply with HAZWOPER?

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