ii. Characteristic Waste

Characteristic Waste – The EPA has 4 characteristic types that can lead to a material being a hazardous waste.  They are ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and toxic.  Note that the “toxic” characteristic is a list of 40 separate compounds.  If a waste material has any of the four characteristics listed below, it will have a waste code assigned to it and will be a hazardous waste.  Many of these characteristics can be found on the material’s safety data sheet (SDS).

Ignitable

1. Is the material a liquid with a flash point less than 60 ^◦C or 140 ^◦F?
2. Is the material a liquid with greater than 24% alcohol by volume?
3. Is the material capable of causing fire through friction, absorption of moisture, or spontaneous chemical changes?
4. Is the material an ignitable compressed gas?  It is an ignitable gas if:
   • A mixture of 13% or less (by volume) with regular air forms a flammable mixture, or
   • The flammable range with air is wider than 12% regardless of what the lower flammability limit is.
5. Is the material an oxidizer?
   • A few examples would be materials containing chlorate, permanganate, inorganic peroxide, organic peroxide, or nitrate
6. If yes to any one of the possibilities (a through e), the material is a hazardous waste and will require the D001 waste code.
7. Common materials and products around campus that meet the definition of ignitable would be solvents like acetone, ethanol, toluene, mineral spirits.

Corrosive

1. Is the pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5?
   • The material must contain at least 50% water to use a pH test
2. Is the material a liquid that if it came in contact with steel, would it cause excessive corrosion?
   • The actual requirement is causing greater than a ¼ inch of corrosion to steel in a year.
3. If yes to a or b, the material is a hazardous waste and will require the D002 waste code.
4. Common materials and products around campus that would meet the definition of corrosive would be: 
   • Items containing acids like hydrochloric acid 
     • Pool acid, surface cleaner
   • Items containing bases like sodium hydroxide
     • Cleaning agents and clog removers

Reactive – This is possibly the hardest characteristic to determine for any suspected material.  Generator knowledge is critical for determining the reactive characteristic.

1. Is the material normally unstable and readily undergoes VIOLENT change without detonating?
2. Does the material react VIOLENTLY with water?
3. Does the material form EXPLOSIVE mixtures with water?
4. When exposed to water, does the material generate toxic gases, vapors, or fumes in a quantity to present a danger to human health or the environment?
5. Does the material contain cyanide or sulfide?
6. Is the material capable of DETONATION if subjected to a strong initiating force or if heated under confinement?
7. Is the material readily capable of DETONATION or EXPLOSIVE decomposition or reaction at standard temperature and pressure?
8. If yes to any one of the possibilities (a – g), the material is a hazardous waste and will require the D003 waste code.
9. If you feel you have a material that meets the description of a reactive hazardous waste, please reach out to EHS to discuss your waste material.

Toxic

1. Does the material contain ANY of the items found on the EPA D List even in very dilute concentrations?
   • Please check this list CAREFULLY.  The reporting threshold concentrations for these items are in the parts per million (ppm) and parts per billion (ppb) levels!
2. If yes, the material is a hazardous waste.
3. The specific waste code that is required will depend on which chemical is contained in the waste.
4. Make note of the material’s waste code identified on the EPA list, it will be required on the pickup request form.
5. Common materials and products around campus that would meet the definition of corrosive would be:
   • Certain solvents like benzene and chloroform
   • Methyl ethyl ketone commonly found in paints
   • Certain herbicides and pesticides
   • Anything with these elements in it:
     • Arsenic
     • Barium
     • Cadmium
     • Chromium
     • Lead
     • Mercury
     • Selenium
     • Silver