LBNL/PUB-3092

Guidelines for Generators to Meet
HWHF Acceptance Requirements
for Hazardous, Radioactive, and Mixed Wastes
at Berkeley Lab

 

Waste Management Group
Environment, Health, and Safety Division
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

University of California

Berkeley, California 94720

Revision 7.1
October 2011

1. Hazardous Wastes. 1- 1

    Summary of Hazardous Waste Requirements. 1- 2

    1.1       How Do I Know If My Waste Is Hazardous?. 1- 3

       1.1.1       Characteristic Waste. 1- 4

          1.1.1.1      Ignitability. 1- 4

          1.1.1.2      Corrosivity. 1- 4

          1.1.1.3      Reactivity. 1- 5

          1.1.1.4      Toxicity. 1- 5

       1.1.2       Listed Waste. 1- 6

       1.1.3       Chemical Compatibility. 1- 7

       1.1.4       Excess Laboratory Chemicals and Laboratory Cleanouts. 1- 10

       1.1.5       Unknowns. 1- 10

    1.2       I Know My Waste Is Hazardous. Now What?. 1- 10

       1.2.1       Characterization. 1- 11

          1.2.1.1      Hazardous Waste Characterization Criteria. 1- 12

       1.2.2       Labeling of Waste Containers. 1- 14

          1.2.2.1      When Is a Solid Actually a Liquid?. 1- 16

       1.2.3       Waste Container Acceptability. 1- 16

          1.2.3.1      Flammable Wastes. 1- 16

          1.2.3.2      Solvent-Contaminated Rags. 1- 18

          1.2.3.3      Acids or Bases. 1- 19

  1.2.4       Benchtop Treatment 1- 19

       1.2.5       Waste Segregation. 1- 19

    1.3       Where Do I Store My Waste?. 1- 19

       1.3.1       Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA) 1- 19

          1.3.1.1      Setting Up an SAA.. 1- 20

          1.3.1.2      Managing Containers in the SAA.. 1- 21

          1.3.1.3      Secondary Containment 1- 22

          1.3.1.4      Additional SAA Requirements. 1- 23

       1.3.2       Waste Accumulation Area (WAA) 1- 24

    1.4       How Do I Get Rid of My Hazardous Waste?. 1- 26

    1.4.1       Electronic Hazardous Waste Requisition System.. 1- 26

        1.4.1.1 Waste from a Radioactive Materials Area. 1- 27

  1.5       Universal Wastes. 1- 29

      1.5.1 Batteries. 1- 29

      1.5.2. Fluorescent Lamps. 1- 29

      1.5.3. Aerosol Cans. 1- 30

       1.5.4. Mercury-Containing Equipment 1- 30

      1.5.5. Electronic Devices, Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs), and CRT Glass (from Broken CRTs) 1- 30

  1.6       Special Wastes. 1- 34

       1.6.1       Empty Containers. 1- 34

       1.6.2       Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) 1- 34

       1.6.3       Over-the-Counter Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, or Controlled Substances. 1- 36

       1.6.4       Epoxy Materials. 1- 36

       1.6.5       Waste from Subcontractor Activities. 1- 36

    1.7       Waste Review Process. 1- 36

    1.8       Quality Assurance Testing. 1- 36

2. Radioactive Wastes. 2- 1

    Summary of Radioactive Waste Requirements. 2- 2

    2.1       How Do I Manage Radioactive Waste?. 2- 3

    2.2       Radioactive Dry Wastes. 2- 3

       2.2.1       Segregation. 2- 3

       2.2.2       Packaging. 2- 4

       2.2.3       Labeling. 2- 5

       2.2.4       Pickup. 2- 6

    2.3       Radioactive Liquid Waste. 2- 7

       2.3.1       Segregation. 2- 8

       2.3.2       Packaging. 2- 9

       2.3.3       Labeling. 2- 9

       2.3.4       Pickup. 2- 9

    2.4       Scintillation Vials. 2- 10

       2.4.1       Segregation. 2- 11

       2.4.2       Packaging. 2- 11

       2.4.3       Labeling. 2- 11

       2.4.4       Pickup. 2- 13

    2.5       Animal Tissue. 2- 14

       2.5.1       Segregation. 2- 14

       2.5.2       Packaging. 2- 15

       2.5.3       Labeling. 2- 15

       2.5.4       Pickup. 2- 15

    2.6       Miscellaneous Radioactive Wastes. 2- 16

       2.6.1       Empty Containers. 2- 16

       2.6.2       Manufacturer-labeled Chemical Compounds. 2- 16

       2.6.3       Waste Containing Only Isotopes with Half-Lives Shorter than 15 hours (¹⁸F)   2- 16

       2.6.4       Transuranic (TRU) Waste. 2- 16

       2.6.5       High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters. 2- 16

       2.6.6       Discarded Surface-contaminated or Activated Lead. 2- 17

       2.6.7       Sealed Sources. 2- 17

    2.7       Waste Review Process. 2- 18

    2.8       Quality Assurance Testing. 2- 18

3. Mixed Wastes. 3- 1

    Summary of Mixed Waste Requirements. 3- 2

    3.1       What Is Mixed Waste?. 3- 3

    3.2       Liquid Mixed Waste. 3- 3

       3.2.1       Segregation. 3- 3

          3.2.1.1      Decay-in-Place Storage. 3- 3

       3.2.2       Packaging. 3- 4

       3.2.3       Labeling. 3- 4

       3.2.4       Storage. 3- 4

       3.2.5       Setting Up an MWSAA.. 3- 5

       3.2.6       Pickup. 3- 8

    3.3       Mixed Waste Scintillation Vials. 3- 8

       3.3.1       Segregation. 3- 9

       3.3.2       Packaging. 3- 9

       3.3.3       Labeling. 3- 10

       3.3.4       Storage. 3- 10

       3.3.5       Pickup. 3- 11

    3.4       Miscellaneous Mixed Wastes. 3- 11

    3.5       Benchtop Treatment 3- 12

    3.6       Waste Review Process. 3- 14

    3.7       Quality Assurance Testing. 3- 14

Appendix I. Definitions. A- 1

Appendix II. Acutely Hazardous Waste. A- 5

Appendix III. Extremely Hazardous Wastes. A- 12

Revision Record

 

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