Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-303 - Dangerous waste regulations › Section 173-303-090 - Dangerous waste characteristics

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Purpose. The purpose of this section is
			 to set forth characteristics which a solid waste might exhibit and which would
			 cause that waste to be a dangerous waste.
(2) Representative samples. The department
			 will consider a sample obtained using any of the applicable sampling methods
			 described in WAC
			 173-303-110(2),
			 sampling and testing methods, to be a representative sample.
(3) Equivalent test methods. The testing
			 methods specified in this section are the only acceptable methods, unless the
			 department approves an equivalent test method in accordance with WAC
			 173-303-910(2).
(4) Quantity exclusion limit. A solid waste
			 is a dangerous waste if it exhibits one or more of the dangerous waste
			 characteristics described in subsections (5), (6), (7), and (8) of this
			 section. If a person's solid waste exhibits one or more of these
			 characteristics, then he or she is a dangerous waste generator (and may not be
			 considered a small quantity generator as provided in WAC
			 173-303-170(2)) if the quantity of their waste exceeds 220 lbs. (100 kg) per month or per
			 batch.
(5) Characteristic of
			 ignitability.
(a) A solid waste exhibits the
			 characteristic of ignitabil-ity if a representative sample of the waste has any
			 of the following properties:
(i) It is a
			 liquid, other than an aqueous solution containing less than 24 percent alcohol
			 by volume, and has a flash point less than 60 degrees C (140 degrees F), as
			 determined by a Pensky-Martens Closed Cup Tester, using the test method
			 specified in ASTM Standard D93-06, or a Setaflash Closed Cup Tester, using the
			 test method specified in ASTM Standard D3278-96 (2004)e1 as incorporated by
			 reference at WAC
			 173-303-110(3)(h)(v)
			 and (vi);
(ii) It is not a liquid and is capable, under
			 standard temperature and pressure, of causing fire through friction, absorption
			 of moisture or spontaneous chemical changes and, when ignited, burns so
			 vigorously and persistently that it creates a hazard;
(iii) It is an ignitable compressed gas.
(A) The term "compressed gas" applies to any
			 material or mixture having in the container an absolute pressure exceeding 40
			 p.s.i. at 70 degrees F or, regardless of the pressure at 70 degrees F, having
			 an absolute pressure exceeding 104 p.s.i. at 130 degrees F; or any liquid
			 flammable material having a vapor pressure exceeding 40 p.s.i. absolute at 100
			 degrees F as determined by ASTM Test D-323.
(B) A compressed gas must be characterized as
			 ignitable if any one of the following occurs:
(I) Either a mixture of 13 percent or less
			 (by volume) with air forms a flammable mixture or the flammable range with air
			 is wider than 12 percent regardless of the lower limit. These limits must be
			 determined at atmospheric temperature and pressure. The method of sampling and
			 test procedure must be acceptable to the Bureau of Explosives and approved by
			 the director, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Technology, U.S. Department of
			 Transportation (see Note 2).
(II)
			 Using the Bureau of Explosives' Flame Projection Apparatus (see Note 1), the
			 flame projects more than 18 inches beyond the ignition source with valve opened
			 fully, or the flame flashes back and burns at the valve with any degree of
			 valve opening.
(III) Using the
			 Bureau of Explosives' Open Drum Apparatus (see Note 1), there is any
			 significant propagation of flame away from the ignition source.
(IV) Using the Bureau of Explosives' Closed
			 Drum Apparatus (see Note 1), there is any explosion of the vapor-air mixture in
			 the drum; or,
(iv) It is an oxidizer. An oxidizer for the
			 purpose of this subsection is a substance such as a chlorate, permanganate,
			 inorganic peroxide, or a nitrate, that yields oxygen readily to stimulate the
			 combustion of organic matter (see Note 4).
An organic compound containing the bivalent -O-O-structure and
				which may be considered a derivative of hydrogen peroxide where one or more of
				the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by organic radicals must be classed as an
				organic peroxide unless:
(A) It is a
			 forbidden explosive as defined in
			 49 C.F.R.
			 173.54, or a Class 1 explosive, Division 1.1,
			 Division 1.2, Division 1.3, and Division 1.5, as defined in
			 49 C.F.R.
			 173.50, in which case it must be classed as
			 an explosive;
(B) The material is
			 forbidden to be offered for transportation according to
			 49 C.F.R.
			 172.101 and  49 C.F.R. 173.21;
(C) It is determined that the predominant
			 hazard of the material containing an organic peroxide is other than that of an
			 organic peroxide; or
(D) According
			 to data on file with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
			 in the U.S. Department of Transportation (see Note 3), it has been determined
			 that the material does not present a hazard in transportation.
Note 1:
A description of the Bureau of Explosives' Flame
							 Projection Apparatus, Open Drum Apparatus, Closed Drum Apparatus, and method of
							 tests may be procured from the Bureau of Explosives.
Note 2:
As part of a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
							 reorganization, the Office of Hazardous Materials Technology (OHMT), which was
							 the office listed in the 1980 publication of
							 49
							 C.F.R. 173.300 for the purposes of approving
							 sampling and test procedures for a flammable gas, ceased operations on February
							 20, 2005. OHMT programs have moved to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
							 Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the DOT.
Note 3:
As part of a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
							 reorganization, the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), which
							 was the office listed in the 1980 publication of  49 C.F.R. 173.151a  for the
							 purposes of determining that a material does not present a hazard in transport,
							 ceased operations on February 20, 2005. RSPA programs have moved to the
							 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the
							 DOT.
Note 4:
The DOT regulatory definition of an oxidizer was
							 contained in Sec. 173.151 of 49 C.F.R., and the definition of an organic
							 peroxide was contained in paragraph 173.151a. An organic peroxide is a type of
							 oxidizer.