Tag: regulations

PCB Marking Requirements

Each of the following items must be marked with the large label as illustrated in this section. Where the large PCB mark is specified, but the PCB article or PCB equipment is too small to accommodate the smallest permissible size of the large mark, the small PCB mark may be used instead of the large […]

Lamp Recycler Fined for PCB Violations

According to EPA, the facility is permitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to manage and store PCB wastes. Separate permits allow the facility to recycle fluorescent lamps and ballasts, batteries, electronic wastes, and mercury devices. The facility also manages non-PCB ballasts, phosphorous powders, aerosol cans, and mercury-containing wastes. The company operates facilities in […]

14 Expert Tips for Responding to NOVs and Enforcement Orders

Have a procedure in place for responding to NOVs, enforcement orders, and other related issuances. Give a copy of an NOV or order to the person responsible for responding. If the alleged violation is significant, make sure to alert the proper management official. Immediately determine the validity of the NOV or order. Mark all documents […]

E-Learning Makes Training Easy

In some cases, EPA specifies general types of training (e.g., classroom or hands-on) and time frames for refresher training but leaves the duration of training and choice of training materials up to facility managers. For example, EPA requires hazardous waste large quantity generators and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to provide classroom instruction or on-the-job […]

$25,000 for Failing to Report Oil Spill

MassDEP received a telephone report from an environmental cleanup contractor on behalf of the building owner that a release estimated to be 260 gal of diesel fuel had occurred 6 days earlier during the transfer of oil from a basement tank to a rooftop generator when a pump had failed to cycle off. The oil […]

Everybody’s ‘Real’ Economic Impact is Different

Do a Google search on “Do environmental regulations hurt economic growth?” and you will come up with enough studies to cover a wall in your local public library.  If you review the studies themselves – or at least flip through the abstracts – you will find most of the researchers answer “no.” That answer is […]

LPG Odorants in Rail Tank Cars

But in what appears to be a regulatory lapse, the federal odorant standards overseen by the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) apply only to LPG rail shipments in cargo and portable tank containers; there is no comparable regulation for LPG transported in railroad tank cars.  In a safety advisory issued April 2012, the […]

Lists of Hazardous Wastes You Should Know

1. Ignitability, 2. Corrosivity, 3. Reactivity, or 4. Toxicity The second way to tell if a waste is hazardous is if it is included on a specific list of wastes EPA has determined are hazardous. These “listed wastes” are placed on a list because EPA finds them to pose substantial present or potential hazards to […]

Private Drinking Water Wells

Contaminants Groundwater that supplies wells can contain naturally occurring minerals (e.g., arsenic, boron, selenium, or radon).  Also, almost all private wells are in rural areas where agriculture occurs.  A wide variety of farming activities can affect groundwater that supplies wells.  These include the use of pesticides, overuse of fertilizers and animal manure, and discharges from […]

Equipment Leak Violations Inspectors are Looking For

Equipment Tagging is required for regulated equipment to distinguish it from non-regulated equipment. The Appendix sets the following penalties for failure to tag: $250 per valve, flange, connector, open-ended valve or line, sampling connection system, or instrumentation system; $1,000 per pump or agitator; and $5,000 per compressor, pressure relief device, surge control vessel, or bottoms […]