|
|
 |
Where the Law Has Failed
 The study also looked at Non-Hazardous Industrial Waste Facilities; Facilities that are not suppose to receive hazardous wastes. The study revealed:
- Over 98% of the releases from these "non-hazardous" facilities involved groundwater contamination exceeding federal or state standards or regulations;
- The contaminants included chemicals currently regulated as hazardous under RCRA, suggesting the current regulations are inadequate to prevent wastes that are hazardous from being sent to inappropriate landfills -- landfills that are leaking.
Of greatest significance is EPA's finding that over 100 chemicals may occur in wastes disposed in so-called "non-hazardous" industrial waste landfills that can pose significant risks. Yet these chemicals are not regulated as hazardous under the present characteristics. These chemicals include volatiles, non-volatile organics, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides that may cause cancer or birth defects. A significant number of them are among the Top 50 Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals released to the environment in quantities exceeding many millions of pounds per year.
EPA has all but ignored its own study, the only area that EPA followed through was on a single study on the air imports.
Air Characteristics Study
More than a year after finding serious gaps in The Federal Program designed to protect the public and the environment from the risks of hazardous wastes, EPA issued an Air Characteristic Suede.
The Air Characteristics Study examined the potential inhalation risks to humans from certain types of waste management practice to evaluate the need for classifying certain chemicals as hazardous if they threaten the air we breathe. Current regulations only look at the possible health impact through the ingestion of groundwater.One hundred five (105) chemicals were investigated.EPA found that:
- Only 22 of the 105 chemicals were currently regulated as hazardous by the Toxicity Characteristic rest Under the Federal hazardous waste law, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA);
- Many types of waste management operations do not have controls on air emission of hazardous
chemicals;
- 21 of the 105 chemicals were not even on the Clean Air Act Hazardous Air Pollutant list, excluding them from pollution limitations;
- Aerated Wastewater Treatment units pose the greatest risks;
- A significant number of chemicals pose risks at levels below the current standards, suggesting that these current standards are not stringent enough.
EPA plans to subject the study to peer review and public comment. After that could come more study. EPA is making no commitment to address the risks these 105 comments may pose to human health and the environment.
With the evident concerns cited in both the Hazardous Waste Characteristic Scoping Study and the Air Characteristic Study, the over 1 billion pounds plus of releases in 1995 of the over 100 chemicals in the Scoping Study not regulated under the RCRA hazardous characteristics should be a top priority for EPA.
Next >>
|
