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N.C. Hazardous Waste Regulations

Hazardous waste is any kind of waste material in the form of solid, liquid or gas, which is harmful and poses a threat for any kind of living organisms. Hazardous wastes generated from maintenance, laboratory operations, construction, renovation and various other activities need to be regulated. The North Carolina Division of Waste Management regulates these hazardous waste in three different ways--procedures to identify a waste as hazardous, safe storage of the waste and efficiency in implementing the disposal procedures by trained personnel.

  1. Role of Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)

    • The agency that is responsible for the enforcement and implementation of the hazardous waste regulations in North Carolina is the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources also known by NC DENR. This agency is responsible for the identification of hazardous waste, storage, packaging, manifesting of the same, shipping and disposal of the waste. The agency is also responsible for reporting, record keeping and training people to manage the hazardous waste.

    Waste Identification

    • North Carolina hazardous waste regulations begin with a waste identification procedure. This is a process in which the hazardous waste is identified and separated from the non-hazardous waste. Hazardous wastes are classified based on whether they are ignitable, toxic, corrosive or can react adversely with other substances.

    Labeling and Packing

    • The hazardous waste must be stored in air tight containers and labeled with all these specifications: a) Display HAZARDOUS WASTE clearly written on the container; b) Use words for the contents, not chemical formulas; c) Display the quantity of the waste inside the container d) Provide the identification details of the waste generating site like name, number, address and e) Identify the state of the waste (solid, liquid or gas) and the category of the waste, such as ignitable, toxic, corrosive and reactive.

    Storage

    • The storage of these hazardous wastes is a very sensitive issue and has to be managed properly. There are locations where the waste is allowed to be stored.

      Satellite accumulation: This is the storage of the hazardous waste at the generation point. As per the NC DENR they allow 55 gallons of hazardous waste at maximum to be stored at each generating area. These have to be stored in air tight containers and kept sealed at all times other than when the waste is being added to the container. Once full these containers should be immediately sent to the main accumulation area.

      Main accumulation area: The main accumulation area is a point where the full containers from the satellite accumulation areas have to gather. The waste cannot stay in this area for long and needs to be transferred.

    Transferring the Waste and Disposal

    • The transporting of the waste has to be done only by licensed hazardous waste transporters. Te disposal of the waste can be done only at licensed treatment, storage and disposal facility also known as TSDF (treatment storage and/or disposal facility).

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