Hazardous Waste

This report provides information on the differences between hazardous waste incinerators that have received permits under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and those that are classified as having interim status--that is, they are allowed to operated for a limited period of time without a permit. The regulations for permitted incinerators are more comprehensive than the related regulations for interim status incinerators. Incinerators that follow the permit regulations are in a much better position to prevent and eliminate factors affecting the environment and human health than are those incinerators subject to interim status regulations. Likewise, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 provide for more comprehensive coverage of air-borne pollutants at incinerators than past legislation. As a result, as more incinerators become subject to these requirements, facilities should be in a better position to provide the desired protection.

GAO found that: (1) permitted incinerators must conduct trial burns that meet performance standards, while interim-status incinerators are not generally required to do so; (2) permitted incinerators must continuously monitor operating conditions and maintain extensive monitoring records, while interim-status incinerators are not required to maintain monitoring records; (3) permitted incinerators must meet waste analysis requirements that are more specific and extensive than those for interim-status incinerators; and (4) permitted incinerators must store hazardous waste containers in a containment system, while interim-status incinerators are not required to do so. GAO also found that: (1) six incinerators continue to operate under interim status; (2) proper implementation of the permit regulations by facilities should provide more human health and environmental protection than those being provided by the interim-status regulations; and (3) during the years the hazardous waste incinerator was in operation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had set only 8 hazardous emissions standards, but the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 have since established a list of 190 toxic air pollutants for regulation and a 10-year schedule for EPA to set standards for those pollutants.