MT DEQ Hazardous Waste CD/Website Glossary

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GLOSSARY

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Abandoned - Means thrown away. A material is abandoned if it is disposed, burned, or incinerated, or accumulated, stored, or treated (but not recycled) before or in lieu of being abandoned by being disposed of, burned, or incinerated.

Accumulation Start Date - Large and small hazardous waste generators must place an accumulation start date on all tanks and containers of hazardous waste in their accumulation area. That date must be visible for inspection. This would indicate the day the first waste entered the container in the accumulation area or the date a satellite accumulation container was moved to the accumulation area.

Active Site - A site is designated as active when the person or business located at the site is generating and/or handling regulated waste subject to hazardous waste, universal waste, or used oil management regulations under the Montana Hazardous Waste Act.

Annual Report - The report is intended to provide EPA and MT DEQ with reliable data on hazardous waste management in Montana.

ARM - Administrative Rules of Montana

Batteries - A device consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells, which is designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy. An electrochemical cell is a system consisting of an anode, cathode, and an electrolyte, plus such connections (electrical and mechanical) as may be needed to allow the cell to deliver or receive electrical energy. The term battery also includes an intact, unbroken battery from which the electrolyte has been removed.

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) - A vacuum tube, composed primarily of glass, which is the visual or video display component of an electronic device. A used, intact CRT means a CRT whose vacuum has not been released. A used, broken CRT means glass removed from its housing or casing whose vacuum has been released.

Chlorinated Solvent - A liquid compound or mixture of compounds capable of dissolving or dispersing one or more other substances and which contain chlorine as one constituent. Examples include 1,1,1-trichloroethane and methylene chloride.

Closed Site - A site is designated as closed when the business located at the site is out of operation and regulated wastes subject to hazardous waste, universal waste, or used oil management regulations under the Montana Hazardous Waste Act are no longer generated and/or handled. This is a Montana-specific classification.

Closed-Loop Process - Enclosed process.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - A document that codifies all rules of the executive departments and agencies of the federal government. It is divided into fifty volumes, known as titles. Title 40 of the CFR, referenced as 40 CFR, lists all environmental regulations (example "40 CFR 273.81" lists a specific environmental regulation).

Commercial Chemical Product - A chemical that is in pure form, that is in technical grade form, or that is the sole active ingredient in a chemical formulation.

Pure form - 100 percent pure; the chemical is the only chemical constituent in the product.
Technical grade - the formulation is not 100 percent pure, but is a grade of purity that is either marketed or recognized in general usage by the chemical industry.
Sole active ingredient - the chemical is the only ingredient serving the function of the formulation. The product may have several other chemicals as ingredients, but the sole active ingredient serves the primary purpose of the product.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) - The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -- otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund -- provides a Federal "Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment.

Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) - A facility that produces less than 100 kg (220 lb.) of hazardous waste, or less than 1 kg. (2.2 lb.) of acute hazardous waste, per calendar month.

Contingency Plan - A document setting out an organized, planned, and coordinated course of action to be followed in case of a fire, explosion, or other accident that releases toxic chemicals, hazardous waste, or radioactive materials that threaten human health or the environment.

Cradle-To-Grave - The tracking of hazardous waste from its initial generation to its ultimate disposal.

Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) - The Federal agency tasked to protect human health and the environment.

Department of Transportation (DOT) - The federal agency that regulates the transport of hazardous materials under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. These materials include CERCLA hazardous substances and RCRA hazardous wastes.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - The Federal agency tasked to protect human health and the environment.

EPA Form 8700-12 - Notification of Regulated Waste Activity Form

EPA hazardous waste number or code - The number or code assigned by EPA to each hazardous waste listed in 40 CFR 261 subparts C and D.

EPA identification number (EPA ID) - The unique code assigned to each generator; transporter; and treatment, storage, or disposal facility by regulating agencies to facilitate identification and tracking of chemicals or hazardous waste.

Exception Report - A report, submitted by LQGs and SQGs, detailing efforts to locate wastes when a signed copy of the manifest has not been received.

Export - Transporting hazardous waste to a country outside the United States.

Federal Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 - Congress established a national policy that:

Pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible;
Pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible;
Pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should be treated in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible; and
Disposal or other release into the environment should be employed only as a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally safe manner.

Generator - Any person, by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in 40 CFR 261 or whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation.

Green Company - A business operating in a more "environmentally friendly" way.

Halogenated Solvent - Solvents containing any of a group of five chemically related nonmetallic elements (chlorine, bromine, fluorine, astatine, and iodine).

Halogenated Solvent User - Anyone who sells, buys, or uses more than 20 gallons of halogenated solvent in any year must register as a Halogenated Solvent User. A registration form must be completed and submitted to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. There is no registration fee. For more information about halogenated solvents, click on Halogenated Solvents Users Registration Act.

Halogens (Halogenated Solvents) - Solvents containing any of a group of five chemically related nonmetallic elements (chlorine, bromine, fluorine, astatine, and iodine).

Hazardous Waste Treatment Permit - A written document issued by the government that establishes standards and/or pollutant limits for water discharges, air emissions, or for the handling, treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste.

High-Volume, Low-Pressure (HVLP) - Type of spraying system that uses a high volume of low-pressure air to atomize and apply material to a surface. Reduces over spray of product into the atmosphere.

Inactive Site - A site is designated as inactive when the business located at the site is not generating and/or handling regulated waste subject to hazardous waste, universal waste, or used oil management regulations under the Montana Hazardous Waste Act. This is a Montana-specific classification.

Inherently Waste-Like - Some materials are always considered solid wastes under 40 CFR 261.2(d), even if they are recycled in some manner (i.e., they are considered to be inherently waste-like). Because these materials may pose a threat to human health and the environment when they are recycled, they do not qualify for any recycling exemptions. Examples of inherently waste-like materials are the dioxin-containing listed wastes F020, F022, F023, F026, and F028. Hazardous waste meeting the F021 listing is also considered inherently waste-like unless it is used at the site of generation as an ingredient in a product.

Lamps - Can also be referred to as "universal waste lamp" and is defined as the bulb or tube portion of an electric lighting device. A lamp is specifically designed to produce radiant energy, most often in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Examples of common universal waste electric lamps include, but are not limited to, fluorescent, high intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high-pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps.

Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs) - Rules that require hazardous wastes to be treated, prior to disposal on land, to destroy or immobilize hazardous constituents that might migrate into soil and ground water.

Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) - A facility that produces more than 1,000 kg (2,200 lb.) of hazardous waste per calendar month, or more than 1 kg (2.2 lb.) of acute hazardous waste per calendar month.

Large Quantity Handler of Universal Waste (LQHUW) - Means a universal waste handler who accumulates 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb.) or more of universal waste (batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, or lamps, calculated collectively) at any time. This designation as a large quantity handler of universal waste is retained through the end of the calendar year in which 5,000 kilograms or more total of universal waste is accumulated.

Listed Hazardous Waste - Wastes that are considered hazardous under RCRA because they meet specific listing descriptions.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) - A form intended to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner, and includes information such as physical data, toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill handling procedures.

Military Munitions - For purposes of defining a material as a solid waste under RCRA Subtitle C; ammunition products and components produced for or used by the military for national defense and security.

Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ) - The Montana state department that administers most of Montana's environmental regulatory, cleanup, monitoring, pollution prevention, and energy conservation laws.

Muck - Filter cake and collected solids from filtered perchloroethylene (perc). Muck can be placed into a muck cooker to recover additional perc.

Non-chlorinated Solvent - A liquid compound or mixture of compounds capable of dissolving or dispersing one or more other substances, which does not contain chlorine as one of its constituents. Examples include terpenes, toluene, and acetone.

Non-Terne Plated Filters - Filters that do not contain an alloy of tin and lead. Terne is described as an alloy of tin and lead and may be used on filters found in heavy trucks or equipment.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - A federal agency, which protects worker health and safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and plays an important role in environmental issues such as chemical exposure in the workplace.

On-Site - The same or geographically contiguous property which may be divided by public or private right-of-way, provided that the entrance and exit between the properties is at a cross-roads intersection, and access is by crossing as opposed to going along the right-of-way. Non-contiguous properties owned by the same person but connected by a right-of-way which he controls and to which the public does not have access, are also considered on-site property.

Parts per Million (ppm) - A standard of measurement for concentrations of pollutants. A ratio (volume/volume or weight/weight) usually used for airborne concentration of gases or vapors, for concentrations of chemicals in water, or concentrations of chemicals in soil. PPM is often expressed as mg/l or mg/kg.

Pesticides - Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, other than any article that:

Is a new animal drug under FFDCA section 201(w), or
Is an animal drug that has been determined by regulation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services not to be a new animal drug, or
Is an animal feed under FFDCA section 201(x) that bears or contains any substances described by paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition.

Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) - Typically a sanitary sewer system not a septic system or storm system.

RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) - RCRA (pronounced "rick-rah") was enacted by Congress in 1976 to address the huge volumes of municipal and industrial solid waste generated nationwide. RCRA gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave." This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA also set forth a framework for the management of non-hazardous wastes.

RCRA Empty - RCRA considers a container empty if all the waste has been removed that can be removed using the practices commonly employed to remove materials from the container, i.e. pouring, pumping, and aspirating.

A container is considered empty if:

No more than 2.5 centimeters/1 inch of residue is on the bottom of a container or liner.
No more than 3% by weight of the total capacity of a container or liner remains if the container is less than or equal to 110 gallons in size.
No more than 0.3 % by weight of the total capacity of a container or liner remains if the container is greater than 110 gallons in size.
A compressed gas container is empty when the pressure in the container approaches atmospheric.
A container or an inner liner removed from a container that has held an acute hazardous waste is empty if:

The container or inner liner has been triple rinsed using a solvent capable of removing the commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate;
The container or inner liner has been cleaned by another method that has been shown in the scientific literature, or by tests conducted by the generator, to achieve removal; or
In the case of a container, the inner liner that prevented contact of the commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate with the container, has been removed.

RCRA Regulations [Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)] - A document that codifies all rules of the executive departments and agencies of the federal government. It is divided into fifty volumes, known as titles. Title 40 of the CFR, referenced as 40 CFR, lists all environmental regulations (example "40 CFR 273.81" lists a specific environmental regulation).

Recycled - For purposes of defining a material as a solid waste under RCRA Subtitle C, a material is recycled if it is used or reused, or reclaimed.

Recycling - The separation and collection of wastes, their subsequent transformation or remanufacture into usable or marketable products or materials, and the purchase of products made from recyclable materials.

Small Quantity Generator (SQG) - A facility that produces between 100 kg (220 lb.) and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb.) of hazardous waste in a calendar month.

Small Quantity Handler of Universal Waste (SQHUW) - A universal waste handler who does not accumulate 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) or more of universal waste (batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, or lamps calculated collectively) at any time.

Source Reduction - Maximizing or reducing the use of natural resources at the beginning of an industrial process, thereby eliminating the amount of waste produced by the process. Source reduction is EPA’s preferred method of waste management.

Storage Facility [Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF)] - A facility engaged in the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste. These facilities are the last link in the cradle-to-grave hazardous waste management system.

Terne - A tin/lead alloy historically used to cover the interior of oil filters. The lead content of the plating material may cause the filters to exhibit a hazardous waste characteristic.

Thermostats - A temperature control device that contains metallic mercury in an ampoule attached to a bimetal sensing element. This includes mercury-containing ampoules that have been removed from the temperature control devices.

Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) - A lab procedure designed to predict whether a particular waste is likely to leach chemicals into ground water at dangerous levels.

Transfrontier - Any shipment of wastes destined for recovery operations from an area under the national jurisdiction of one Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member country to an area under the national jurisdiction of another OECD member country.

Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) - Facilities engaged in the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste. These facilities are the last link in the cradle-to-grave hazardous waste management system.

TSDF Permit - An authorization, license, or equivalent control document issued by EPA or MT DEQ to construct or operate a hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility in the State. Permits are issued to ensure hazardous waste facilities are operated in a manner that protects human health and the environment.

Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest - EPA form 8700-22. This form is used to track hazardous waste shipments from “cradle-to-grave”. A Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest must accompany all shipments of hazardous waste from Large and Small Generators of hazardous waste.

United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) - A Federal agency tasked to ensure fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future.

Universal Waste Destination Facilities - A facility that treats, disposes, or recycles a particular category of universal waste, except those management activities described in 40 CFR 273.13 (a) and (c) and 40 CFR 273.33 (a) and (c). A facility at which a particular category of universal waste is only accumulated, is not a destination facility for purposes of managing that category of universal waste.

Universal Waste Transporters - A person engaged in the off-site transportation of universal waste by air, rail, highway, or water.

Universal Wastes - Means any of the following hazardous wastes that are managed under the universal waste requirements of 40 CFR part 273:

Batteries as described in 40 CFR 273.2;
Pesticides as described in 40 CFR 273.3;
Mercury-containing equipment as described in 40 CFR 273.4; and
Lamps as described in 40 CFR 273.5.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - Chemical compounds containing hydrogen, oxygen and carbon that, under normal conditions, easily vaporize and enter the atmosphere.

Waste Analysis Plan - A plan that outlines the procedures necessary to ensure proper treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste.