The regulatory road for solvent-contaminated shop wipes destined for landfilling became uncertain with EPA's release of a reassessment of the associated risks posed to human health and environment.

Over the last decade, EPA has been considering rulemaking to exclude wipes from the definition of hazardous waste when sent to landfills. The industrial community, in which solvent contaminated wipes are omnipresent, has long argued that when small amounts of solvent are used on each wipe, minimal risk results from their disposal in municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLF), which are often unlined. In 2003, the Agency conceded and published a proposal to exclude solvent-contaminated wipes from the definition of hazardous waste when sent to a landfill or combustion facility, provided certain conditions were met. The proposal would also exclude solvent-contaminated wipes from the definition of solid waste when sent to a laundry or dry cleaner.

In its latest action, EPA expresses reservations about the environmental and human health risk analysis used to support the 2003 proposal. One of the Agency's concerns was that analysis did not specifically consider how the risks from wipe disposal would be affected by the different characteristics of lined and unlined MSWLFs. EPA decided that a "more robust" approach was needed to assess the risks posed by solvent-contaminated wipes when sent to MSWLFs.

The revised risk analysis uses computer models to estimate both the amount of solvent in contaminated wipes sent to unlined and composite-lined MSWLFs and the amount of solvent that could be held in these landfills and still not endanger human health. EPA states that the analysis shows that more solvents than those identified in the older assessment pose a risk to human health at or above levels of concern if disposal occurs in an unlined landfill. Also, wipes contaminated with the solvent tetrachloroethylene showed a potential for human health risk when sent to lined landfills.

Based on the analysis, EPA is requesting comments on two possible approaches to regulation. The first would allow disposal in lined and unlined MSWLFs for only those wipes that present no risk. Wipes that present a risk must be sent to lined MSWLFs or lined nonhazardous waste landfills. The second approach would restrict disposal of all solvent-contaminated wipes—with the possible exception of those contaminated with tetrachloroethylene—to lined MSWLFs or lined nonhazardous was to landfills meeting RCRA Subtitle D landfill requirements.

Join the discussion about the rags rule on BLR’s EHS forum.

How should you handle your shop wipes until EPA finally gets rags rule straightened out? Unfortunately, every state has its own set of rules or policies. To see what your state requires when it comes to shop wipes, check out BLR’s special report Regulation and Guidance on Solvent-Contaminated Rags: Is Your State Putting You Through the Wringer?