United States Environmental Protection Agency             

Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305W)  

Office of Solid Waste, OSW (renamed Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, ORCR, on January 18, 2009)          

May 1999

                                               

EPA530-F-99-021





Environmental Fact Sheet: EPA's Comprehensive Review of the

Treatment Standards for Mercury-Bearing Hazardous Waste





Mercury releases into the environment have the potential to

pose long-term threats to human health, particularly among

children, and to our environment.  In light of these

concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is

announcing a comprehensive review of the standards governing

how mercury-bearing hazardous waste is treated prior to land

disposal.  EPA's goal is to ensure that its hazardous waste

treatment standards are as effective as possible in

protecting human health and the environment.  This advance

notice presents for public review and comment EPA's data on

mercury-bearing hazardous waste, a series of technical and

policy issues regarding mercury waste treatment, and

potential avenues by which current mercury treatment

standards might be revised.





Background



Mercury is recognized as a persistent, bioaccumulative, and

toxic substance in our environment.  Recent studies,

including EPA's 1997 Mercury Study Report to Congress, show

that long-term exposure to mercury can adversely affect

human health, particularly in our children, and our

environment.  EPA is therefore concerned that even small

mercury releases may contribute to its buildup in the

environment and increase the potential for adverse impacts. 

Our goal is therefore to minimize mercury releases to the

environment, consistent with our current statutory and

regulatory obligations.   





Action 



As one of twelve significant actions identified in  EPA's

draft Action Plan for Mercury, the Advance Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) published on May 28, 1999 (64

Federal Register 28949) announces EPA's comprehensive review

of the standards for treating mercury-bearing hazardous

waste.  This set of standards is among those commonly

referred as the Land Disposal Restrictions (or LDRs).   



The ANPRM has three overall features.  First, EPA's waste

generation and treatment data for mercury-bearing hazardous

wastes are presented for review and updating.  These data

are broken down by industrial sector and by treatment type. 



Second, EPA presents a number of technical and policy issues

for public discussion. These include: (1) whether current

treatment regulations that include requirements for

incineration and retorting (a thermal process for recovering

mercury from the waste) are appropriate in light of the

potential for releases of mercury to the environment; (2)

the extent to which alternative treatment options are

available and effective for mercury-bearing hazardous

wastes; and (3) the identification of incentives to minimize

the generation of mercury hazardous wastes. 



Third, the ANPRM indicates several potential avenues by

which current mercury treatment standards might be revised. 

These include building in incentives to minimize the

generation of mercury-bearing hazardous waste, increased use

of stabilization treatment processes in lieu of  thermal

treatment processes, and special consideration for mixed

wastes that contain both mercury and radionuclides.  



EPA in the ANPRM emphasizes that no decisions have been made

on what regulatory changes, if any, will ultimately be

proposed.  The ANPRM is intended to present EPA's latest

data and potential concerns for public review and comment

prior to the development of any specific regulatory

amendments.  EPA currently expects that any such amendments

would be proposed for further review and comment in the year

2000.  





For More Information




 Write to the RCRA

Information Center (5305W), US EPA, 401 M Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20460. Address e-mail to RCRA-Docket@epa.gov.