United States Environmental Protection Agency
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305W)
EPA530-F-96-015
August 1996

Environmental Fact Sheet: No Hazardous Waste Listing
Proposed for 14 Solvents

Background

The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 obligated
the Agency to study and make a hazardous waste listing
determination for solvents. In 1980 and 1986, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed a total of 30 
chemicals as hazardous waste spent solvents. Many of these
solvents were widely used in many different industries, and
had caused environmental damage at many sites. Although the
Agency listed these solvents as hazardous, other solvents
that may have been potentially hazardous to human health and
the environment were not examined. As a result of a consent
decree issued in June 1991, EPA agreed to make hazardous
waste listing determinations on wastes generated from the
use of 14 chemicals as solvents. 

Action

EPA proposes not to amend the regulations for hazardous
waste management under the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) for wastes generated during the use of
certain organic solvents. The Agency proposes not to list as
hazardous wastes that are generated from the solvent use of
any of the following 14 chemicals: acetonitrile, benzyl
chloride, cumene, cyclohexanol, 1,4-dichlorobenzene,
epichlorohydrin, ethylene dibromide, 2-ethoxyethanol
acetate, furfural, isophorone, 2-methoxyethanol,
2-methoxyethanol acetate, methyl chloride, and phenol.

Based on current management practices and low levels of
exposure, the Agency has determined that these solvent
wastes pose little or no risk to human health or the
environment.  Only a few of these chemicals are widely used
as solvents, and most either have no significant solvent
uses, or have only very specialized solvent uses.  The
proposal is not a determination that these chemicals are
nontoxic.  The vast majority of the nonwastewaters residuals
generated from solvent uses are, in fact, already regulated
as hazardous waste because they exhibit a hazardous waste
characteristic.  Rather, this is a determination that these
specific wastes do not need to be added to the RCRA
hazardous waste listings.

More Information

The Federal Register (FR) notice and this fact sheet are
available on the Internet System through EPA Public Access
Server at gopher.epa.gov. 

Copies of documents applicable to this rule may be obtained
by writing: RCRA Information Center (RIC), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste, OSW (Note:  Office of Solid Waste, OSW, was renamed Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, ORCR, on January 18, 2009)
(5303W), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.