Environmental Engineering: Hazardous Waste Management Contingency Plan

This report presents a detailed contingency plan for hazardous waste management, focusing on the regulations outlined in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The plan covers key aspects such as hazardous waste determination, ensuring proper identification and classification based on characteristics like corrosivity, toxicity, and reactivity. It outlines procedures for on-site waste accumulation, emphasizing the importance of separating incompatible wastes and maintaining safety equipment. The plan also addresses emergency response protocols, including the designation of an emergency coordinator, reporting procedures, and required notifications to relevant authorities. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for customized training programs for staff involved in waste management, covering topics like waste determination, classification, and handling. The report also highlights the importance of comprehensive recordkeeping, permitting, and adherence to containment facility and building requirements. Finally, the plan emphasizes the need for effective planning and notification procedures, including internal and external communication channels and emergency flowcharts.

Running Head: CONTINGENCY PLAN 1
Contingency Plan
(Institutional Affiliation)
(Name of student)

CONTINGENCY PLAN 2
Contingency Plan
Overview Of Hazardous Waste Management
The basic standards that govern and regulate the hazardous waste generators in the United
States are provided for under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). According to this
Act, all persons producing hazardous waste are subject to comply with the regulations in title 40 of the
Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) in the 262 part. The regulations are purposely enacted to see to it
that, all wastes that are hazardous are identified and handled with utmost appropriateness and safety to
prevent harm to the environment and at the same time ensuring that the day to day business activities
are not interfered with (Towne, 2013) . As the environmental manager at the college I have been hired,
I find waste management critical. As such, this essay details a proposed hazardous management of the
facility.
Managing Hazardous Waste On-site
At this point, the hazardous waste is determined and safely accumulated. The hazardous waste
determination shall involve the waste generator finding out if a waste is truly regulated or not (Towne,
2013). Essentially, understanding how a waste turns out to be hazardous is a critical measure by the
generator to see to it that he/she devises proper disposal procedures to avoid lethal impacts on both the
human health and the entire environment. In determining and labeling a waste as hazardous, the
following characteristics of the waste shall be evaluated; corrosivity, toxicity, ignitability, reactivity and
shall be assigned the D code (Environmental Protection Agency , 2001). For example, D001, D002 and,
D003 constitute ignitable, corrosive and reactive wastes respectively. After determination, waste
accumulation follows. As regards accumulation, the determined waste is put into a Central
Accumulation Area following the ADEQ regulations. While storing, care must be taken to ensure
separation of wastes that are chemically incompatible. Also, in the Central Accumulation Area, fully-
functioning safety equipment including spill cleanup materials, eyewash and fire extinquishers shall be

CONTINGENCY PLAN 3
installed. On a weekly basis, Central Accumulation Area shall be inspected to a check a number of
things among them; the condition of the containers, labeling of wastes and coding appropriateness of
the containers.
Emergency Response
The designee or emergency coordinator shall address emergencies at all times (British
Columbia. Ministry of Environment. Hazardous Waste Management Program 2015). There shall be a
phone installed for the specific purpose of reporting incidences of hazard wastes. The call shall be
directed to the emergency director whose number will be posted on this phone. Among the incidences
that shall be regarded emergencies include unauthorized access, spills and fire. Also, any threat to the
health of humans outside of the facility, after the local authorized have been contacted, the National
Response Centre shall be contacted immediately with the following information: EPA ID number,
address and name of facility; type of the hazardous waste; the amount of the materials; type , time and
date of the incident; and injury extent.
Training
Customized training shall be offered to the individuals based on their role and waste program.
The generator shall be trained to determine if a particular material is hazardous or not. Also, the
generator will be trained on classification of wastes and how to handle them. The training shall take a
considerably long period of 6 months and shall constitute classroom sessions and practical. As for the
Environmental Health and Safety staff, training shall be on managing the hazardous waste, shipping of
DOT hazardous materials as well as training on the fire extinguisher (Environmental Protection Agency
, 2001). The training shall be done on an annual basis with some refresher trainings after every 6
months.
Recordkeeping
The hazardous waste shall require a comprehensive record keeping. Among the requirements,

CONTINGENCY PLAN 4
for proper record keeping, include, the annual declaration shall incorporate a waste minimization
report, keeping records of the analysis of any waste sample waste sent for analysis (Keep for 3 years),
the minimum time of hazardous waste manifests to be kept on site should be at least 3 years.
Permitting
Before materializing the waste management program, approval must be sought from appropriate
authorities. In this case, permitting, shall be done by Department of Environmental Quality upon
assessment of the proposed plan as provided for by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
regulations, 40CFR260-262 (EPA, 2016).
Containment Facility And Buildings Requirement
The containment facility and the building must be PCRA permitted and follow the standards
laid down by EPA. For example, man-made materials must be used to construct the building,
completely closed, must have dust controls, the contact surface must be attuned with waste, and must
be strong enough not to fall (Healey, Justin, 2010). Also, there should be a sound leak detection system.
Planning and Notification
The planning and notification as regards the management plan should appropriate and well
coordinated. Notification shall comprise both external and internal notifications (Savage, 2003). There
shall be elaborate flow charts and checklists installed in the facility containing the phone numbers of
persons to be involved and external agencies in case of emergency.

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References
British Columbia. Ministry of Environment. Hazardous Waste Management Program. (2015).
Guidelines for Preparing Contingency Plans for Carriers of Hazardous Waste. Ministry of
Environment.
Environmental Protection Agency . (2001). Mnaging your Hazardous Waste: A Guide for small buiness
. EPA.
EPA. (2016). Hazardous Waste Generator Regulatory Summary | Hazardous Waste Generators | US
EPA. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/hazardous-
waste-generator-regulatory-summary
Healey, Justin. (2010). Recycling and managing waste. Thirroul, N.S.W: The Spinney Press.
Towne, L. E. (2013). The Contingency Plan. Cork: BookBaby.
Savage, G. M. (2003). Basic hazardous waste management. Waste Management, 23(6), 555-556.
doi:10.1016/s0956-053x(03)00057-6