Washington State Announces New Changes to the Dangerous Waste Regulations
In order to remain authorized by the EPA, The Department of Ecology is required to adopt certain federal hazardous waste rules to remain consistent with EPA regulations. With this in mind, a pre-proposal notice to update Chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous Waste Regulation, was filed by Ecology on 2-17-16. Specific sections of the dangerous waste regulations are planned to incorporate new federal hazardous rules which include, but are not limited to:
- Management standards for hazardous waste pharmaceuticals
- Conditional exclusions for solvent-contaminated wipes
- Definition of solid waste revisions to solid waste variances and to the definition of legitimacy
- Revisions to the export provisions of the cathode ray tube (CRT) rule
- Several minor technical and editorial corrections and clarifications
By starting rulemaking now on pharmaceuticals and solvent wipes, Ecology hopes to resolve problems with waste management of these materials, which will help healthcare facilities and waste management vendors properly manage these waste streams, and reduce the regulatory burden and confusion associated with this type of waste. The new rule also prohibits disposal of drugs to the sewer, which will result in fewer toxic chemicals in our waterways.
To keep informed about these rulemaking efforts, or to provide input regarding this issue, please visit. To receive regular rulemaking activity updates from Washington Dept. of Ecology, please click here to subscribe.
Stay tuned for a complete Washington State labeling 101 tutorial coming soon on the INGENIUM website.