Under RCRA, mercury-containing hazardous waste must meet certain treatment standards prior to land disposal. However, alternative treatment standards may be followed for wastes that are difficult to manage, partly due to their large particle size (i.e., mercury-containing debris). These types of materials include bricks, pipes, ruptured metal drums, and large chunks of concrete that are contaminated with mercury. Recently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report entitled Hazardous Waste: EPA Needs to Clarify the Types of Mercury Waste that Can Be Treated and Disposed of Using the Debris Regulations. The GAO report found that available data on the quantities of mercury-containing debris treated and disposed may not be accurate due to ambiguities in hazardous waste biennial reporting forms. Furthermore, there appears to be confusion among state and disposal facility personnel regarding what types of mercury-containing wastes are debris and, therefore, eligible for the less stringent alternative treatment standard requirements.
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