Cleaning times: You Can't Forget Hazardous Wastes

摘要

As our industry comes to focus, and possibly closure, about use of chromium in plating and like operations, it is important to remember that closure about chromium can't ever be complete. When a waste material is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as hazardous, that classification can't ever be rescinded. Finishers may stop using chromium in operations, but the chromium-containing wastes they previously disposed will always be theirs to own. The liability for management of a hazardous waste is permanent! This column is about what that means, and possibly how to avoid it.