This document summarizes the EPA's final rule establishing a conditional exclusion from hazardous waste regulations for solvent-contaminated wipes. It qualifies wipes contaminated with certain solvents for exclusion if accumulation, storage, and disposal requirements are met. These include a 180-day accumulation time limit, closed containers marked as excluded wipes, and disposal in a regulated landfill, combustor, or laundry facility. Some states are still adopting the rule, and generators may choose to continue managing wipes as hazardous waste.

1. David Shanks
Mid-America Environmental Compliance Conference
3 April 2014

2. Solvent Wipe Exclusion
 Conditional exclusion
from hazardous waste
rules
 Final rule 31July
2013
 40 CFR 261.4
 (a)(26) reused wipes
 (b)(18) disposable
 Not effective in
authorized states until
adopted

3. Solvent Wipes that Qualify
 “Shop towel, rag,
pad, or swab”
contaminated with:
 F001-F005 or
corresponding P- or U-
listed solvents
 TCLP solvents
 Unlisted but ignitable
(only) solvents
Wipes cannot be
contaminated with:
 corrosives
 reactives
 non-solvent TCLP
materials such as
○ Cr, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ag
 Will disqualify wipes
used on some wet
coatings, inks &
sealants

4. Accumulation Requirements
Time limit:
May accumulate “up to 180 days from start date
of accumulation for each container prior to being
sent” for disposal/cleaning
No separate storage area timeframes
 No free liquids in container (paint filter test)
 “…at the point of being transported for disposal
or cleaning”
 Non-leaking closed container, marked
“Excluded Solvent-Contaminated Wipes”

5. Closed Containers
Hazardous Waste Rules Solvent Wipe Rule
40 CFR 265.173(a)
Container must be “closed”
 MO relies on 12/3/09 and
11/3/11 EPA Closed
Container Guidance:
○ For solvent-contaminated wipes
without free liquids: “…complete
contact between the lid and the
rim all the way around the top”
pg. 11
 KS guidance HW-2005-G1
○ KDHE says it parallels federal
wipes rule, but beware of “end of
shift” closure in HW-2005-G1
40 CFR 261.4(a)(26)(i)
 “…container is considered closed
when there is complete contact
between the fitted lid and the rim…
 …when wipes are no longer being
accumulated or when the container
is being transported, the container
must be sealed with all lids properly
and securely affixed to the
container and all openings tightly
bound or closed sufficiently to
prevent leaks and emissions”

6. Disposal/Laundry Requirements
Disposable Wipes (cannot
contain trichloroethylene)
Reusable Wipes
 Regulated municipal
(MSW) or hazardous
waste landfill or
 Regulated municipal,
hazardous waste, or BIF
combustor
 Laundry or dry cleaning
facility
 Any wastewater discharge
must be CWA-regulated
 State guidance documents
generally already required
CWA regulated discharges
○ MO: hazardous waste
program publication 146
www.dnr.mo.gov/pubs/pub146.pdf
○ KS: HW-1995-G2

7. Other Disposal Options
 Under this rule, generators are allowed to:
 Continue managing qualifying wipes on-site and
off-site as fully regulated hazardous waste, or
 Manage wipes on-site under conditionally
excluded waste rules, but send them to a RCRA
TSD facility. A viable option if:
○ Company-specific disposal policy or practice
dictates TSDF disposal, or
○ Sanitary landfill or BIF operator does not accept
conditionally exempt solvent wipes
- Kansas Tech. Guidance Doc. HW-1995-G2 lists 18 KS
municipal landfills that can accept disposable wipes

8. Paperwork
 No hazardous waste manifest required
 DOT compliance
 Virgin pre-moistened wipes are generally shipped
as ORM-D Consumer Commodity.
 Do used solvent wipes need shipping papers?
 Some used wipes may be “solids containing
flammable liquids, n.o.s.”
 Depends on solvent
 See 49 CFR 172.102, Special Provision 47

9. Paperwork
 Recordkeeping for condition exemption:
Name and address of receiving facility
Description of process used to ensure no free
liquids at the point of being transported
Documentation of compliance with 180 day time
limit
 Can take many forms, such as: service contract or
invoices that describe frequency of pickup, log of
container start dates, or accumulation start date
labels on each container. EPA preamble pg. 46459.

10. State Adoption
 Effective in Iowa
 on federal rule effective date of Jan. 31, 2014
 Authorized states can choose whether to adopt
this federal exclusion
 KS adoption in work, but KDHE Mgt Policy 2013-P3
allows use of federal exclusion after Jan. 31, 2014
 MO: part of 2014 proposal package. Commission
approved necessity finding Feb. 20, 2014
 NE plans to adopt, but March 2014 guidance says:
○ follow haz waste rules for disposables and NDEQ
guidance for reusables (CWA & closed containers) until
then
 Elsewhere: final in FL, proposed in MS and IL

11. Environmental Protection
 EPA risk assessment work for MSW landfill
and combustor disposal was extensive
○ First proposed 2003
○ More detailed risk assessment and Notice of Data
Availability released in 2009
 Comments were extensive, due to battle between
industrial laundries and disposable wipe manufacturers
over market share
○ Risk assessment updated in 2012. TCE risk re-
evaluated.
 Result: lined sanitary landfills and MSW combustors
prevent migration/releases of solvent in used wipes
(other than TCE)

12. Solvent Wipe Take-Aways
 Watch for KS, MO, & NE rulemaking
 Consider whether the conditional exclusion is
worth the effort
 Not all wipes qualify
 For low volume shops, 180 day time limit may be less than your
present satellite area accumulation time
 Risk of employee confusion if an additional type of waste
management is in the same work area as ordinary hazardous
waste
 EPA estimated national cost saving: $21.7 to
$27.8 million/year