Not all facilities that manufacture leather goods produce hazardous waste. If you do produce hazardous waste, however, you might be subject to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements covering the generation, transportation, and management of hazardous waste.
Your business is included in the leather-products manufacturing industry category if you:
Manufacturers of leather products are likely to produce spent solvent wastes and wastes from the use of lacquers, materials containing lead, dyes, or materials that produce hydrogen sulfide. Table I lists general processes/operations that use hazardous materials and that might result in the generation of hazardous waste. If you generate 100 kilograms (220 pounds or about half of a 55-gallon drum) or more of hazardous waste per month, you must fill out a Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest when you ship the hazardous waste off your property. The Manifest requires the proper Department of Transportation (DOT) description for each waste. Table 2 lists proper DOT shipping descriptions for a number of wastes that might be generated by the leather products manufacturing industry. Table I and Table 2 are not comprehensive lists. If a particular chemical you use is not included in these tables and you suspect it is hazardous, contact your state hazardous waste management agency or EPA Regional office for assistance.
An effective waste minimization program can reduce the costs, liabilities, and regulatory burdens of hazardous waste management, while potentially enhancing efficiency, product quality, and community relations. Waste minimization techniques that can help you reduce the amount of hazardous waste that you generate include:
Table I. Typical Leather Manufacturing Operations: Materials Used and Hazardous Wastes that Might be Generated
Process/Operation | Materials Used | General Types of Waste Generated |
---|---|---|
Beamhouse/Tanhouse | Lime, acids, chromium, Acid/Alkaline salts | Toxic heavy metal wastes (dust and sludge) Other toxic wastes |
Finishing/Trimming | Chromium, solvents, dyes, lacquers | Toxic heavy metal wastes (dust and sludge) Other toxic wastes Spent solvent wastes |
Table 2 Leather Products Manufacturing Waste Descriptions
Spent Solvents, Solvent Still Bottoms, and Other Ignitable or Toxic Wastes Containing | Designations/Trade Names | |
---|---|---|
Trichloroethylenc* | Tri-Clene, Trielene, Tri | |
Carbon Tetrachloride* | Perchlommethane, Tetraform, Carbona, Halon 104 | |
Toluene | Toluol, Methercid, Methyl Benzene. Methylbenzol, Phenylmcthane, Antisol IA | |
Methyl Ethyl Ketone* | Methyl Ethyl Ketone, MEK, Methyl Acetone, Meetco, Butanone, Ethyl Methyl Ketone | |
Benzene* | Benzene | |
White Spirits | Mineral Spirits, Naphtha, Stoddard Solvent | |
Kerosene | Kerosene, Fuel Oil #1 | |
Hexachloroethane* | Hexachloroethanc | |
Ethyl Benzene | Ethyl Benzene | |
Chilorobenzenc* | Monochlorobenzene, Phenylchloride | |
Trichloroethylene* | Trichloroethylene, Ethinyl trichloride, Tri-Clene, Trielene, Tri | |
Other Hazardous Waste | ||
UN/NA DOT Shipping Name | Waste Type | Hazard Class 10 Number |
Hazardous Waste | NOS4 | |
Hazardous Waste | ||
Waste Trichloroethylene | ORM-A | UN1710 |
Waste Carbon Tetrachloride | ORM-A | UN1846 |
Waste Toluene (toluol) | Flammable Liquid | UN1294 |
Waste Methyl Ethyl Ketone | Flammable Liquid | UN1193 |
Waste Benzene (benzol) | Flammable Liquid | UN1114 |
Waste Naphtha | Flammable Liquid | UN2553 |
Waste Kerosene | Combustible Liquid | UN1223 |
Waste Hexachloroethane | ORM-A | NA9037 |
Waste Ethyl Benzene | Flammable Liquid | UN1175 |
Waste Chlorobenzene | Flammable Liquid | UN1134 |
Waste Trichloroethylene | ORM-A | UN1710 |
Hazardous Wastes, Liquid or Solid, NOS | ORM-E | NA9189 |
*Toxicity Characteristic constituent. Any waste that results in a TCLP extract containing a Toxicity Characteristic constituent equal to or above regulatory levels is hazardous.
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Last Updated: November 21, 1995