Revised January 2000* 

This fact sheet summarizes upcoming changes in regulatory requirements for wastes that are hazardous wastes solely due to the presence of silver (“silver-only” hazardous wastes). As a result of changes mandated by SB 2111 (Costa), Chapter 309, Statutes of 1998, many waste treatment activities for “silver-only” hazardous waste will not be regulated after January 1, 1999. The fact sheet primarily addresses onsite generation and treatment of “silver-only” hazardous wastes. For information related to offsite facilities, please contact the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) (see page 5 for where to contact DTSC). This fact sheet supersedes the previous fact sheet dated August 1999 and is effective from January 2000 to December 2003, unless extended or rescinded.

Effective Dates

SB 2111 was signed into law on August 17, 1998 as Chapter 309 of the Statutes of 1998. The provisions of the bill went into effect on January 1, 1999.

Background

Most of the currently regulated “silver-only” hazardous wastes are generated by the photoprocessing, printing, and dental/medical clinical industries. (Other industries, such as electroplating and electronics, also generate large quantities of silver-bearing wastes but these wastes are typically hazardous for other reasons, in addition to their silver content.) “Silver-only” wastestreams are usually generated in solution form and are treated onsite, or shipped offsite for treatment, to extract the silver. In cases where the solutions are treated onsite, the treated effluent is commonly discharged to a sewer operated by a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) and the silver-rich treatment residue or sludge is sent offsite for reclamation.

Businesses treating their own wastes onsite are currently regulated under DTSC’s Tiered Permitting program, under the Permit by Rule (PBR), Conditional Authorization (CA), or Conditional Exemption (CE) authorization tiers. Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs) are responsible for inspection and enforcement at generator sites and PBR, CA, and CE facilities. CUPAs also process CA, CE and PBR notifications and closures, whereas DTSC processes CA, CE, and PBR notifications and closures in non-CUPA jurisdictions. Most offsite silver recovery facilities are currently regulated by DTSC under the Standardized Permit tier.

Who is Affected by Changes?

• Businesses that generate “silver-only” hazardous wastes, such as:
  • Photoprocessors (includes photography, printing, and X-ray development wastes):
    • Dental offices/clinics
    • Hospitals
    • Medical professional offices/clinics
    • Chiropractic offices
    • Veterinary hospitals/clinics
    • Police
    • Schools with industrial labs
    • Government agencies
    • Microfilm labs
    • Motion picture labs
    • Minilabs/One-hour photo shops
    • Professional/photofinishers
    • Printer, graphic arts, commercial services labs
  • Jewelers and jewelry manufacturers
  • Electrical and electronics
• Businesses that transport “silver-only” hazardous wastes.
• Businesses that reclaim metals from “silver-only” hazardous waste.
• Environmental regulatory agencies.

What are some of the Important Points to Consider?

• Requirements established under laws other than California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law are not affected by the provisions of SB 2111. Examples of requirements not affected include POTW pretreatment requirements for discharges to the sewer, as well as waste discharge requirements established under the federal Clean Water Act or California’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act.
• “Silver-only” hazardous wastes will be identified as hazardous due to their silver content according to the federal RCRA regulatory level of 5 milligrams/liter (mg/l), using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) [40 CFR 261.24].
• If the waste is identified as hazardous for any other reason (i.e., corrosivity, reactivity, ignitability, or listed as hazardous) or constituent (i.e., toxicity characteristic other than silver), using the California hazardous waste criteria, then the waste remains subject to California hazardous waste requirements.
• Changes apply exclusively to wastes that are hazardous for silver only. Wastes that are hazardous for constituents other than silver are not included. Examples of wastes not included are:
  • RCRA listed wastes, such as electroplating wastewater treatment sludges (F006 listed waste);
  • dental amalgam (if it contains mercury or any other metal that would cause it to exhibit a characteristic of hazardous waste); and
  • corrosive cleaning/etching solution wastes (generally hazardous due to corrosivity, as well as other metals).
• Treatment of photoimaging solutions and wastewaters to remove silver will be regulated only to the extent it is regulated under RCRA, and not require California Tiered Permitting authorization. Any other treatment of “silver-only” RCRA hazardous waste remains subject to regulation under California hazardous waste laws and may require treatment authorization.
• Businesses generating no more than 100 kilograms (approximately 27 gallons) per month exclusively of “silver-only” hazardous waste may be exempt from most generator requirements as Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (CESQGs) [40 CFR 261.5].
• Although subject to reduced waste management requirements, CESQGs must:
  • determine whether their waste is “silver-only” hazardous or not using tests or knowledge of the waste [40 CFR 261.5(g)(1)];
  • not accumulate onsite more than 1000 kilograms of waste at any time [40 CFR 261.5(g)(2)].
  • ensure that their “silver-only” hazardous waste is either recycled (reclaimed) or disposed at a facility that is permitted or otherwise authorized to manage that hazardous waste [40 CFR 261.5(g)(3)].
• Businesses with a “zero waste count” for purposes of determining their generator category [40 CFR 261.5(c)(2)] are still considered hazardous waste generators (as CESQGs) because they remain subject to some RCRA regulatory requirements and meet the RCRA definition of “generator”.
• Sludges generated by the treatment of silver-rich solutions and wastewaters, which are hazardous only for their silver content, are not considered solid waste, and therefore not hazardous waste, when reclaimed [40 CFR 261.2(c)(3)].
• Businesses sending silver sludges for reclamation must be able to provide documentation that the sludges are being reclaimed [40 CFR 261.2(f)]. (Examples of acceptable documentation include contracts with refiners and/or receipts from the sludge transporter for shipments of sludge to a refiner.)
• Silver metal scraps that are recycled will not be subject to regulation as hazardous wastes [40 CFR 261.4(a)(13) and 40 CFR 261.6(a) (3)(ii)].
• Manifests are required for offsite shipments of “silver-only” hazardous wastes, unless the generator is a CESQG, in which case no manifest is required. Manifests are also not required for characteristically hazardous sludges that are reclaimed. These sludges are excluded from being considered a solid and a hazardous waste and are therefore not regulated under RCRA.
• Except for the CESQG requirements, most of the exclusions and exemptions from regulation require that “silver-only” hazardous waste be reclaimed. “Silver-only” hazardous wastes that are not reclaimed may be subject to full regulation under RCRA.

Frequently Asked Questions

Selected Definitions

• Generator: Any person, by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in 40 CFR Part 261 or whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation [40 CFR 261.10].
• By-Product: A material that is not one of the primary products of a production process and is not solely or separately produced by the production process [40 CFR 261.1(c)(3)]. Examples of by-products are process residues, such as slags or distillation column bottoms.
• Sludge: A solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a wastewater treatment system or pollution control process [40 CFR 260.10]. (The treated effluent generated in the process is not included in the definition of sludge.) Examples of sludge include sludge generated by silver recovery from photoprocessing solutions using metallic replacement cartridges or electrolysis.
• Commercial Chemical Product: This term refers to both listed and characteristically hazardous chemical substances manufactured or formulated for commercial use [40 CFR 261.33]. The term generally includes commercial chemical products and their intermediates, off-specification species, spill residues, and container residues. The term does not include manufacturing process wastes. Examples of commercial chemical products include silver nitrate and silver chloride chemical products used in photographic processes.
• Scrap Metal: Bits and pieces of metal parts or metal pieces that may be combined together with bolts or soldering, which when worn or unnecessary can be recycled [40 CFR 261.1(c)(6)]. Examples of scrap metal are silver metal shavings from jewelry manufacturing and metal wire pieces. “Excluded scrap metal” is processed scrap metal and unprocessed turnings, cuttings, punchings, and borings generated by steel mills, foundries, refineries, and metal working/fabrication industries [40 CFR 261.1(c)(9)].
• Speculative Accumulation: A material is accumulated speculatively if it is accumulated before being recycled. A material is not accumulated speculatively if it can be shown that the material is potentially recyclable, that there is a feasible means for recycling the material, and that 75 percent of the material accumulated on the first of January of any given year is recycled during the same calendar year [40 CFR 261.1(c)(8)].

Additional Sources of Information & Contacts

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Office of Solid Waste provides a variety of mechanisms for accessing information about management of hazardous waste. To talk with a RCRA regulatory specialist about a specific issue or to order publications, call the U.S. EPA RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Eastern time. Information is also available
on U.S. EPA’s RCRA webpage.

Copies of the CFR are generally available for review at libraries or environmental regulatory agencies. For information on purchasing copies, call the Government Printing Office, Customer Service, at (202) 512-1803.

For more information, you can contact the DTSC office nearest you, or call our Regulatory Assistance Officers at:

Toll-Free in CA: 800-728-6942 or 800 72-TOXIC
Outside CA: 916-324-2439
Email: RAO@dtsc.ca.gov

For a list of all DTSC offices, go to our Office Address and Phone Numbers webpage .

*Disclaimer

This fact sheet does not replace or supersede relevant statutes and regulations. The information contained in this fact sheet is based upon the statutes and regulations in effect as of the date of the fact sheet. Interested parties should keep apprised of subsequent changes to relevant statutes and regulations.