Investigate West
Leftover medications are fueling an epidemic of prescription-drug abuse that is killing more Washingtonians than traffic accidents, say drug-addiction experts. Yet pharmaceutical companies have consistently torpedoed efforts here to fund a statewide disposal program for unused drugs. Meanwhile, environmental authorities say prescription drugs are turning up in waterways and even drinking water — and it’s happening often enough that the old medications now are considered hazardous waste.
Category: News
EPA Regulatory Update: RCRA General Permit
EPA Regulatory update
Abstract:
Under the authority of sections 3004, 3005, 3008 and 3010 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing revisions to the RCRA hazardous waste permitting program to allow a “standardized permit.”
The standardized permit is available to facilities that generate hazardous waste and routinely manage the waste on-site in non-thermal units such as tanks, containers, and containment buildings.
The Information Collection Request (ICR) presents a comprehensive description of the information collection requirements for owners and operators submitting applications for a standardized permit or a standardized permit modification.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No EPA-HQ-RCRA-2011-0624, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov
A look at the $175 in your compost
Have you ever considered what that rotten food in your refrigerator costs? The average American family of four throws out an estimated $130–175 per month in spoiled and discarded food. That’s real money going straight into the garbage or compost bin instead of paying off your credit card bills.
Don’t get me wrong — I love compost. It’s just not the best use of the staggering amount of resources that are needed to grow all the food that never even gets eaten, including the money you spent to buy it. If you don’t eat half of that $10 fish, that’s $5 you’re throwing away.
Collectively, we consumers are responsible for more wasted food than farmers, grocery stores, or any other part of the food supply chain. We’re also wasting far more food than ever before, as the average American today wastes 50 percent more food than 40 years ago. The truth is the implications of our wasteful habits with food are just not on most of our radars.
However, our British friends across the pond have demonstrated that with some basic public awareness, we can make big strides in food waste reduction. A public awareness campaign in the United Kingdom has been stunningly successful in reducing household food waste by 18 percent[PDF] in just five years. Doing the same here would mean hundreds of dollars in savings for the average family.
There are many steps we can take to turn this food waste trend around, but one of the first is to understand just what we’re wasting.
Read the complete article at GRIST
The Business of Water
The world is dealing with a severe water crisis. Population growth and economic development continue to push water resources beyond natural limits, and demand will only continue to grow – projected to triple in the next 20 years. Yet, the earth’s water supply remains limited.
The positive news is that advancements in technology are helping address the global water issue, providing more access to clean water, and enabling industries and municipalities to recycle resources. We’ve seen individual companies, associations and municipalities step up, take the crisis into their own hands and enforce high standards for water safety. But we can no longer be independent water users.
Rather, we must continue to change today’s approach to water management through collective action from organizations, governments and individuals, in order to ensure a more prosperous and water-filled future. To shepherd in this new era of stewardship, industry and government must work closely together.
Click here to read the complete article at Environmental Leader
EPA Publishes Questions and Answers Resulting From Closed-Container Guidance
Containers, including satellite accumulation containers, must be closed during storage except when it is necessary to add or remove waste. [§§264/265.173(a)] While no definition of “closed” is provided in the regulations, EPA explained that the purpose of this requirement is “to minimize emissions of volatile wastes, to help protect ignitable or reactive wastes from sources of ignition or reaction, to help prevent spills, and to reduce the potential for mixing of incompatible wastes and direct contact of facility personnel with waste.” [May 19, 1980; 45 FR 33199]
In an effort to provide clarity and facilitate compliance with this closed-container requirement, EPA published Guidance on 40 CFR 264/265.173(a): Closed Containers on December 3, 2009. [RO 14810] After publishing this guidance, the agency received three questions that it addressed in a November 2011 Q&A document [RO 14826]:
- Some processes (e.g., a baghouse or filter press) generate waste nearly continuously. Where a container is being used to collect hazardous waste which is continually exiting from the process, it might be “necessary” to leave the container open to collect waste until the process is stopped. In the more common circumstance, however, where the deposition of hazardous waste into containers is a batch process, a container of hazardous waste must be kept closed during times when the process is not depositing hazardous waste into the container.
- Whether indoors or outdoors, containers must remain closed. The method of closure may need to be more protective when such containers are stored outdoors.
- Lastly, the agency recognizes the validity of strapping containers together in an effort to prevent overturning. However, this practice should not be used if it will cause noncompliance with another RCRA provision (e.g., weekly container inspections).
Note that RO 14810 is no longer available on RCRA Online but has been replaced with RO 14826.
EPA Releases New DVD with Several Videos on Reducing Runoff from Urban Areas
EPA recently released a new DVD called “Reduce Runoff: Slow it Down, Spread it out, Soak it in!” that includes four educational videos that provide an introduction to controlling runoff in urban areas. The videos on this DVD can help fulfill the outreach requirements for EPA’s Stormwater MS4 program as well as helping with outreach for other purposes. EPA is encouraging the airing of these programs on cable TV stations; we have full rights to the program. This DVD compilation includes:
- Reduce Runoff: Slow it Down, Spread it Out, Soak it In! – an introductory video on reducing stormwater runoff and its harmful effects on the environment (8:43 minutes);
- RiverSmart Homes: Getting Smart about Runoff in Washington, DC – a video regarding the District of Columbia’s RiverSmart Homes program which provides assistance to citizens to install various practices such as trees, rain barrels, and rain gardens (12:00 minutes);
- Building Green: A Success Story in Philadelphia – a look at an environmentally friendly housing complex in Philadelphia (11:00 minutes); and
- After the Storm – a popular video co-produced by EPA and The Weather Channel in 2004 to educate the public about watersheds and what they can do to clean up their watershed including implementing practices to address stormwater (21:39 minutes).
Copies of this DVD suitable for airing on cable TV stations may be ordered from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) by emailing nscep@bps-lmit.com or calling 800-490-9198.
Please be sure to include the EPA document number, EPA 842-11-001, when ordering the “Reduce Runoff: Slow it Down, Spread it out, Soak it in!” DVD. Also, these videos are posted in small screen format at http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/green/video.cfm.
NEVADA: SEC Regulatory Notice – February 15, 2012
The State Environmental Commission (SEC) will hold a regulatory hearing on Wednesday February 15h 2012 at 9:00 am at the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s Conference Room A, 1100 Valley Road, Reno, Nevada. The purpose of the hearing is to receive comments from all interested persons regarding the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the regulatory petitions and related SEC business described on the attachment to this email.
The regulatory petitions will be discussed and acted upon but may be taken in different order to accommodate the interest and time of the persons attending. Information in support of the above referenced hearing, including the text of the proposed regulatory petitions, support documents, previous public workshop notices, and non-regulatory SEC business items, if any, are posted on the SEC website at: http://sec.nv.gov/main/hearing_0212.htm
An agenda will be posted on the SEC website at least five days before the meeting; the agenda will also be sent to individuals on this electronic mailing lists.
Hospitals that go green can see green with effective waste strategies
Healthcare Purchasing News
It is no secret to many hospital executives that the American healthcare sector’s carbon footprint is growing. At 8 percent of the U.S. footprint, hospitals are the largest contributor of carbon emissions, and the second most energy-intensive industry. U.S. hospitals generate 6,600 tons of waste each day. Drugs in drinking water, syringes on beaches and infectious waste in landfills have intensified scrutiny of healthcare organizations. What is your plan?