Hazardous Waste

1
Hazardous Waste Toxic Chemical Export

• A Brief Overview In International Environmental
  Law

2
Sources of Hazardous Wastes
3
United States Regulations

• Title 40 Protection Of Environment
• Part 262 Standards Applicable To Generators Of
  Hazardous Waste
• Part 707 -- Chemical Imports And Exports
• Title 49 Transportation
• Parts 100 185 Hazardous Materials

4
United States Regulations

• Developed to conform to UN treaty obligations
  under the Organization for Economic Co-operation
  and Development (OECD).
• Regulations require registration with and
  certification by the EPA of all hazardous waste
  shipments into and out of the U.S. to and from
  OECD member countries.
• Hazardous waste transfer requires coordination
  with U.S. embassies in source, destination, and
  transit countries.
• Hazardous waste transporters are required to
• Register with the DOT.
• Disclose the ultimate fate of transported waste
  to the EPA.

5
United States Regulations Enforcement

• Under 107.301 the Administrator of the Research
  and Special Programs Administration, the
  Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials
  Safety and the Office of the Chief Counsel
  exercise authority for enforcement of the Federal
  hazardous material transportation law.
• They may
• Issue a warning letter ( 107.309)
• Initiate proceedings to assess a civil penalty,
  ( 107.310 107.311)
• Issue an order directing compliance
• Seek any other remedy available under the law.

6
United States Regulations Enforcement

• For violations that do not have a direct or
  substantial impact on safety, the Associate
  Administrator may issue a ticket, which includes
• Statement of facts.
• Imposition of a monetary penalty.
• In response to any notice of a probable action,
  the accused may request a hearing in front of an
  Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
• For violations of Hazardous Waste Regulations, a
  civil penalty of not more than 32,500 and not
  less than 275 may be imposed for each
  violation.
• When the violation is a continuing one, each day
  of the violation constitutes a separate offense.

7
United States Regulations Enforcement

• Criminal penalties include fines, imprisonment
  for not more than 5 years, or both.
• The Office of the Chief Counsel may file for
  injunctive relief if there is a substantial
  likelihood that death, serious illness, or severe
  personal injury will result from the
  transportation of a particular hazardous material

8
Federal Agencies Charged with Enforcing
Regulations

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Department of Energy
• Office of Environmental Management
• Department of Transportation
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Department of Homeland Security
• Customs and Border Protection
• U.S. Coast Guard

9
Environmental Protection Agency

• Develops environmental regulations for all
  federal agencies.
• Partners with relevant agencies for specific
  expertise in particular areas (DOE, DOT) or for
  assistance in enforcement (Customs, Coast Guard)

10
Department of Energy Activities

• Office of Environmental Management
• Assists federal, state, tribal and local
  authorities to prepare for response to a
  transportation incident involving DOE shipments
  of radioactive material.
• Acceptance of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Research
  Reactors in Foreign Counties.
• Based on the Policy of Nuclear Nonproliferation.
• Developed in conjunction with the Dept. of State.
• DOE pays up to 4,500 per kilogram of spent
  nuclear fuel.

11
Department of Energy Activities
12
Department of Transportation Activities

• Enforces safety regulations for transportation of
  hazardous materials within and through the U.S.
• Enforces safety regulations imposed by NAFTA
  agreements.

13
Department of Homeland Security

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• Clean Air Act Importation of refrigerants
  containing Chlorofluorcarbons
• Hazardous waste without EPA documents
• Enforces regulations restricting import and
  export of special nuclear material, atomic
  weapons and byproduct material.
• U.S. Coast Guard
• Inspects seagoing vessels for violations
  hazardous and nuclear waste regulations.

14
International Efforts to Control Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Waste

• The Road to Basel and Beyond

15
European Community

• 1975 Council Directive on General Principles of
  Waste Disposal
• 1978 Directive on Toxic and Dangerous Wastes
• 1984 Council Directive in the Supervision and
  Control Within the European Community of the
  Transfer Shipments of Hazardous Wastes
• 1993 Counsel Regulation on the Supervision and
  Control of Shipments and Waste Within, Into and
  Out of the EC

16
Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)

• 25 members represent the major exporters of
  hazardous waste
• Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
  Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland,
  Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the
  Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal,
  Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United
  Kingdom, and the United States.

17
OECD Activities Concerning Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Waste

• 1984 Decision and Recommendation of the Council
  in Transfrontier Movements of Hazardous Waste
• 1986 Council Decision-Recommendation on Exports
  of Hazardous Waste from the OECD Area

18
Organization of African States (OAS)

• 1991 Bamako Convention on the Import into Africa
  of and the Control of Transboundary Movement and
  Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa
  (Bamako Convention)
• Requires the countries to immediately prohibit
  all imports of hazardous waste into African
  nations.
• Permits movements of hazardous waste among
  African states pursuant to notice and informed
  consent requirements

19
The Convention on Lome IV

• During the Lome IV negotiations in 1989, the EC
  and sixty-eight countries from Africa, the
  Caribbean, and the Pacific Region (ACP countries)
  agreed to completely ban waste exports from EC to
  ACP countries.
• Adopted the Basel Conventions definitions and
  categories of hazardous waste

20
Conventions Developed under the Auspices of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• 1998 The Rotterdam Convention on Prior informed
  Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals
  and Pesticides in International Trade
• 2001 The Stockholm Convention on Persistent
  Organic Pollutants (POPs)

21
Basel Convention

• Origin In the late 1980s, a tightening of
  environmental regulations in industrialized
  countries led to a dramatic rise in the cost of
  hazardous waste disposal.
• Searching for cheaper ways to get rid of the
  wastes, toxic traders began shipping hazardous
  waste to developing countries and to Eastern
  Europe.
• When this activity was revealed, international
  outrage led to the drafting and adoption of the
  Basel Convention.

22
Basel Convention Cont

• From 1989-1999 the goal was setting up a
  framework for controlling the trans-boundary
  movements of hazardous wastes.
• From 2000 through to 2010 the goal will be to
  build on this framework by emphasizing full
  implementation and enforcement of treaty
  commitments.
• Basel Convention Website http//www.basel.int/

23
Basel Treaty Objectives

• active promotion and use of cleaner technologies
  and production methods
• further reduction of the movement of hazardous
  and other wastes
• the prevention and monitoring of illegal traffic
• improvement of institutional and technical
  capabilities -through technology when appropriate
  - especially for developing countries
• further development of regional and sub regional
  centers for training and technology transfer

24
Goal of Minimizing Hazardous Wastes

• A central goal of the Basel Convention is
  environmentally sound management (ESM)
• The aim of which is to protect human health and
  the environment by minimizing hazardous waste
  production
• In the future, more emphasis will be placed on
  creating partnerships with industry and research
  institutions to create innovative approaches to
  ESM

25
Overview of Compliance and Enforcement

• This Convention contains specific provisions for
  the monitoring of implementation and compliance.
• A number of articles in the Convention oblige
  Parties (national governments which have acceded
  to the Convention) to take appropriate measures
  to implement and enforce its provisions
• Including measures to prevent and punish conduct
  in contravention of the Convention.

26
Controls on the Movement of Hazardous Waste

• In order to minimize the threat, hazardous wastes
  should be dealt with as close to where they are
  produced as possible
• Therefore, trans-boundary movements of hazardous
  wastes can take place only upon prior written
  notification by the State of export to the
  competent authorities of the States of import

27
National Reporting of Hazardous Wastes

• Each country that is a Party to the Convention is
  required to report information on the generation
  and movement of hazardous wastes.
• Additionally, the Convention offers
• Technical Assistance
• Training in the Management and Minimization of
  Hazardous Wastes

28
Rotterdam Convention

• Governments started to address the problem of
  toxic pesticides and other hazardous chemicals in
  the 1980s by establishing a voluntary Prior
  Informed Consent procedure.
• PIC required exporters trading in a list of
  hazardous substances to obtain the prior informed
  consent of importers before proceeding with the
  trade.
• In 1998, governments decided to strengthen the
  procedure by adopting the Rotterdam Convention,
  which makes PIC legally binding.

29
Rotterdam Convention Cont

• The Convention is not yet in force.
• It will enter into force 90 days after deposit of
  the 50th instrument of ratification.
• As of 4 September 2002 there were 30 Parties to
  the Convention.
• There are 73 signatories to the Convention.
• Website http//www.pic.int
• Members http//www.pic.int/en/ViewPage.asp?id10
  6

30
Objectives

• Promote shared responsibility and cooperative
  efforts among Parties in the international trade
  of certain hazardous chemicals
• Contribute to the environmentally sound use of
  hazardous chemicals
• by facilitating information exchange about their
  characteristics
• by providing for a national decision-making
  process on their import and export
• by disseminating these decisions to Parties.