EPA Hazardous Waste Clean-Up Testing from Hurricane Flooding

EPA Hazardous Waste Clean-Up Testing from Hurricane Flooding
EPA Hazardous Waste Clean-Up Testing from Hurricane Flooding

As Houston begins rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, one major hurdle they will face is how to cleanup hazardous waste sites affected by the storm. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) confirmed 13 of the Superfund sites hit by Harvey were flooded, potentially leaking toxic sludge and hazardous waste.

Hazardous waste can come from many different sources such as from industrial manufacturing, and can take any form. Any liquid, solid, or gas that is potentially dangerous to humans or the environment is considered hazardous waste. As retention ponds near hazardous waste sites flooded, chemicals such as ethylbenzene, chlorinated hydrocarbon, and other dangerous chemicals were released into the floodwaters and surrounding environment.

A framework was set up regarding proper management of hazardous waste, and the EPA created a program to ensure hazardous waste materials are safely managed from the time they’re created, while being transported, treated, and stored, until they’re disposed of.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was created to deal with managing hazardous waste. Together, RCRA and EPA developed methods for testing and evaluating hazardous waste, known as SW-846. Methods included in SW-846 detail sampling and analyzing hazardous such as air sampling, leaching, preparing samples, etc.

If you need a laboratory to test hazardous waste materials, call Contract Laboratory today at 1-855-377-6821 or submit a test request on our website! Below are some of the test requests we have received relating to hazardous waste and other hazardous materials and toxicology testing:

  • Laboratory needed for hazardous waste testing: Tar Fuel burn test for total nitrogen
  • China industrial waste laboratory needed for industrial hazardous waste testing as follows, 1] Test waste sample for Ash content & heating value. 2] Melt waste sample and collect slag to measure slag properties & weight. Could you please advise if your company could offer these services. We will ship samples from Shanghai area.
  • Materials laboratory needed for USDOT certification testing of 30 gal bio boxes for transporting Corrosive Class 8 UN3261 materials.
  • aluminum ash and aluminum metal chips which is determine whether they belong to hazardous waste and its classification
  • Long term need for a toxicology laboratory in India to test urine samples for benzene. Industrial facility needs occupational hazardous materials evaluation to determine effectiveness of protective measures used by employees.
  • Asia Toxicology Laboratory enviromental toxicology testing for CLP and REACH classification of hazardous materials to Chemical, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) for EU REACH for hazards to GHS requirements for EU Safety Data Sheets
  • Eastern USA Materials Laboratory needed for DOT Hazardous Materials Testing Analyzeto determine if Hazardous Materials Transportation Class/Divisions 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 apply.
  • Southeast US Toxicology Laboratory enviromental toxicology testing for CLP and REACH classificaion of hazardous materials to Chemical, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) for EU REACH for hazards to GHS requirements for EU Safety Data Sheets.
  • USA ASTM Consumer Products Safety Laboratory needed for flammability, choking, hazardous materials testing on toys.
  • Large Chemical Manufacturer needs South Korea Packaging Laboratory for UN Hazardous Materials, Package Testing , Drop, Compression, Stack, Vibration and hydrostatic testing. Primarily for plastic bottles (less than 5L bottle size).
  • Canada Product Saety and Certification Laboratory needed for Pre-Shipment Inspection on Pressed & Baled Recycled PET Bottles. It is waste material that will be exported to Indonesia to be processed as polyester fibers. On the Pre Shipment Inspection, it has to indicate that the plastic scrap being exported does not contain toxic & hazardous materials, oil, garbage, vegetation, animals, insects, chemical waste, industrial waste, explosive waste/material and/or foreign objects with no evidence of radioactivity noted.
  • Materials laboratory needed for plastics testing for hazotoxin determination from burning plastics.
  • view all of Contract Laboratory’s test requests HERE