EPA  maintains the data in its RCRAInfo database. According to RCRAInfo data, in 2003, mercury-contaminated debris  constituted about 12,000 metric tons of the mercury-containing waste;  about 0.4 percent of all mercury-containing waste and about 0.03 percent of  all hazardous waste in 2003. RCRAInfo data on mercury-contaminated debris may be incomplete. Businesses that did not submit optional information may have managed a  portion of the waste as debris or they may have managed none of this waste  as debris. In 2001, the first year businesses reported on debris, RCRAInfo data  showed that businesses did not submit the optional information on the  physical form of a waste (including debris) in about 14 percent of instances  when they treated and disposed of mercury-containing waste. In response to our survey, officials in 21  states and 6 hazardous waste landfill operators identified one or more  items as debris that do not typically meet EPA’s debris definition. The landfill operators responded  correctly about particle size requirements for debris. Programs Are in Place to Monitor All Types of Hazardous Waste, Including Mercury-Contaminated Debris

EPA and the states oversee compliance with treatment and disposal  requirements for mercury-contaminated debris as part of their efforts to  monitor multiple types of hazardous waste. Recommendations for Executive Action

To better ensure that the businesses that generate, treat, and dispose of  hazardous waste are properly managing and reducing the risk of their  mercury-containing waste, we are making the following two  recommendations to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection  Agency:  clarify and better describe the types of waste that can and cannot be  reported under the “debris” reporting category and include the  definition of debris in the instructions for the Hazardous Waste Report  and  conduct further outreach to communicate to states and hazardous  waste landfills the types of mercury-containing wastes that can be  treated and disposed of according to the alternative treatment standards  for debris. GAO staff who contributed to this report are listed in  appendix V.

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives of our review were to determine (1) the mechanisms that  the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses to track the treatment  and disposal of mercury-contaminated debris and the quantity of mercury- contaminated debris that is disposed of, (2) the extent to which EPA,  states, and industry share a common understanding of the types of  mercury-containing wastes that can be treated and disposed of as debris,  and (3) EPA and state controls that are in place to monitor compliance with  EPA’s treatment and disposal requirements for mercury-contaminated  debris. For the state survey, we received responses  from 48 states and the District of Columbia. Landfill does not accept metallic  mercury.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating hazardous wastes (such as mercury) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under RCRA, mercury-containing hazardous waste must meet specific treatment standards before land disposal. But, certain difficult to manage waste due, in part, to its large particle size, can follow alternate "debris" standards that provide diverse treatment options. This report examines (1) the mechanisms that EPA uses to track the treatment and disposal of mercury-contaminated debris and the quantity of this waste, (2) the extent to which EPA, states, and industry share a common understanding of the types of mercury-containing wastes that can be treated and disposed of as debris, and (3) EPA and state controls that are in place to monitor compliance with EPA's treatment and disposal requirements for mercury-contaminated debris.

What GAO Found

EPA uses its RCRAInfo database to maintain information on all hazardous waste, including mercury-contaminated debris. EPA reported that in 2003, mercury-contaminated debris constituted about 12,000 metric tons--or about 0.4 percent of all mercury-containing waste and about 0.03 percent of all hazardous waste. However, EPA's data on mercury-contaminated debris may be incomplete. Reporting on the physical form of the waste (debris is one of many physical forms) is optional, and businesses did not submit this optional information in about 9 percent of instances when they reported treating and disposing of mercury-containing waste in 2003. In addition, EPA's reporting category for debris does not provide a complete list of items that EPA considers to be debris, and debris can be reported in other categories. The 48 states and the District of Columbia and the 14 commercial hazardous waste landfill operators that responded to our survey do not share a common understanding of the types of mercury-containing waste that EPA allows to be treated and disposed of as debris. For example, in their responses, officials in 21 states and operators of 6 commercial hazardous waste landfills identified as debris waste that is explicitly not debris, such as intact devices containing mercury, and may have used the debris regulations for such waste. Consequently, EPA cannot be certain that businesses are appropriately managing their mercury-containing waste as debris. EPA's mandatory waste tracking and documentation requirements serve as controls to monitor compliance with EPA's treatment and disposal requirements for mercury-contaminated debris. EPA and state oversight inspections and enforcement programs provide additional compliance monitoring with the alternative treatment standards for debris.