Traditional RCRA and Subpart K: UNC-CH's foray into the waste management weeds

On 1 December 2008, the United States Environmental Protection Agency added new hazardous waste determination and accumulation provisions to RCRA to provide an alternative compliance scenario for academic generators. This rulemaking established a new Subpart K to 40 CFR 262. The Agency's intent was to help academic laboratories better manage their hazardous waste, in part by providing greater flexibility regarding: (1) the timing of hazardous waste determinations, (2) on-site waste consolidation, (3) lab clean-outs, and (4) record-keeping. Since its passage, relatively few large research-oriented universities have opted into the Subpart K system. This paper focuses on the approach taken by The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to evaluate the pros and cons of Subpart K, assess the impacts on its established Part B hazardous waste management process, and explain the decision reached by the University's Department of Environmental Health and Safety to not opt into Subpart K at this time. Because Subpart K is favorable for certain academic hazardous waste generators, this decision may be reconsidered in the event the rulemaking is revised in the future.