Hazardous Waste Analysis & Trial Burns

The purpose of hazardous waste analysis and reporting is to ensure that owners and operators are sampling and analyzing the hazardous waste that they burn throughout the normal operation of the BIF unit. Owners and operators must monitor the process in order to verify that material fed into a BIF is within the physical and chemical composition limits set forth in the issued permit.

Before large volumes of hazardous wastes can be burned, facility owners or operators must conduct a trial burn. In a trial burn, the performance of a BIF unit is tested over a range of conditions. Specific regulations govern the trial burns for each type of hazardous waste.

Hazardous waste analysis involves scientific data collection, analytical chemistry, and mathematical calculations. The EPA recommends using validated methods for sampling and analyzing waste. For more information, refer to the SW-846 Compendium, which is a searchable table of over 200 methods. You can find a link to this table in the resources section.

To learn more about RCRA visit our RCRA Hazardous Waste Safety Online Training web page.