Chemicals also require management as hazardous waste if they exhibit one or more of the four EPA-defined characteristics of ignitable, corrosive, reactivity, or toxicity.
Ignitable Wastes
- Liquids having a flash point below 140F
a. alcohol solutions which contain more than 24% alcohol by volume
b. HPLC liquids (which often contain highly flammable solvents such as Acetonitrile)
c. glass-cleaning solvent rinses - Spontaneously combustible solids
a. metal powders
b. activated charcoal - Ignitable compressed gases
a. gas cylinders for lab burners (butane, propane, etc.) - Oxidizers
a. nitrate compounds
b. peroxide compounds
c. percolate compounds
Corrosive Wastes
- Any liquid having a pH less than 2 or higher than 12.5
a. inorganic acids (hydrochloric, phosphoric, nitric, sulfuric, etc.)
b. organic acids (formic, acetic, lactic, etc.)
c. alkaline compounds (hydroxides, amines, etc.)
Reactive Wastes
- compounds which are normally unstable and readily undergo violent change without detonating
a. diethyl zinc
b. organometallic gases - compounds which will violently react with water
a. anhydrous metal salts
b. alkali metals
c. metal powders, shavings, or turnings - compounds which form potentially explosive mixtures with water
a. calcium carbide
b. metal hydrides
c. chlorosilanes - compounds which are capable of detonation or explosive reaction
a. dry picric acid
b. Azo-, dinitro-, or trinitro compounds - cyanide- and sulfide-bearing compounds
Toxic Wastes
EPA Toxicity Characteristic List
| Heavy Metals | Pesticides | Common Organic Chemicals |
| Arsenic (5 ppm) | Endrin (0.02 ppm) | Benzene (0.5 ppm) |
| Barium (100 ppm) | Lindane (0.4 ppm) | Carbon Tetrachloride (0.5 ppm) |
| Cadmium (1 ppm) | Methoxychlor (10 ppm) | Chlorobenzene (100 ppm) |
| Chromium (5 ppm) | Toxaphene (0.5 ppm) | Chloroform (6 ppm) |
| Lead (5 ppm) | 2,4-D (10 ppm) | o-Cresol (200 ppm) |
| Mercury (0.2 ppm) | 2,4,5-TP (Silvex) (1 ppm) | m-Cresol (200 ppm) |
| Selenium (1 ppm) | Chlordane (0.03 ppm) | p-Cresol ( 200 ppm) |
| Silver (5 ppm) | Heptachlor (0.008 ppm) | Cresols (200 ppm) |
| Pentachlorophenol (100 ppm) | 1,4-Dichlorobenzene (7.5 ppm) | |
| Hexachlorobenzene (0.13 ppm) | 1,2-Dichloroethane (0.5 ppm) | |
| 1,1-Dichloroethylene (0.7 ppm) | ||
| 2,4-Dinitrotoluene (0.13 ppm) | ||
| Hexachlorobutadiene (0.5 ppm) | ||
| Hexachloroethane (3 ppm) | ||
| Methyl Ethyl Ketone (200 ppm) | ||
| Nitrobenzene (2 ppm) | ||
| Pyridine (5 ppm) | ||
| Tetrachloroethylene (0.7 ppm) | ||
| Trichloroethylene (0.5 ppm) | ||
| 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol (400 ppm) | ||
| 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (2 ppm) | ||
| Vinyl chloride (0.2 ppm) |