Resource Conservation and Recovery Act: Inspections of Facilities
Treating and Using Hazardous Waste Fuels Show Some Noncompliance (Letter
Report, 08/30/96, GAO/RCED-96-211).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on five
states' cement production facility inspections, focusing on their
compliance with various Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
regulations for processing hazardous waste fuels.

GAO found that: (1) there was at least one minor violation of treatment,
storage, and disposal regulations at 23 of the cement production
facilities reviewed; (2) these violations included the inadequate
labeling of hazardous waste storage containers, incomplete records of
training and equipment inspections, and failure to submit cost estimates
for facility maintenance and operation; (3) these violations were
generally corrected at the time of inspection or shortly thereafter; (4)
significant violations occurred at 11 hazardous waste fuel burning
facilities; (5) these facilities had storage containers in poor
condition, stored waste in excess of allowed capacity, and used
inadequate backup systems for hazardous waste leaks; (6) one of the
facilities reviewed had violated boiler and industrial furnace
regulations; and (7) the results of these inspections are incomplete,
since the Environmental Protection Agency is still reviewing relevant
data from the most recent inspections.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-96-211
     TITLE:  Resource Conservation and Recovery Act: Inspections of 
             Facilities Treating and Using Hazardous Waste Fuels
             Show Some Noncompliance
      DATE:  08/30/96
   SUBJECT:  Hazardous substances
             Waste treatment
             Noncompliance
             Environmental monitoring
             Environmental law
             Tanks (containers)
             Waste disposal
             Energy recovery from waste
             Inspection
             Industrial wastes
IDENTIFIER:  Texas
             Pennsylvania
             Kansas
             Missouri
             Ohio
             EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Program
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to Congressional Requesters

August 1996

RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY
ACT - INSPECTIONS OF FACILITIES
TREATING AND USING HAZARDOUS WASTE
FUELS SHOW SOME NONCOMPLIANCE

GAO/RCED-96-211

Hazardous Waste Fuels

(160307)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
  GAO - General Accounting Office
  PCB - polychlorinated biphenyl
  RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-272528

August 30, 1996

The Honorable William V.  Roth, Jr.
The Honorable Daniel K.  Inouye
United States Senate

The Honorable Charles Wilson
House of Representatives

Cement producers use large amounts of fuel to heat raw materials,
including limestone and clay, to make cement.  In the 1970s, these
producers recognized that using fuels derived from hazardous waste to
supplement the coal, oil, and natural gas that they typically burn to
make cement could substantially reduce their fuel costs.  The
producers can reduce their costs because, instead of paying suppliers
for traditional fuels, they are themselves paid by fuel blenders to
burn hazardous waste fuels.  Fuel blending facilities process many
types of hazardous waste--such as paints, solvents, and used
oil--into fuels that can be burned in cement kilns, which are
regulated as a type of industrial furnace.\1 The facilities that
blend hazardous waste into fuels and the cement production facilities
that burn these fuels are both governed by regulations established
under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA),
which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and certain states. 

You expressed concerns about whether the facilities that blend
hazardous waste fuels and the cement production facilities that burn
these fuels are operating in a manner that protects human health and
the environment.  Therefore, as agreed with your offices, we are
providing you with information on the results of recent inspections
of these facilities in five states--Kansas, Missouri, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Texas.  These inspections assessed the facilities'
compliance with RCRA's (1) treatment, storage, and disposal
regulations for the processing of hazardous waste fuels by fuel
blenders and (2) boiler and industrial furnace regulations for the
burning of these fuels by cement producers.  Specifically, we focused
on the results of the states' recent inspections of the 34 facilities
that blend fuels and EPA's and the states' inspections of the 11
cement production facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels in these
five states. 

Under RCRA, both of these sets of regulations must ensure the
protection of human health and the environment.  To verify that fuel
blenders and cement producers are complying with the regulations,
state and EPA hazardous waste management officials are required to
conduct periodic inspections.  If an inspection identifies a
violation at a facility, EPA or the state can take a number of
actions to bring the facility back into compliance with RCRA's
regulations, including working with the facility's operator to
resolve the problem and imposing a fine.  When an inspector believes
that a violation poses an imminent threat to human health or the
environment, the inspector can initiate an action that will shut down
any waste management activity at the facility. 


--------------------
\1 An industrial furnace produces heat for use in manufacturing a
variety of products. 


   RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

The most recent Resource Conservation and Recovery Act inspections of
fuel blending facilities identified many minor but few serious
violations of waste treatment, storage, and disposal regulations. 
These inspections identified at least one minor violation at 23 of
the 34 facilities in the five states we reviewed.  The minor
violations, found in all five states, included inadequately labeling
hazardous waste storage containers and having an inaccurate emergency
coordination list.  Significant violations were found in four of the
five states--Kansas, Ohio, Missouri, and Texas.  These violations
were identified at 11 of the 32 facilities in these four states and
included having storage containers in poor condition and storing
waste in excess of approved capacity.  State officials are working
with these fuel blenders to ensure that the violations are corrected. 

The most recent Resource Conservation and Recovery Act inspections of
cement production facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels
identified some violations of boiler and industrial furnace
regulations.  At the 11 facilities in the five states we reviewed,
these inspections identified no violations at 2 facilities and a
number of violations at 1 facility.  Although EPA officials did not
characterize the violations at this facility as either minor or
significant, the agency sent the facility's operator a notice of
violation.  Because EPA officials are reviewing data from the most
recent inspections of the eight remaining facilities, the results of
these inspections are not available. 


   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

RCRA requires EPA to establish regulations governing the treatment,
storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste.  Facilities
that blend fuels derived from hazardous waste are subject to RCRA's
treatment, storage, and disposal regulations.  Furthermore, because
EPA classifies cement production facilities as industrial furnaces,
such facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels must comply with
special regulations--known as the boiler and industrial furnace
rule--developed under RCRA in 1991 to regulate the combustion of
hazardous waste.  Both sets of regulations require facilities to meet
standards for emissions and other environmental requirements.  The
principal regulations applying to the fuel blending and cement
production facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels are discussed
in greater detail in appendixes I and II, respectively. 

EPA is primarily responsible for inspecting hazardous waste
management facilities and taking enforcement actions as necessary
against the owners and operators of facilities that are not complying
with RCRA's requirements.  Under RCRA, however, EPA may authorize a
state to administer its own hazardous waste program if its program is
consistent with the federal program established by EPA and other
authorized state programs.  An authorized state assumes the primary
responsibility for implementing and enforcing RCRA's hazardous waste
regulations while EPA oversees the state's activities. 

EPA has authorized the five states included in our review to
implement their own treatment, storage, and disposal program in lieu
of the federal RCRA program, but it has authorized only one of the
five states--Texas--to implement the boiler and industrial furnace
program.  RCRA requires that hazardous waste management facilities
requiring a permit, including fuel blenders and cement production
facilities burning hazardous waste fuels, be inspected periodically. 
In conducting their inspections, EPA and the five authorized states
do not classify violations as minor or significant.  However, these
officials told us that, generally, they consider a violation to be
minor if it does not pose a serious threat to human health or the
environment and the facility agrees to correct it promptly.  An
action or deficiency that poses a serious threat to human health or
the environment or a persistent minor violation is considered to be
significant. 

Although RCRA's regulations establish general operating practices and
procedures with which fuel blending facilities must comply, they
place few restrictions on the types of hazardous waste that can be
blended.  According to EPA officials, facilities can blend wastes
that are not reactive providing safety standards are met.  In
addition, some states prohibit the blending of certain wastes, such
as those containing pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
into fuel.  Beyond these restrictions, the specifications for the
hazardous wastes that are blended into fuels are primarily determined
by the cement producers, whose operations must meet the regulations'
standards for emissions and other requirements.  RCRA's boiler and
industrial furnace rule places limits on cement kilns' emissions. 
These limits are implemented by restricting the types of hazardous
waste that are blended into fuels.  Cement producers can burn only
waste blends that allow them to meet the established limits on the
amounts of regulated constituents--such as metals--that can be fed
into the kiln.  Furthermore, EPA does not permit the burning of
certain inorganic hazardous wastes that contain metals and have a low
heating value.  In addition, under the Toxic Substances Control
Act,\2 a cement producer must obtain EPA's approval to burn fuel
containing PCBs. 

As of early 1996, nationwide 142 fuel blenders were processing fuels
derived from hazardous waste and 22 cement production facilities were
burning such fuels in their kilns.  Collectively, the five states
included in our review account nationwide for about a quarter of the
fuel blenders and about half of the cement producers that burn
hazardous waste fuels. 


--------------------
\2 The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 generally bans the
manufacture and distribution of PCBs and requires EPA to regulate
their disposal. 


   RESULTS OF RECENT RCRA
   INSPECTIONS OF FUEL BLENDING
   FACILITIES IN FIVE STATES
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

To verify that fuel blenders are complying with RCRA's treatment,
storage, and disposal requirements, state hazardous waste management
officials inspect these facilities regularly.  Although RCRA requires
that these facilities be inspected at least every 2 years, the five
states we reviewed conducted more frequent inspections.  While
Missouri inspected these facilities quarterly, Kansas, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Texas inspected them at least once a year. 
Officials inspected the 34 fuel blending facilities in the five
states included in our review most recently between April 1995 and
May 1996.  (App.  III summarizes the results of these inspections for
each of the five states.)

As table 1 shows, the most recent RCRA inspections of fuel blending
facilities in the five states identified at least one minor violation
of treatment, storage, and disposal regulations at 23 of the 34
facilities.  Minor violations were found at facilities in each state. 
These violations included, among others, inadequately labeling
hazardous waste storage containers, having incomplete records for
training and equipment inspections, and failing to submit estimates
of the costs of closing facilities and maintaining sites.  According
to state officials, these types of violations generally are corrected
at the time of the inspection or shortly thereafter. 



                                     Table 1
                     
                      Results of the Most Recent Inspections
                       of Fuel Blending Facilities in Five
                                 Selected States

                                                         Number of
                              Number of     Number of   facilities     Number of
                                   fuel    facilities         with    facilities
                               blending    with minor  significant       with no
State                        facilities    violations   violations    violations
-------------------------  ------------  ------------  -----------  ------------
Kansas                                2             2            1             0
Missouri                              8             6            5             0
Ohio                                 12             8            4             3
Pennsylvania                          2             1            0             1
Texas                                10             6            1             4
================================================================================
Total\a                              34            23           11             8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a The number of fuel blending facilities with minor, significant,
and no violations does not equal the total number of facilities
because some had both minor and significant violations. 

The following examples illustrate the types of minor treatment,
storage, and disposal violations identified and their resolution: 

  -- Kansas officials inspected the state's two fuel blending
     facilities most recently between October 1995 and April 1996. 
     These inspections identified minor violations at both
     facilities, including inadequately labeling hazardous waste
     storage containers and having an inaccurate emergency
     coordination list.  The facilities' operators have corrected
     most of these violations and are working with state officials to
     resolve the remaining problems. 

  -- Pennsylvania officials last inspected the state's two fuel
     blending facilities in early 1996.  These inspections identified
     no violations at one facility and only minor violations at the
     other, including inadequately labeling hazardous waste storage
     containers.  The facility's operator has corrected these
     violations. 

In addition, the most recent RCRA inspections of these fuel blending
facilities identified significant violations of treatment, storage,
and disposal regulations at 11 facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio,
and Texas.  The significant violations included having waste
containers in poor condition, storing waste that was not approved
under the facility's operating permit, and having inadequate backup
systems for containing leaks of hazardous waste.  According to
hazardous waste management officials in these states, some
violations, which would normally be considered minor, would be
classified as significant because they either recurred at the same
facility or had not been corrected since the previous inspection. 
State officials told us that the facilities' operators have corrected
some of the identified problems, are addressing others, and are
negotiating settlements with the state on still other violations. 

The following examples illustrate the types of significant treatment,
storage, and disposal violations identified at fuel blending
facilities in the five states and their resolution: 

  -- Ohio officials inspected the state's 12 fuel blending facilities
     most recently between May 1995 and May 1996.  They identified
     significant violations at 4 of the 12 facilities, including not
     minimizing the possibility of a fire, explosion, or release of
     hazardous waste at the site and not evaluating the waste as
     required.  State officials are working with the facilities'
     operators to resolve the identified problems. 

  -- Missouri officials inspected the state's eight fuel blending
     facilities most recently between November 1995 and March 1996. 
     The significant violations they identified included using
     storage containers in poor condition, storing hazardous waste in
     excess of approved capacity, and inadequately analyzing waste. 
     State officials also considered recurring minor violations
     identified at one facility to be significant.  State officials
     are working with the facilities' operators to resolve the
     identified problems. 

State officials identified no violations of RCRA's treatment,
storage, and disposal regulations at eight fuel blending facilities
in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. 


   RESULTS OF RECENT RCRA
   INSPECTIONS OF CEMENT
   PRODUCTION FACILITIES BURNING
   HAZARDOUS WASTE FUELS IN FIVE
   STATES
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

EPA officials inspect each cement production facility burning
hazardous waste fuels in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
about once a year to ensure compliance with RCRA's boiler and
industrial furnace requirements.  However, according to EPA
officials, facilities with a poor compliance record are inspected
more often.  Texas, the only one of the five states that EPA has
authorized to implement the boiler and industrial furnace program,
also inspects cement production facilities annually. 

The 11 cement production facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels
in the five states we reviewed were most recently inspected between
May 1995 and June 1996.  However, information on only three of these
facilities is available because EPA officials are still reviewing
data from the inspections of the remaining eight.  (App.  IV
summarizes the results of these inspections, as available, for each
of the five states we reviewed.)

As table 2 shows, the inspections of the 11 cement production
facilities identified no violations at 2 facilities in Missouri and
Texas.  However, violations were identified at one facility in
Kansas, including not conducting several audits of emission control
equipment as required.  Without classifying these violations as minor
or significant, EPA officials sent the facility a notice of
violation. 



                                     Table 2
                     
                      Results of the Most Recent Inspections
                     of Cement Production Facilities in Five
                                 Selected States

                                                                       Number of
                                                         Number of    facilities
                                           Number of    facilities     for which
                      Number of cement    facilities       with no   information
                            production    with known         known        is not
State                       facilities    violations    violations     available
--------------------  ----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Kansas                               3             1             0             2
Missouri                             4             0             1             3
Ohio                                 1             0             0             1
Pennsylvania                         2             0             0             2
Texas                                1             0             1             0
================================================================================
Total                               11             1             2             8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   AGENCY COMMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

We provided copies of a draft of this report to EPA for its review
and comment.  We met with EPA officials, including the Chief, Permits
Branch, Office of Solid Waste, to obtain the agency's comments. 
These officials agreed with the information presented in the report
but made a number of suggestions for clarifying our discussion.  We
have incorporated these suggestions into the appropriate sections of
the report. 


   SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6

To provide information on the extent to which fuel blending and
cement production facilities have been complying with EPA's and the
states' principal regulations governing the blending and burning of
fuel derived from hazardous waste, we obtained inspection and
compliance data for facilities in five judgmentally selected states: 
Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.  We selected these
states for our review because they collectively account for about
half of the nation's cement production facilities that burn hazardous
waste fuels and almost a quarter of the nation's fuel blenders. 
Furthermore, these five states are included in 4 of EPA's 10 regions. 

To provide information on whether fuel blenders in the five states
have been complying with RCRA's treatment, storage, and disposal
regulations, we obtained inspection data from state hazardous waste
officials responsible for implementing the regulations.  To provide
information on whether cement producers have been complying with
RCRA's boiler and industrial furnace regulations, we reviewed
compliance documents and interviewed officials in EPA's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Waste Management Division, as
well as officials in EPA regions III, V, and VII.  We also
interviewed state officials in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and Texas who are responsible for issuing permits to and inspecting
cement production facilities, and we reviewed pertinent compliance
and enforcement documents. 

To provide information on the nature and severity of the violations
of RCRA's treatment, storage, and disposal and boiler and industrial
furnace regulations by fuel blenders and cement producers, we asked
state and EPA regional officials to (1) describe or provide examples
of any violations that were identified during the most recent
inspections of the fuel blending and cement production facilities and
(2) characterize these violations as either minor or significant on
the basis of each state's or EPA region's criteria for making such
determinations or, in lieu of such criteria, their professional
judgment. 

In conducting our review, we visited two fuel blending facilities in
Texas and three cement production facilities in Kansas and Texas, and
we interviewed officials at these facilities. 

We conducted our review from September 1995 through August 1996 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :6.1

As arranged with your offices, unless you announce its contents
earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 10 days
after the date of this report.  At that time, we will send copies to
the Administrator, EPA, and the Director, Office of Management and
Budget.  We will also make copies available to others upon request. 

Please call me at (202) 512-6111 if you or your staff have any
questions.  Other major contributors to this report are included in
appendix V. 

Stanley J.  Czerwinski
Associate Director, Environmental
 Protection Issues


FUEL BLENDING FACILITIES ARE
REGULATED UNDER RCRA AS TREATMENT,
STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES
=========================================================== Appendix I

As facilities that store and treat hazardous waste, fuel blenders are
subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA)
hazardous waste regulations and, therefore, are required to obtain an
operating permit, must be inspected to ensure that they are complying
with these regulations, and are subject to enforcement action if they
violate the regulations. 

RCRA established two categories of facilities that treat, store,
and/or dispose of hazardous waste:  "interim status" facilities,
which have not yet obtained an operating permit, and facilities with
a permit.  Of the 34 fuel blending facilities in the five states
included in our review, 11 are operating under interim status
requirements and 23 have a final operating permit.  Table I.1 shows
the number of fuel blending facilities in the five selected states,
by the status of their operations. 



                               Table I.1
                
                   Operating Status of Fuel Blending
                   Facilities in Five Selected States


                                                      In
                                                  interi     Operating
                                                       m        with a
Location of facilities                            status        permit
------------------------------------------------  ------  ------------
Kansas                                                 0             2
Missouri                                               4             4
Ohio                                                   4             8
Pennsylvania                                           2             0
Texas                                                  1             9
======================================================================
Total                                                 11            23
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed separate sets of
regulations for facilities operating in interim status and with a
final operating permit.  The standards for facilities operating in
interim status\1 consist primarily of practices that owners and
operators must follow to properly manage hazardous waste before they
obtain an operating permit.  The interim status standards include
general administrative and nontechnical requirements for securing a
site, training personnel, ensuring construction quality, testing and
maintaining equipment, and keeping records.  In addition, the interim
status standards include certain technical requirements that are
intended to minimize the potential for threats to the environment and
public health.  These technical requirements include general
standards that apply to several types of facilities, including those
for (1) monitoring groundwater, (2) closing a facility and managing
the site after the facility is closed, and (3) providing financial
assurance.  The requirements also include specific standards that
apply to each waste management method, including requirements for
waste analysis, monitoring and inspection and general operating
requirements. 

The standards for facilities with an operating permit\2 consist of
performance standards and design and operating criteria that are
included in the permit for each facility.  These standards include
administrative and nontechnical requirements.  In addition,
facilities with a permit must comply with detailed technical
requirements.  Each permit must include conditions that are necessary
for the facility to comply with RCRA and its regulations.  The
facility's compliance with RCRA is measured against the conditions
included in the permit.  The permit may incorporate these
requirements by referring to RCRA and EPA's implementing regulations,
or it may include specific requirements based on the act and
regulations.  For example, each facility's permit specifies the
hazardous substances that must be monitored in the groundwater near
the facility.  Groundwater- monitoring requirements are included in
the regulations, but many aspects of the monitoring program depend on
the site and, therefore, are developed for each facility's permit. 

To ensure compliance with their requirements for operating in interim
status or with a permit, RCRA requires treatment, storage, and
disposal facilities to be inspected at least once every 2 years. 


--------------------
\1 40 C.F.R.  part 265. 

\2 40 C.F.R.  part 264. 


CEMENT PRODUCTION FACILITIES ARE
REGULATED UNDER RCRA AS BOILER AND
INDUSTRIAL FURNACE UNITS
========================================================== Appendix II

EPA classifies cement production facilities that burn hazardous waste
fuel as industrial furnaces.  As such, they are subject to the
agency's boiler and industrial furnace regulations under RCRA, which
took effect on August 21, 1991.  These regulations control emissions
of hazardous organic compounds, toxic metals, hydrogen chloride,
chlorine gas, and particulate matter from boilers and industrial
furnaces burning hazardous waste.  In addition, the rule subjects the
owners and operators of these facilities to the standards that govern
hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities in
general. 

Facilities that were using or had committed themselves to using
hazardous waste as a supplemental fuel before the effective date of
the rule were allowed to obtain "interim status." This status allows
them to continue burning hazardous waste fuels while obtaining the
permit required under the rule.  In addition to applying for a
permit, the owners and operators of interim status facilities were
required to submit (1) by August 21, 1991, a report (certification of
precompliance) providing information and certifying that emissions of
individual metals, hydrogen chloride, chlorine gas, and particulate
matter were not likely to exceed allowable levels and (2) by August
21, 1992, a report (certification of compliance) certifying, on the
basis of testing, that emissions of individual metals; hydrogen
chloride, chlorine gas, and particulate matter; carbon monoxide; and
where applicable, hydrocarbons, dioxins, and certain other chemicals
did not exceed allowable levels. 

During interim status, limits on a facility's operating parameters
are established and, after submitting the required certifications,
the owner or operator must comply with these limits.  To demonstrate
compliance, the owner or operator must monitor specified operating
parameters of the combustion unit and the nature of the hazardous
waste burned, as well as maintain records.  Cement production
facilities must repeat this testing every 3 years or until they
receive their permit. 

Of the 11 cement production facilities burning hazardous waste fuels
in the five states included in our review, 10 are operating under
interim status requirements and only 1 has received its final
operating permit.  Table II.1 shows the operating status of the
cement production facilities burning hazardous waste fuels in the
five states included in our review. 



                               Table II.1
                
                 Operating Status of Cement Production
                Facilities Burning Hazardous Waste Fuels
                        in Five Selected States


                                                      In
                                                  interi     Operating
                                                       m        with a
Location of facilities                            status        permit
------------------------------------------------  ------  ------------
Kansas                                                 2             1
Missouri                                               4             0
Ohio                                                   1             0
Pennsylvania                                           2             0
Texas                                                  1             0
======================================================================
Total                                                 10             1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to meeting emission standards, facilities operating both
in interim status and with a permit must meet general standards and
requirements for preparedness for and prevention of releases of
hazardous substances, contingency planning and developing contingency
procedures, recordkeeping and reporting, facility closure and
postclosure care, and financial assurance.  Facilities with a permit
must also meet corrective action requirements and demonstrate that
they can destroy and remove at least 99.99 percent of the principal
organic hazardous constituents in the waste stream.  This means that
out of 1 ton of such elements put into the system, less than 4 ounces
can actually be emitted in the stack gas. 

EPA makes information from compliance tests by facilities operating
both in interim status and with a permit available to the public. 
Public notification is not required for compliance testing conducted
by interim status facilities as part of their periodic certification
of compliance with emission standards.  However, an EPA regulation
that became effective on June 11, 1996, generally requires that the
public be notified of a new or interim status facility's trial burn. 
A trial burn is a test conducted as part of the permitting process to
determine the limits on a facility's operating parameters. 

Because a cement production facility typically recycles cement kiln
dust and feeds it back into the kiln, the concentration of toxic
metals in the dust and the total amounts of toxic metals entering the
kiln could increase over time.  Therefore, the rule requires that the
facility take steps, either by monitoring stack emissions or by other
means, to ensure that the metals' concentration during certification
testing does not change over time and is representative of the
highest concentration of metals being fed into the kiln at any time. 
In addition, a cement production facility in interim status must feed
hazardous waste directly into the kiln to ensure the complete
destruction of the waste.  Cement kiln dust produced by a kiln
burning hazardous waste as fuel may be considered hazardous waste
unless the kiln owner or operator demonstrates that the levels of
hazardous constituents in the dust are either (1) similar to those
found in the dust from kilns that burn conventional fuels or (2)
within specified health-based limits.\1

To ensure compliance with its requirements for operating in interim
status or with a permit, RCRA requires hazardous waste treatment,
storage, and disposal facilities--including cement production
facilities burning hazardous waste fuels--to be inspected
periodically.  According to EPA officials, one of the primary
deficiencies that the agency noted during nationwide inspections of
cement production facilities burning hazardous waste fuels from 1991
through 1995 was the facilities' inadequate analysis of hazardous
waste.  To assist the facilities in analyzing their waste, EPA is
preparing guidance for incinerators, boilers, and industrial
furnaces, which explains in more detail sampling techniques that the
facilities can use to analyze their hazardous waste.  In early August
1996, EPA was internally reviewing the draft guidance, and EPA
officials expected to make the final guidance available to the public
by the end of the month. 

On April 19, 1996, EPA published a proposed rule in the Federal
Register that would set more stringent emission limits for hazardous
waste incinerators, lightweight aggregate kilns, and cement
production facilities burning hazardous waste fuels.  According to
EPA, the new standards are designed to reduce dioxin and furan
emissions from these sources by 98 percent, mercury emissions by 80
percent, and lead and cadmium emissions by 95 percent.  The proposed
rule would also place stringent limits on the amounts of hydrochloric
acid, chlorine, certain toxic metals, particulate matter, carbon
monoxide, and hydrocarbons that facilities burning hazardous waste
fuels can emit.  The proposal would exempt cement kilns from the new
emission standards if their hazardous waste fuels are similar in
composition to fossil fuels and pose no greater risks.  It would also
require the monitoring of emissions.  The proposed rule had a 60-day
comment period.  In May 1996, EPA extended the comment period another
60 days, until August 19, 1996. 


--------------------
\1 While EPA has determined that additional measures to control
cement kiln dust are warranted for the protection of human health and
the environment, the agency has not yet determined what additional
measures are needed.  Our report entitled Environmental Protection: 
Interim Actions to Better Control Cement Kiln Dust (GAO/RCED-95-192,
Aug.  14, 1995) discusses EPA's plans to develop standards
specifically for cement kiln dust and interim actions to control this
dust in light of its potential health risks. 


RESULTS OF THE MOST RECENT
INSPECTIONS OF FUEL BLENDING
FACILITIES IN FIVE STATES
========================================================= Appendix III

KANSAS

Kansas officials inspected the state's two fuel blending facilities
most recently between October 1995 and April 1996.  These inspections
identified minor RCRA violations at both facilities, including
inadequately labeling waste storage containers and having an
inaccurate emergency coordination list.  The inspections also
identified significant violations at one of the facilities.  The
facilities' operators have corrected most of these violations and are
negotiating with state officials to resolve the remaining issues. 

MISSOURI

Missouri officials inspected the state's eight fuel blending
facilities most recently between November 1995 and March 1996.  These
inspections identified a number of minor RCRA violations at six
facilities, including inadequately labeling waste storage containers
and documenting inspections.  According to state officials, the
facilities' operators have corrected many of the identified problems. 
State inspections also identified significant violations at five
facilities, including using storage containers in poor condition,
storing hazardous waste in excess of allowed capacity, and
inadequately analyzing waste.  State officials are working with the
facilities' operators to resolve these problems. 

OHIO

Ohio officials inspected the state's 12 fuel blending facilities most
recently between May 1995 and May 1996.  They identified minor
violations of RCRA's regulations at eight facilities, including,
among others, inadequately labeling waste storage containers and
documenting inspections and failing to submit cost estimates for
closing facilities and maintaining sites after closure.  In addition,
they identified significant violations at four facilities, including
failing to minimize the possibility of a fire, explosion, or release
of waste and not evaluating waste as required.  State officials are
working with the facilities' operators to resolve the identified
problems. 

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania officials last inspected the state's two fuel blending
facilities in early 1996.  These inspections identified no violations
of RCRA's treatment, storage, and disposal regulations at one fuel
blending facility and only minor violations at the second facility,
including the inadequate labeling of waste storage containers.  The
facility's operator has corrected these violations. 

TEXAS

Texas officials last inspected the state's 10 fuel blending
facilities between April 1995 and May 1996.  While no violations were
detected at four of these facilities, the inspectors identified minor
RCRA violations at the remaining six facilities, including not
submitting all required copies of contingency plans and not
conducting all required daily inspections of equipment.  These
violations have been corrected or are being corrected.  The
inspections also identified significant violations at one facility,
including having deteriorating backup systems for containing
hazardous waste leaks.  State officials are working with the
facilities' operators to resolve these issues. 


RESULTS OF RECENT INSPECTIONS OF
CEMENT PRODUCTION FACILITIES
BURNING HAZARDOUS WASTE FUELS IN
FIVE STATES
========================================================== Appendix IV

KANSAS

The state's three cement production facilities burning hazardous
waste fuels were most recently inspected by EPA regional officials
between October 1995 and April 1996.  Potential violations of the
boiler and industrial furnace regulations identified at two of the
facilities are under review by EPA regional officials.  At the third
facility, EPA found that several daily and quarterly audits of
emission control equipment had not been conducted as required.  EPA
sent a notice of violation to this facility. 

MISSOURI

Inspections completed between May 1995 and June 1996 identified
potential violations at three of the state's four cement production
facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels.  EPA officials are
reviewing the results of these inspections and related information to
determine whether violations occurred.  An inspection of the
remaining facility in the state identified no violations. 

OHIO

The report on the April 1996 inspection of the one cement production
facility in Ohio that burns hazardous waste fuels has not yet been
finalized; therefore, an EPA official told us that the agency could
not provide us with information on the inspection's results. 
According to this official, the report of EPA's inspection of this
facility in 1995 is under review by EPA regional staff. 

PENNSYLVANIA

EPA officials are currently reviewing information from a December
1995 inspection of one of Pennsylvania's two cement production
facilities that burn hazardous waste fuels.  The results of a May
1996 inspection of the state's other facility were not available as
of July 1996.  However, a July 1995 inspection of this facility
identified a number of violations, including (1) not conducting
required tests of the system that automatically shuts off the flow of
hazardous waste fuels into the kiln, (2) not properly operating a
system that is to continuously monitor emissions while burning
hazardous wastes, and (3) not controlling escaping emissions.  EPA
has issued a notice of violation to this facility and is negotiating
with the facility's operator to resolve these issues. 

TEXAS

Texas officials' most recent inspection in April 1996 of the state's
only cement production facility burning hazardous waste fuels
identified no violations of the boiler and industrial furnace
regulations. 


MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS REPORT
=========================================================== Appendix V

RESOURCES, COMMUNITY, AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DIVISION, WASHINGTON,
D.C. 

Susan D.  Kladiva, Assistant Director
Vincent P.  Price, Evaluator-in-Charge
William H.  Roach, Jr., Senior Evaluator
Elizabeth R.  Eisenstadt, Communications Analyst

DALLAS REGIONAL OFFICE

Marcia B.  McWreath, Senior Evaluator
Rita F.  Oliver, Senior Evaluator
Deborah S.  Ortega, Senior Evaluator

OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL

Richard P.  Johnson, Attorney


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