37 Hazardous waste (management and handling) rules

Dr. Yogalakshmi K. N

epgp books

 

Objectives:

 

To understand the notion of Hazardous waste, and the regulatory requirements for management, transit, treatment, storage, disposal, packing, labelling, transporting. The importance of manifest system and other record maintenance is also detailed.

 

Concept map

 

The hazardous substances are extensively used in our life and the wastes pose considerable threat to human health and environment. The rules posed by the Government of India, are on various management, storage, handling and transit strategies and documentation maintenance.

 

1.    Introduction

 

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), total hazardous waste generation in India in 2015 was 7.46 million metric tonnes from about 44,000 industries. The unscientific disposal of hazardous and other waste through burning or incineration leads to emission of toxic fumes comprising mercury, heavy metals, causing air pollution and associated health-related problems. Disposal in water bodies or municipal dumps leads to leaching of toxic substances in land and water, degrading soil and water quality.

 

2.    Need for hazardous waste management and handling rules

 

So the rise in application and manufacture of hazardous materials and its evident disposal issues, made way for the development of rules on Hazardous waste (management and handling) rules of 1989 and have been amended later in the years 2000, 2003 and with re‐notification on Hazardous waste (management, handling and transboundary movement) rules in 2008. The current rules on Hazardous and other waste (management and transboundary movement) of 2016, has replaced the older regulations.

 

The new rules distinguish hazardous waste from others such as waste tyres, paper waste, metal scrap and used electronic items. The rules recognize the latter as a resource for recycling and reuse supplementing industrial processes, thereby reducing the load on the country’s resources. Among other items banned for import are waste edible fats and oil of animals, household waste, tyres for direct re-use purpose, solid plastic wastes, including PET bottles, waste electrical and electronic assemblies scrap and other chemical wastes especially in solvent form.

 

The current hazardous waste rules would ensure resource recovery and disposal of hazardous waste in an environmentally sound manner. The rules are deemed to be environment and industry-friendly. The rules make state governments responsible for environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes and mandate them to set up industrial space or sheds for recycling, pre-processing and other utilization of hazardous or other waste

 

3.    Hazardous waste (management and handling) rules of Govt of India (current version 2016)

 

The draft rules, namely the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, were published by the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) in July 24, 2015. It was published in the vide number G.S.R. 582(E), in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part II, section 3, sub-section (ii). The earlier version of the hazardous waste (management, handling and transboundary movement) rules of 2008, is now updated, as on 2016.

 

The official gazette does not include:

 

a.       wastewater, exhaust gases or

 

b.      the wastes arising out of the operation from ships beyond five kilometers of the relevant baseline

 

c.       radioactive wastes

 

d.      biomedical wastes

 

e.       municipal solid waste

 

All these are dealt with specific regulations guiding their management and handling strategies.

 

The key definition of hazardous waste, as used in the official gazette refers to any waste which by reason of characteristics such as physical, chemical, biological, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive, causes danger or is likely to cause danger to health or environment, whether alone or in contact with other wastes or substances, and should include:

 

(i) waste specified under column (3) of Schedule I; (ii) waste having equal to or more than the concentration limits specified for the constituents in class A and class B of Schedule II or any of the characteristics as specified in class C of Schedule II; and (iii) wastes specified in Part A of Schedule III in respect of import or export of such wastes or the wastes not specified in Part A but exhibit hazardous characteristics specified in Part C of Schedule III;

 

Other definitions or terms commonly used in the gazette:

 

The term “occupier” is repeatedly used, and it used in relation to any factory or premises, a person who has, control over the affairs of the factory or the premises and includes in relation to any hazardous and other wastes, the person in possession of the hazardous or other waste. The term “facility” means any establishment wherein the processes incidental to the generation, handling, collection, reception, treatment, storage, reuse, recycling, recovery, preprocessing, co-processing, utilization and disposal of hazardous and, or, other wastes are carried out. Also the term “operator of disposal facility” is used, which means a person who owns or operates a facility for collection, reception, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and other wastes. Then the term “transport” which means off-site movement of hazardous or other wastes by air, rail, road or water and “transporter” which means a person engaged in the off-site transportation of hazardous or other waste by air, rail, road or water;

 

The rules are placed in various chapters throughout the gazette spanning all aspects of hazardous waste management, handling and disposal.

 

3.1 Procedure for management of hazardous and other wastes

 

In this chapter on the procedure for management of hazardous and other wastes, there are certain responsibilities of the occupier for management of hazardous and other wastes, as listed below:

 

(1)   For the management of hazardous and other wastes, an occupier should follow the following steps, namely:

 

a.       prevention;

 

b.      minimization;

 

c.       reuse,

 

d.      recycling;

 

e.       recovery, utilization including co-processing;

 

f.       safe disposal.

 

(2)   The occupier should be responsible for safe and environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes.

 

(3)  The hazardous and other wastes generated in the establishment of an occupier should be sent or sold to an authorized actual user or should be disposed of in an authorized disposal facility.

 

(4) The hazardous and other wastes should be transported from an occupier’s establishment to an authorized actual user or to an authorized disposal facility in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

 

(5) The occupier who intends to get its hazardous and other wastes treated and disposed of by the operator of a treatment, storage and disposal facility should give to the operator of that facility, such specific information as may be needed for safe storage and disposal.

 

(6) The occupier should take all the steps while managing hazardous and other wastes to:

 

a. contain contaminants and prevent accidents and limit their consequences on human beings and the environment; and

 

b. provide persons working in the site with appropriate training, equipment and the information necessary to ensure their safety.

 

The responsibility of the local State Government is to provide environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes. The Department of Industry in the State is authorized in this regard by the State Government, to ensure earmarking or allocation of industrial space or shed for recycling, pre-processing and other utilization of hazardous or other waste in the existing and upcoming industrial park, estate and industrial clusters. The Department of Labor in the State is authorized in this regard, by the State Government should, ensure recognition and registration of workers involved in recycling, preprocessing and other utilization activities; assist formation of groups of such workers to facilitate setting up such facilities; undertake industrial skill development activities for the workers involved in recycling, pre-processing and other utilization; and undertake annual monitoring and to ensure safety and health of workers involved in recycling, pre-processing and other utilization. All the State Government are to prepare integrated plan for effective implementation of these provisions and to submit annual report to the MOEFCC, in the Central Government.

 

The grant of permitting the occupier to manage the hazardous waste facility, that is engaged in handling, generation, collection, storage, packaging, transportation, use, treatment, processing, recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing, utilization, offering for sale, transfer or disposal of the hazardous and other wastes should be required to make an application in Form 1 to the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and obtain an authorization from the SPCB. Such application for authorization should be accompanied with a copy each of the following documents, namely: consent to establish and operate, granted by the SPCB under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (25 of 1974) and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (21 of 1981). If the occupier is applying for renewal of authorization, a self-certified compliance report in respect of effluent, emission standards and the conditions specified in the authorization for hazardous and other wastes are to be provided 3 months in advance before the expiry.

 

Upon receipt of the application complete in all respects for the authorization, the State Pollution Control Board may, after such inquiry as it considers necessary, and on being satisfied that the applicant possesses appropriate facilities for collection, storage, packaging, transportation, treatment, processing, use, destruction, recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing, utilization, offering for sale, transfer or disposal of the hazardous and other waste, as the case may be, and after ensuring technical capabilities and equipment complying with the standard operating procedure or other guidelines specified by the CPCB from time to time and through site inspection, grant within a period of 120 days, an authorization in Form 2 to the applicant, which should be valid for a period of 5 years.

 

In addition, the occupier should fill Form 3, detailing about the maintain a record of hazardous and other wastes managed, and the annual returns of the facility in Form 4, to the State Pollution control board. The power to cancel or suspend the authorization is also given to the State Pollution control board, if the holder of the authorization as failed to comply with any of the conditions of the authorization or with any provisions of the Act.

 

With regards to storage of hazardous wastes, the occupiers of facilities may store the hazardous and other wastes for a period not exceeding ninety days and should maintain a record of sale, transfer, storage, recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing and utilization of such wastes and make these records available for inspection. The storage period may be extended in certain scenarios, where small generators (upto 10 tonnes per annum) and actual users and disposal facility operators upto 180 days of their annual capacity, occupiers who do not have access to any treatment, storage, disposal facility in the concerned State; or the waste which needs to be specifically stored for development of a process for its recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing or utilization.

 

The hazardous waste could also be utilized as a resource or after pre-processing either for co-processing or for any other use, including within the premises of the generator, with the permission from SPCB. The MOEFCC or the CPCB would issue guidelines or standard operating procedures for environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes from time to time.

 

3.2 Import and export of hazardous waste

 

In this chapter, the MOEFCC is deemed to be the nodal Ministry to deal with the transboundary movement of the hazardous and other wastes. The main strategies for Import and export of hazardous and other wastes includes:

 

  1. No import of the hazardous and other wastes from any country to India for disposal should be permitted.
  2. The import of hazardous and other wastes from any country should be permitted only for recycling, recovery, reuse and utilization including co-processing
  3. The import of hazardous waste in Part A of Schedule III may be allowed to actual users with the prior informed consent of the exporting country and should require the permission of the MOEFCC.
  4. The import of other wastes in Part B of Schedule III may be allowed to actual users with the permission of the MOEFCC.
  5. The import of other wastes in Part D of Schedule III will be allowed as per procedure given in rule 13 and as per the note below the said Schedule.
  6. No import of the hazardous and other wastes specified in Schedule VI should be permitted.
  7. The export of hazardous and other wastes from India listed in Part A and Part B of Schedule III and Schedule VI should be with the permission of MOEFCC. In case of applications for export of hazardous and other waste listed in Part A of Schedule III and Schedule VI, they should be considered on the basis of prior informed consent of the importing country.
  8. The import and export of hazardous and other wastes not specified in Schedule III, but exhibiting the hazardous characteristics outlined in Part C of Schedule III should require prior written permission of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change before it is imported to or exported from India, as the case may be.

 

3.2.1 Procedure for import of hazardous and other wastes

 

The usage of Form 5 is envisaged as a means to enforce certain procedure for the import of hazardous waste. Actual users intending to import or transit for transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes specified in Part A and Part B of Schedule III should apply in Form 5 to MOEFCC. But for the import of other wastes listed in Part D of Schedule III, the user has to furnish information in Form 6 along with associated documents to the Customs authorities. In addition, is the importer is a trader, then the waste on behalf of actual users, should obtain one-time authorization in Form 7 and copy of this authorization should be appended to Form 6. Once all the requisition forms are submitted, the MOEFCC upon taking up the comments and suggestions of SPCB, may grant the permission for import within a period of 60 days’ subject to the condition that the importer has: environmentally sound facilities, adequate arrangements for treatment and disposal of wastes generated, a valid authorization and consents from the State Pollution Control Board, prior informed consent from the exporting country in case of Part A of Schedule III wastes. The copy of all the permission forms would be handed to concerned Port and Customs authorities, CPCB and SPCB to ensure compliance.

 

Alongside, the importer of the hazardous and other wastes should maintain records of the hazardous and other waste imported by him in Form 3 and the record so maintained should be made available for inspection. The annual return should be filed in Form 4 to the SPCB on or before the 30th day of June following the financial year to which that return relates. The samples of hazardous and other wastes being imported for testing or research and development purposes up to 1000 g or 1000 mL should be exempted from need of taking permission for import under these rules. Also the Port and Customs authorities should ensure that shipment is accompanied with the movement document as given in Form 6 and the test report of analysis of the waste, consignment, wherever applicable, from a laboratory accredited or recognized by the exporting country.

 

3.2.2 Procedure for export of hazardous and other wastes

 

Any occupier intending to export waste specified in Part A of Schedule III, Part B of Schedule III and Schedule VI, should make an application in Form 5 along with insurance cover to the MOEFCC for the proposed transboundary movement of the hazardous and other wastes together with the prior informed consent in writing from the importing country in respect of wastes specified in Part A of Schedule III and Schedule VI. Upon receipt of an application under sub-rule (1), the MOEFCC may give permission for the proposed export within a period of 60 days from the date of submission of complete application and may impose such conditions as it may consider necessary. The MOEFCC should forward a copy of the permission granted under sub-rule (2) to the SPCB of the State where the waste is generated and the SPCB of the State where the port of export is located and the concerned Port and Customs authorities for ensuring compliance of the conditions of the export permission. Also, the exporter should ensure that no consignment is shipped before the prior informed consent is received from the importing country, wherever applicable. The exporter should also ensure that the shipment is accompanied with movement document in Form 6. The exporter should also maintain the records of the hazardous or other waste exported by him in Form 3 and the record so maintained should be available for inspection.

 

3.2.3 Illegal trafficking of hazardous waste

 

Illegal traffic of import and export of hazardous waste could occur from and into India if: it is without permission of the Central Government in accordance with these rules, or the permission has been obtained through falsification, misrepresentation or fraud or if it does not conform to the shipping details provided in the movement documents, or it results in deliberate disposal (i.e., dumping) of hazardous or other waste in contravention of the Basel Convention and of general principles of international or domestic law. In case of illegal import of the hazardous or other waste, the importer should re-export the waste in question at his cost within a period of 90 days from the date of its arrival into India and its implementation will be ensured by the concerned Port and the Custom authority. In case of disposal of such waste by the Port and Custom authorities, they should do so in accordance with these rules with the permission of the SPCB where the Port exists. Or in case of illegal import of hazardous or other waste, where the importer is not traceable then the waste either can be sold by the Customs authority to any user having authorization under these rules from the concerned SPCB or can be sent to authorized treatment, storage and disposal facility.

 

3.3 Treatment, storage and disposal facility for hazardous and other wastes

 

The State Government, occupier, operator of a facility or any association of occupiers should individually or jointly or severally be responsible for identification of sites for establishing the facility for treatment, storage and disposal of the hazardous and other waste in the State. Here, the operator of common facility or occupier of a captive facility, should design and set up the treatment, storage and disposal facility as per technical guidelines issued by the CPCB in this regard from time to time and should obtain approval from the SPCB for design and layout in this regard. The SPCB will be monitoring the setting up and operation of the common or captive treatment, storage and disposal facility, regularly. Meanwhile, the operator of common facility or occupier of a captive facility should be responsible for safe and environmentally sound operation of the facility and its closure and post closure phase, as per guidelines or standard operating procedures issued by the CPCB from time to time. The operator of common facility or occupier of a captive facility should maintain records of hazardous and other wastes handled by him in Form 3. The operator of common facility or occupier of a captive facility should file an annual return in Form 4 to the SPCB on or before the June 30th following the financial year to which that return relates.

 

3.4 Packaging, Labelling and transport of hazardous and other wastes

 

The occupier handling hazardous or other wastes and operator of the treatment, storage and disposal facility should ensure that the hazardous and other wastes are packaged in a manner suitable for safe handling, storage and transport as per the guidelines issued by the CPCB from time to time. The labelling should be done as per Form 8. The label should be of non-washable material, weather proof and easily visible.

 

With regards to the transport of the hazardous and other waste, it should be in accordance with the provisions of these rules and the rules made by the Central Government under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the guidelines issued by the CPCB from time to time in this regard. The occupier should provide the transporter with the relevant information in Form 9, regarding the hazardous nature of the wastes and measures to be taken in case of an emergency and should label the hazardous and other wastes containers as per Form 8. While in case of transportation of hazardous and other waste for final disposal to a facility existing in a State other than the State where the waste is generated, the sender should obtain ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the SPCB of both the States. Whereas in case of transportation of hazardous and other waste for recycling or utilization including coprocessing, the sender should intimate both the SPCBs before handing over the waste to the transporter. In case of transit of hazardous and other waste for recycling, utilization including coprocessing or disposal through a State other than the States of origin and destination, the sender should give prior intimation to the concerned SPCB of the States of transit before handing over the wastes to the transporter. In case of transportation of hazardous and other waste, the responsibility of safe transport should be either of the sender or the receiver whosoever arranges the transport and has the necessary authorization for transport from the concerned SPCB. This responsibility should be clearly indicated in the “manifest”. The authorization for transport should be obtained either by the sender or the receiver on whose behalf the transport is being arranged.

 

3.4.1 Manifest / Movement document

 

Manifest system (i.e. Movement Document) for hazardous and other waste is to be used within the country only. In this document the sender of the waste should prepare seven copies of the manifest in Form 10 comprising of color code indicated in Table 1 and all seven copies should be signed by the sender.

 

The sender should forward copy 1 (white) to the SPCB, and in case the hazardous or other wastes is likely to be transported through any transit State, the sender should intimate SPCBs of transit States about the movement of the waste. No transporter should accept waste from the sender for transport unless it is accompanied by signed copies 3 to 7 of the manifest. The transporter should submit copies 3 to 7 of the manifest duly signed with date to the receiver along with the waste consignment. The receiver after acceptance of the waste should hand over copy 4 (orange) to the transporter and send copy 5 (green) to his SPCB and send copy 6 (blue) to the sender and the copy 3 (pink) should be retained by the receiver. The copy 7 (grey) should only be sent to the SPCB of the sender, if the sender is in another State.

 

Table 1 – Color code details of Manifest and its corresponding purpose

 

3.5 Records and returns maintenance

 

The occupier handling hazardous or other wastes and operator of disposal facility shall maintain records of such operations in Form 3. The occupier handling hazardous and other wastes and operator of disposal facility shall send annual returns to the SPCB in Form 4. Also the SPCB based on the annual returns received from the occupiers and the operators of the facilities for disposal of hazardous and other wastes shall prepare an annual inventory of the waste generated; waste recycled, recovered, utilized including coprocessed, waste re-exported and waste disposed and submit to the CPCB by September 30th every year. The SPCB shall also prepare the inventory of hazardous waste generators, actual users, and common and captive disposal facilities and shall submit the information to CPCB every 2 years. The CPCB shall prepare the consolidated review report on management of hazardous and other wastes and forward it to the MOEFCC, along with its recommendations before the December 30th once in every year. It is the responsibility of authorities, where the authority specified in column (2) of Schedule VII shall perform the duties as specified in column (3) of the said Schedule subject to the provisions of these rules.

 

3.5.1 Accident reporting

 

Any accident that occurs at the facility of the occupier handling hazardous or other wastes and operator of the disposal facility or during transportation, the occupier or the operator or the transporter shall immediately intimate the SPCB through telephone, e-mail about the accident and subsequently send a report in Form 11.

 

3.5.2 Liability of occupier, importer or exporter and operator of a disposal facility

 

The occupier, importer or exporter and operator of the disposal facility shall be liable for all damages caused to the environment or third party due to improper handling and management of the hazardous and other waste. The occupier and the operator of the disposal facility shall be liable to pay financial penalties as levied for any violation of the provisions under these rules by the SPCB with the prior approval of the CPCB.

 

3.5.3 Appeal

 

Any person aggrieved by an order of suspension or cancellation or refusal of authorization or its renewal passed by the SPCB may, within a period of 30 days from the date on which the order is communicated to him, prefer an appeal in Form 12 to the Appellate Authority, namely, the Environment Secretary of the State. The Appellate Authority may entertain the appeal after expiry of the said period of 30 days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. Every appeal filed under this rule shall be disposed of within a period of 60 days from the date of its filing.

 

3.6 Schedule I to VIII

 

In the official gazette, the annexures on the Schedule I to VIII is also appended for further guidance.

 

In Schedule I, the various processes that typically generates the hazardous waste is listed. Processes include but not limiting to Petrochemical processes and pyrolytic operations, Crude oil and natural gas production, production of heavy metals such as Zinc, Aluminium, Copper and Lead, production of iron, steel, asbestos, caustic soda, mineral acid, chlorine, fertilizers, phenols, solvents, plastics, glues, canvas, cement, textiles and pharmaceutical compounds.

 

In Schedule II, the list of waste constituents with respect to its concentration limits are presented in various classes. In Class A, the waste constituents are presented, that is based on leachable concentration limits [Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) or Soluble Threshold Limit Concentration (STLC)]. In class B, based on Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) including asbestos and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons. In Class C, based on hazardous characteristics of flammability (C1), Corrosivity (C2), reactivity / explosiveness (C3) and toxicity (C4). Further sub classes from C5 to C13 are also included entailing poison, infectious and Eco toxicity.

 

In Schedule III, the list of hazardous wastes applicable for import and export with Prior Informed Consent is discussed in Part A and the list of other wastes applicable for import and export and not requiring Prior Informed

 

Consent in Part B. In Part C, the hazardous characteristics are clearly in various categories defined from explosiveness (H1) upto capable (H13). Then in Part D, the list of other wastes applicable for import and export without permission from MOEFCC is presented.

 

In Schedule IV, includes the List of commonly recyclable hazardous wastes. In Schedule V, Part A and B are used to explain the Specifications of Used Oil Suitable for recycling and Specification of fuel derived from waste oil, respectively.

 

The Schedule VI enlists the Hazardous and Other wastes prohibited for import and in Schedule VII, the List of authorities and corresponding duties are presented. Finally, in Schedule VIII, presents the list of documents for verification by Customs for import of other wastes as prescribed in Part D of Schedule The templates of all forms from 1 to 12 is also appended at the end of the rules gazette for the purpose of operators and facility owners.

 

4. Summary

 

In this module we effectively learnt about the primary concept of Hazardous waste, and the regulatory requirements for management, transit, treatment, storage, disposal, packing, labelling, transporting. The importance of manifest system and other record maintenance was also dealt.

 

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References

 

  1. Blackman, W. C. Jr (2001), Basic Hazardous waste management, 3rd edition, CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 USA (ISBN 1-56670-533-9).
  2. Cheremisinoff, N. P and Cheremisinoff, P. N., (1995), Hazardous Materials and Waste Management, 1st Edition, A Guide for the Professional Hazards Manager (ISBN 9780815513728).
  3. GOI, Management and Handling Rules for: hazardous waste (2016), Published in The Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-Section (I)] Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Notification.
  4. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/vwPqUaA0Wma4dAic85QdqI/Government-notifies-new-hazardous-waste-management-rules.html (Accessed on September 5, 2016).
  5. http://vikaspedia.in/energy/environment/waste-management/hazardous-waste/hazardous-waste-management-rules-2016/view (Accessed on September 10, 2016).
  6. http://neerienvis.nic.in/rules_in_india.html (Accessed on September 10, 2016). www.cpcb.nic.in/Updated_Inventory_HW_Generation.pdf (Accessed on September 13, 2016).