The Complete Handbook of Hazardous Waste Containers

Chapter 1: Understanding Hazardous Waste Containers

Hazardous waste containers are not simply buckets or boxes. They are engineered containment systems, each one a legal and physical barrier between a potentially dangerous substance and the people, property, and environment around it. The term "hazardous waste" covers an extremely broad range of materials, from the spent solvent in a small print shop to the corrosive etchants in a semiconductor fab. What unites them is that they are no longer useful to their generator and they possess properties that make them dangerous. The primary function of a hazardous waste container is to safely and compliantly hold that material until it can be transported for treatment, recycling, or disposal.

To understand these containers, you first need to understand what they are protecting against. Consider the four primary characteristics of hazardous waste, as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in the United States, and mirrored by similar regulations worldwide. The first is ignitability. A waste with a flash point below 140°F (60°C) is considered ignitable. Common examples include spent paint thinner, acetone, or benzene. The second is corrosivity, meaning a pH of less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5. Waste acids, like muriatic acid, and waste bases, like sodium hydroxide solutions, fall into this category. The third is reactivity, where a waste is unstable, can react violently with water, or can generate toxic gases. Cyanide or sulfide-bearing wastes are classic examples. Finally, there