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How do you dispose of spent glass beads in blasting operation

2003

Hi,

I work in a repair shop and we have glass bead cleaning in a self contained indoor unit. We do this on a small volume, approximately 1000 lbs of glass beads per year. I have recently acquired the job of recording and logging our hazardous wastes. What is a good way to dispose of the glass beads after used up, that is environmentally safe and in accordance to the Tennessee EPA. Typical cleaned parts are electrical parts and painted parts from mining and construction equipment. A test shows some Cadmium in spent beads.

Steve Smith
- Harrogate, Tennessee, USA

The amount of Cad in it will determine if it is haz waste. If it is not haz, it can go into the dumpster. Since you know that it does have some cad, you will need to test each batch, or treat all of it as if it was a haz waste. If it ever exceeds the allowable amount, it will have to go to a treatment and disposal facility as well as you will need a generators license. If this comes to pass, be sure to use the satellite accumulation rule and also try to ship it off often enough to maintain a conditionally exempt generator status. Far less paperwork. Horsehead environmental used to be in your state or KY. Years ago, they were good, legal and reasonable. No idea of their current status, but that state can sure tell you of past violations. Legal sampling is extremely important. Most of the cad will be in the dust sized fines and the least on the larger pieces. The sample taken is supposed to represent the entire lot, not just the good or the bad. If it is close, I would change out my beads more often. This is not dilution per se, fresh beads just work better.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003

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2003

Have the waste beads tested by the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) method. My suggestion would be to test for all the heavy metals. The TCLP limit for Cadmium is 1.0 mg/L. The other metal limits are:

Arsenic 5.0 mg/L
Barium 100.0 mg/L
Chromium 5.0 mg/L
Lead 5.0 mg/L
Mercury 0.2 mg/L
Selenium 1/0 mg/L
Silver 5.0 mg/L

[a mg/L is a part per million (ppm)]

If a representative sample fails exceeds the TCLP limits, you will need to contact an authorized hazardous waste transporter and/or Treatment, Storage or Disposal facility (TSD) and arrange for disposal.

If you generate less then 220 lbs of this waste in any month you will be a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity generator and won't need to get an EPA Identification number for your site. If you exceed that generation amount in a month you will need to get an ID number and should contact you State environmental agency or your regional EPA office. It would also be advisable to contact your State environmental office and obtain a copy of their Hazardous Waste Regulations.

Don't dispose of any of this waste without having the TCLP test performed and getting the sampling results.

Good luck.

William Buskey
- New Paltz, New York

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