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IGHTING WASTES Fluorescent PCB -Containing BaUasts Aigh Intensity - Discharge 1/ :tee Ar_KGR4Ufi'Yh Spent. fluorescent light tubes and High Intensity LIM.r •a • r, .� • r r r r disposed r a er •. •: : • s• ) • • soil and groundwater. ballasts improperlyPCBs can also pose potential problems when . • Increased awareness of energy savings using newer, mon efficient fluorescent lighting has prompted many businesses to replace older lighting fixtures with new equipment These efforts have increased the need to properly manage lighting wastes. Spent fluorescent light tubes and HID lamps are regulated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (Department) because they contain mercury, h is listed as a presumptive hazardous waste in radix X, Chapter 11, Title 22, California Code of ,gulations (22 CCR). Spent fluorescent light tubes and HID lamps typically contain concentrations of mercury '(an inorganic persistent and bioaccumulative toxic substance) exceeding the Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TMC) and/or the Soluble Threshold Limit Concentration (STLC) values. The regulatory thresholds are 20 mg/kg and 02 mg/l, respectively, as noted in Section 66261.24 (a) (2) (A), 22 CCR In addition, these wastes may be regulated as a federal hazardous waste in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), if they contain concentrations of mercury which exceed the characteristic of toxicity as measured by the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCL,P) pursuant to Section 261.24, Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR). It is the generator's responsibitity to classify their waste. The U.S. EPA is currently reviewing these wastes and may revise its regulations in the future. Fluorescent light ballasts which contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) arc considered ous (Appendix X. Chapter 11, 22 CCR) and qV regulated by the Department. Ballasts AM • rlia r I",TWIQ •Ni• r 'M: • + 1�L111G Spent fluorescent light tubes can be recycled, allowing for the recovery of the mercury, glass, and aluminum end caps. Within California, then are three facilities with Department authorization to accept non-RCRA fluorescent tubes for recycling. These facilites are listed on the other side of this Fact Sheet. The Department encourages the ycling of spent fluorescent light tubes in order to eliminate their disposal to landfills and the environmental problems that may result There ntly arc no facilities authorized to accept HD lamps or ballasts for recycling within California. This situation is subject to change pendi further technology, development or the establishment of permitted facilities. S SAL The Department's interim policy currently allows a generator to dispose as nonhazardous waste no more a combined total of 25 spent fluorescent light tubes and ID lamps, regardless of size, in a day. Quantities greater than this, which are destined for land disposal, must be managed as a hazardous waste and are subject to land disposal restrictions. For more information on land disposal restrictions, contact the Department's Treatment Standards Unit at (916) 323-6042. For PCB -containing ballasts, there are two disposal tions: (1) incineration in an incinerator permitted to burn PCB wastes, or (2) placement in lab packs and then disposal in a hazardous waste landfill. Currently, there arc no incinerators operating in California permitted to a PCB wastes. There we incinerators authorized to accept PCBs located outside of California. The only landfill in California that can accept hazardous PCB wastes is e Chemical Waste Management facility at Assistance Pro • November 1992