One stop with solvent in the tank can turn a whole load into a problem. That's what the 1,000 ppm rule is about.
The rule
40 CFR 279.44 says a used oil transporter must determine whether the total halogen content of the oil being transported, or stored at a transfer facility, is above or below 1,000 parts per million.
Two ways to make the call
- Test the oil
- Apply what you know about its halogen content, given the materials or processes used
What happens at 1,000 ppm or more
The oil is presumed to be hazardous waste, because it's presumed to have been mixed with halogenated hazardous waste. That's the "rebuttable" part: you can overcome the presumption by showing the oil doesn't contain hazardous waste, for example by showing it doesn't have significant concentrations of the listed halogenated constituents.
The exceptions
The presumption doesn't apply to metalworking oils or fluids containing chlorinated paraffins when they're processed under a tolling arrangement to reclaim them. It also doesn't apply to oils contaminated with CFCs removed from refrigeration units when those CFCs are headed for reclamation. The exception ends if those metalworking fluids are recycled any other way or disposed of, or if the CFC-contaminated oil gets mixed with used oil from other sources.
Keep the records
Records of your tests, or the information you relied on, must be kept for at least three years (279.44(d)). See what else to record on every pickup.
Why it matters on a route
Once oil is in the tanker, it's mixed with everything else on board. If one customer's oil is bad, you want to know which stop it was, and you want a record that shows what you did about it.
How RouteMule helps
Each stop is its own record, with material lines by content and quantity. The driver can leave a note on a problem and flag contamination, so a bad load can be traced back to the stop and customer. You can see the customer's pickup history from there.
States can be stricter, so check with your state agency. This is general information, not legal advice.