Appendix 29.  


(cf. Subpart 373-3)
EXAMPLES OF POTENTIALLY INCOMPATIBLE WASTE
Many hazardous wastes, when mixed with other waste or materials at a hazardous waste facility, can produce effects which are harmful to human health and the environment, such as (1) heat or pressure, (2) fire or explosion, (3) violent reaction, (4) toxic dusts, mists, fumes or gases, or (5) flammable fumes or gases.
Below are examples of potentially incompatible wastes, waste components, and materials, along with the harmful consequences which result from mixing materials in one group with materials in another group. The list is intended as a guide to owners or operators of treatment, storage and disposal facilities, and to enforcement and permit-granting officials, to indicate the need for special precautions when managing these potentially incompatible waste materials or components.
This list is not intended to be exhaustive. An owner or operator must, as the regulation requires, adequately analyze his wastes so that he can avoid creating uncontrolled substances or reactions of the type listed below, whether they are listed below or not.
It is possible for potentially incompatible wastes to be mixed in a way that precludes a reaction (e.g,adding acid to water rather than water to acid) or that neutralizes them (e.g., a strong acid mixed with a strong base), or that controls substances produced (e.g., by generating flammable gases in a closed tank equipped so that ignition cannot occur, and burning the gases in an incinerator).
In the lists below, the mixing of a Group A material with a Group B material may have the potential consequence as noted.
Group 1-AGroup 1-B
Acetylene sludgeAcid sludge
Alkaline caustic liquidsAcid and water
Alkaline cleanerBattery acid
Alkaline corrosive liquidsChemical cleaners
Alkaline corrosive battery fluidElectrolyte, acid
Caustic waste waterEtching acid liquid or solvent
Lime sludge and other corrosive alkaliesPickling liquor and other corrosive acids
Lime waste waterSpent acid
Lime and waterSpent mixed acid
Spent causticSpent sulfuric acid
Potential consequences: Heat generation; violent reaction.
Group 2-AGroup 2-B
AluminumAny waste in Group 1-A or 1-B
Beryllium
Calcium
Lithium
Magnesium
Potassium
Sodium
Zinc powder
Other reactive metals and metal hydrides
Potential consequences: Fire or explosion; generation of flammable hydrogen gas.
Group 3-AGroup 3-B
AlcoholsAny concentrated waste in Group 1-A or 1-B
WaterCalcium
Lithium
Metal hydrides
Potassium
SO2Cl2SOCl2PCl3CH3SiCl3
Other water reactive waste
Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or heat generation; generation of flammable or toxic gases.
Group 4-AGroup 4-B
AlcoholsConcentrated Group 1-A or 1-B wastes
Aldehydes
Halogenated hydrocarbonsGroup 2-A wastes
Nitrated hydrocarbons
Unsaturated hydrocarbons
Other reactive organic components and solvents
Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or violent reaction.
Group 5-AGroup 5-B
Spent cyanide and sulfide solutionsGroup 1-B wastes
Potential consequences: Generation of toxic hydrogen cyanide or hydrogen sulfide gas.
Group 6-AGroup 6-B
ChloratesAcetic acid and other organic acids
Chlorine
ChloritesConcentrated mineral acids
Chromic acid
HydrochloritesGroup 2-A wastes
NitratesGroup 4-A wastes
Nitric acid, fumingOther flammable and combustible wastes
Perchlorates
Permanganates
Peroxides
Other strong oxidizers
Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or violent reaction.
Source: Law, Regulations and Guidelines for Handling of Hazardous Waste, California Department of Health, February 1975.