Zinc Fertilizer Rule Application to use of Spent Drying Acid

Background:

Sulfuric acid is used in the production of micronutrient Zinc fertilizers. The concentration of the acid is not as important as the constituents in the acid. The constituents must comply with LDR standards to be used since this material ultimately is intended for application to the land.

Sulfuric Acid is used in concentrated form to dry gas products before distribution. Among these is the drying of Chlorine Gas. Sulfuric acid is strongly hygroscopic and adsorbs water vapor from the Chlorine gas. This acid will have a small amount of chlorine (By analysis <10ppm) style=""> If chlorinated solvents are produced at the same plant sometimes, the solvents are also dried using Sulfuric. In this case, small amounts of the solvents may be present in the spent acid. These solvents have very small limits in Toxic Characteristic List in 264.24 and in the LDR Treatment Standards in 264.40.

Issue:

In the July 24, 2002 Zinc Fertilizer Rule EPA set conditions which if met would allow secondary materials to be used to make this micronutrient fertilizers. The manufacture of zinc micronutrient fertilizer usually uses zinc containing materials reacted with sulfuric acid. The acid if it meets the constituent requirements for metals and dioxins can be used to manufacture the zinc fertilizers. Hazardous secondary materials such as spent sulfuric, used to make zinc fertilizers are excluded from solid waste, provided the following conditions specified in 261.4(a)(20) are satisfied:

1. The materials are not accumulated speculatively.

2. The acid must be handled as a valuable product with storage free from leakage and constructed with spill prevention provisions as specified in (a)(20)(ii)(B).

3. Submit a one-time notice to the Regional Administrator or State Director in whose jurisdiction the exclusion is being claimed (see (a)(20)(ii)(B).

4. With each shipment of excluded hazardous secondary material, provide written notice to the receiving facility that the material is subject to the conditions of this paragraph (a)(20).

5. Maintain for at least three years, all records of shipment and analysis of the fertilizer materials.

The manufacturer of the excluded zinc fertilizer made from excluded materials must also:

1. Store excluded materials in accordance with the storage requirements for generators and intermediate handlers, as specified in (a)(20)(ii)(B).

2. Submit a one-time notification to the Regional Administrator or State Director that at a minimum specifies the name, address, and EPA ID number of the manufacturing facility and identifies when the manufacturer intends to begin managing the hazardous secondary materials under the conditions in (a)(20).

3. Maintain at a minimum three years records of all shipments of excluded hazardous materials received by the manufacturer. This notice must contain at a minimum for each shipment the name and address of the generating facility, the name of the transporter and the date the materials were received, the quantity received and a brief description of the industrial process that generated the material.

4. Submit to the Regional Administrator or State Director an annual report that identifies total quantities of all excluded hazardous secondary materials that were used to manufacture zinc fertilizers or zinc fertilizer ingredients in the previous year. Also, include the name and address of each generating facility, and the industrial processes from which they were generated.

The use of the drying acid for solvents would be problematic in that the solvents could violate the standards noted in the background above. Part(a)(21) requires that the manufacturer of the fertilizer also take frequent analysis of the product fertilizer to assure that it meet metal and dioxin limits listed in that part of the regulations. The exemption does not exempt or override or otherwise exempts the manufacturer of the secondary material form the requirements of 262.11, which requires any person who generates a solid waste to determine if that waste is a hazardous waste. The solvent drying acid may contain D code listings as well as characteristic corrosivity listing. These D codes will further require meeting LDR requirements and may remove the exemption. Consultation with the State and regional offices would be needed.

Regulatory Citation:

Federal Register Wednesday, July 24, 2002, pages 48395 to 48415. In addition, we confirmed our thinking with conversations with the EPA region V offices, the State of Kansas and the State of Nebraska.

Interpretation:

Spent sulfuric acid, which can meet the limitations set out in the Zinc Fertilizer Rule, can be used to manufacture the zinc fertilizer micronutrient as long as the requirements of 261.4(a)(20) are satisfied.