Examine a letter from the EPA to LEE showing documentation, which assures you that selling your scrap to us falls within the guidelines imposed by the EPA. Not only is your scrap handled in a responsible and legal manner, but also it helps keep the environment healthy by keeping it out of landfills! 

To view the original of this on the EPA website., see EPA Letter to Lee Solder Inc.

 

FAXBACK 13534
REGULATORY STATUS OF SOLDER SCRAP
PPC 9441.1992(06)

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

 

March 26, 1992

Mr. Nathan M. Burton, General Manager
LEE Solder Incorporated
300 Tunnell Street
P.O. Box 455
Seagoville, Texas 75159

 Dear Mr. Burton:

Thank you for your letter of February 20, 1992, regarding solder scrap and its status as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). I apologize for the delay in responding to your December 11, 1991, letter on this subject. Because our interpretations may have important impacts on industrial operations such as yours, we wanted to respond both carefully and fully to the concerns raised in your letter.

First, and most important, you question whether you will need a RCRA permit for your Texas facility. As the state agency authorized to implement the RCRA hazardous waste program in the State of Texas, the Texas Water Commission's regulations and their interpretation of those regulations would determine what RCRA requirements apply to your facility. Please note that some of the RCRA requirements may also be implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regional office in Dallas, Texas.

Second, you asked about our federal perspective on "scrap" solder that is used in an electronics assembler's solder bath, but is removed due to its contamination level. We can provide some general guidance on this issue although the Texas determination will be controlling for your facility. This material appears to meet the definition of a "spent material" in the federal hazardous waste regulations at 40 CFR 261.1(c)(1), and would be a "solid waste" when reclaimed (_261.2(c)(3)) (see footnote 1). A "spent material" is defined as "any material that has been used and as a result of contamination can no longer serve the purpose for which it was produced without processing.

 In your letter, you pointed out that used, slightly contaminated solder would have environmental impacts similar to those from unused solder. You are correct in pointing out that the federal hazardous waste regulations, as currently structured, can require vastly different levels of control based on what may appear to be minor details about the circumstances of a material's use or generation. We are concerned that our current distinction based on a material's use may not be valid, just as you raised in your letter.

In response to important reasons (such as yours), we are currently involved in a major effort to reevaluate the federal definition of solid waste to determine if it functions as a barrier to environmentally sound recycling practices. One of the main objectives of the reassessment is to see if the controls imposed under RCRA can be better matched to the environmental risks that a material or process poses. We may decide that used materials are not necessarily wastes, at least not when managed in specified environmentally sound ways. In that context, I very much appreciate the issues you have raised and will ensure that they are considered as part of our broad assessment of the definition of solid waste.

If you have any further questions on this issue, or on the assessment that we are conducting, please feel free to contact David Bussard, Director, Characterization and Assessment Division, Office of Solid Waste, at (202) 260-4637.

Sincerely yours,
Don Clay
Assistant Administrator

(1) However, there could be situations where the used solder is not considered "spent" and thus not a "solid waste" under the RCRA regulations. For example, used solder that is sold and reused as solder by another user, with no processing (i.e., direct reuse) is not a "solid waste" if it meets the criteria in 40 CFR 261.2 You would need to discuss these provisions with Texas if you believe they pertain to your situation.