Thousands of American workers use solvents every day in industrial, commercial, and other non-residential settings. Many of these solvents become hazardous wastes when they can no longer be used for their intended purpose and are discarded. A hazardous waste must be managed safely from its point of generation through recycling or disposal. When one of your solvents can no longer be used, it is your responsibility to determine whether it is a hazardous waste.
The purpose of this guide is to make people who use and discard solvents aware of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste regulations and assist them in making correct hazardous waste determinations for solvents.
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.- Solvents in the Workplace: How to Determine if They Are Hazardous Waste (PDF)(32 pp, 292 K, September 2016)