[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 228 (Monday, November 27, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70678-70681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30111]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 258, 260, 261, 264, 265, 266, 270, and 279
[FRL-6908-4]
Waste Management System; Testing and Monitoring Activities;
Notice of Availability of Draft Update IVB of SW-846
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is
providing notice of the availability of, and requests comment on,
``Draft Update IVB'' to the Third Edition of the methods manual, ``Test
Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,'' EPA
publication SW-846. SW-846 contains EPA-approved sampling and analysis
methods for use under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Program. Draft Update IVB contains new and revised SW-846 methods. As
part of Draft Update IVB, we are also providing references in SW-846 to
four air methods that are, or may be in the future, used in the RCRA
regulations.
DATES: We are opening a comment period for the limited purpose of
obtaining information and views on the methods and chapters of Draft
Update IVB. Send your comments to reach us on or before February 26,
2001.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment on this notice, submit an original
and two copies of your comments referencing docket number F-2000-4BTA-
FFFFF to: The RCRA Docket Information Center, Office of Solid Waste
(5305G), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA, HQ),
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460. You may also hand
deliver comments to the Arlington, VA, address listed below. You may
also submit comments electronically by sending electronic mail through
the Internet to: [email protected]. You should identify
comments in electronic format with the docket number F-2000-4BTA-FFFFF.
Submit electronic comments as an ASCII (text) file and avoid the use of
special characters and any form of encryption. If you do not submit
comments electronically, we ask prospective commenters to voluntarily
submit one additional copy of their comments on labeled personal
computer diskettes in ASCII (text) format or a word processing format
that can be converted to ASCII (text). It is essential that you specify
on the disk label the word processing software and version/edition as
well as your name. This will allow EPA to convert the comments into one
of the word processing formats utilized by the Agency. Please use
mailing envelopes designed to physically protect the submitted
diskettes. We emphasize that submission of comments on diskettes is not
mandatory, nor will it result in any advantage or disadvantage to any
commenter.
You should not submit electronically any confidential business
information (CBI). You should instead submit an original and two copies
of the CBI under separate cover to: RCRA CBI Document Control Officer,
Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W., Washington, DC 20460.
You may view the official record of public comments and supporting
materials in the RCRA Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal
Gateway I, First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
The RIC is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding federal holidays. To review docket materials, you should make
an appointment by calling (703) 603-9230. You may copy a maximum of 100
pages from any regulatory docket at no charge. Additional copies cost
$0.15 per page. You may also view an electronic copy of the docket
index and notice. See the Supplementary Information section of this
notice for information on accessing it.
You can download a complete copy of Draft Update IVB (pdf format)
from the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/SW-846. A paper copy of Draft
Update IVB is also located in the docket for this notice (see ADDRESSES
above). The table below provides sources for both paper and electronic
copies of the Third Edition of SW-846 and all of its updates.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the
RCRA Hotline, Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
EST, at (800) 424-9346 or TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing impaired). In the
Washington, DC, metropolitan area, call (703) 412-9810.
For information on specific aspects of this notice or the Draft
Update IVB methods, contact the Methods Information Communication
Exchange (MICE) Service at (703) 676-4690, e-mail address:
[email protected]; or contact Barry Lesnik, Office of Solid Waste
(5307W), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building,
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20460, (703) 308-8855, e-mail
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Sources for SW-846, Third Edition, and Its Updates
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Source Available portions of SW-846
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Superintendent of Documents, U.S. --Paper copies of the SW-846,
Government Printing Office (GPO), Thrid Edition, basic manual
Washington, DC 20402, (202) 512-1800. and of certain updates,
including Final Updates, I,
II, IIA, IIB, and III, and
Draft Update IVA. Subscriber
must integrate the updates.
National Technical Information Service --Paper copy of an integrated
(NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, version of SW-846, Third
Springfield, VA 22161, (703) 605-6000 Edition, as amended by Final
or (800) 553-6847. Updates I, II, IIA, IIB, and
III.
--Individual paper copies of
the SW-846, Third Edition,
basic manual and of certain
updates, including Updates I,
II, IIA, IIB, III, IIIA, and
Draft Update IVA.
--CD-ROM of integrated version
of SW-846, Third Edition, as
amended by Final Updates I,
II, IIA, IIB, and III (pdf and
WordPerfect electronic
copies).
--CD-ROM of Draft Update IVA
(pdf and WordPerfect
electronic copies).
[[Page 70679]]
Internet http://www.epa.gov/SW-846..... --Integrated version of SW-846,
Third Edition, as amended by
Final Updates I, II, IIA, IIB,
III, and IIIA (pdf electronic
copy).
--Draft Update IVA (pdf
electronic copy).
--Draft Update IVB (pdf
electronic copy)
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How Do I Obtain Electronic Access to this Notice
The docket index and the notice are available on the Internet at:
WWW: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/test/up4ba.htm.
How Is This Notice Organized?
We list below the order of the major sections of this notice.
I. What Is the Subject and Purpose of this Notice?
II. How Does This Notice Relate to EPA's Future Methods Development
Efforts?
III. How Can I Use the Methods of Draft Update IVB?
IV. What Does Draft Update IVB Contain?
I. What Is the Subject and Purpose of this Notice?
We are announcing the availability of, and requesting public
comment on, Draft Update IVB to ``Test Methods for Evaluating Solid
Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,'' EPA Publication SW-846. SW-846
contains the analytical and test methods that we have evaluated and
found to be among those acceptable for monitoring conducted in support
of subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as
amended.
We change the content of SW-846 over time as new information and
data are developed. We continually review advances in analytical
instrumentation and techniques and periodically incorporate such
advances into SW-846 as method updates. These updates support changes
in the regulatory program and improve method performance and cost
effectiveness. We add new SW-846 methods to the manual, and replace
existing methods with revised versions of the same methods to reflect
the advances and new techniques. To date, we have finalized Updates I,
II, IIA, IIB, III, and IIIA to the SW-846 manual. We proposed and
finalized these updates as part of a rulemaking.
We are now developing the next update to SW-846. On May 8, 1998, we
published a notice of availability for Draft Update IVA in the Federal
Register (see 63 FR 25430-25438). We then began developing Draft Update
IVB to the manual. As we finished the methods, we posted them on our
Internet site at http://www.epa.gov/SW-846. Today, with this notice,
and as requested in the Senate Committee Report No. 106-410 regarding
EPA's 2001 appropriations bill, we are publishing and requesting
comment on Draft Update IVB, as published on the Internet and found in
the docket to this notice.
II. How Does This Notice Relate to EPA's Future Methods Development
Efforts?
We are releasing Draft Update IVB in a notice of availability for
informational purposes. We are making these EPA-reviewed methods and
revised chapters available to the public early, for guidance purposes.
The methods can be used in all applications for which the use of SW-846
methods is not mandatory and for which they are effective. We believe
that Draft Update IVB will be valuable to the public as guidance
because it makes new analytical technologies and improved procedures
available for use. This approach will allow the regulated community and
others an opportunity to participate early in the method review process
with the submittal of comments on the draft methods. As we also
explained regarding the release of Draft Update IVA in its notice of
availability, we are not at this time formally proposing to revise SW-
846 by adding Update IVB, or to incorporate the update in the RCRA
regulations for required uses.
In addition, we expect to change our approach to releasing most SW-
846 updates in the future. The notice for Draft Update IVA (see 63 FR
25430-25438) explains in detail the reasons for this change. To
summarize, we continue to implement a performance-based measurement
system (PBMS) in the RCRA program. As part of this effort, we are
developing a proposed rule to remove unnecessary required uses of SW-
846 methods from the RCRA regulations. If this rule is finalized, we
will generally only require the use of a particular method when it is
referenced specifically in a regulation. Examples of such a requirement
include the SW-846 methods specified in the RCRA regulations to
determine whether a waste exhibits a hazardous waste characteristic
(see 40 CFR part 261, subpart C). Several other RCRA regulations
generally require the use of only SW-846 methods, but do not define
regulatory parameters. In these cases, we plan to propose revisions to
those regulations whereby another acceptable method may be used,
provided it uses reliable techniques that are accepted as such by the
scientific community and provided that it can be demonstrated to be
appropriate for its intended use, i.e., it meets the data quality
objectives (DQOs) or measurement quality objectives (MQOs) of the
specific project.
If the future proposed rule to remove unnecessary required uses is
finalized, we will use rulemaking for only those updates to SW-846
which include methods that are specifically required by our
regulations. Rulemaking to revise or add required methods will remain
necessary because the required use of those specific methods will
continue. We will publish all other future SW-846 updates as guidance.
In this manner, we will make most new and revised methods for RCRA-
related monitoring available to the public in a faster and more
efficient manner. We will still follow Agency guidelines to ensure that
SW-846 methods are scientifically sound, including the peer review of
method documents as necessary. We will also continue to request public
comment on methods through Federal Register notices prior to their
incorporation into SW-846.
III. How Can I Use the Methods of Draft Update IVB?
Although the Draft Update IVB methods passed our Technical
Workgroup review, you cannot use the methods of Draft Update IVB for
compliance with the regulations that require the use of SW-846 methods.
However, there are other sampling and analysis requirements in 40 CFR
parts 260 through 270 that do not specify the use of SW-846 methods and
in those cases you may use any reliable analytical method, including
the methods found in Draft Updates IVA and IVB. We recommend that you
consult with the appropriate regulating entity before using these
methods to comply with a regulation.
[[Page 70680]]
IV. What Does Draft Update IVB Contain?
Draft Update IVB contains revised and new documents for SW-846,
each of which is dated ``November 2000'' in its footer. Tables 1
through 3 list the documents found in Draft Update IVB.
Table 1 provides a listing of the fifteen revised SW-846 methods
and seven revised chapters or other SW-846 documents found in Draft
Update IVB. We request public comment on all revised sections
identified by Table 1. We are interested in comments from the public on
the identified sections and chapters because some or all of their text
represents significant revisions from the promulgated version of the
document currently in the Third Edition of SW-846, as amended by
Updates I through IIIA. (Note: Unless otherwise indicated as former
sections, the section numbers in Table 1 refer to the section numbers
in the Draft Update IVB version of the method.) Significant revisions
include text deletions, additions, or other revisions that change a
method's procedure or the intent or meaning of the text. Significant
revisions do not include typographical or grammatical corrections,
table reformatting (where the information is not changed), logical
outgrowths of other revisions (e.g., the renumbering of sections to
account for the addition of a new section), or other edits that are not
substantive changes to text intent or the analytical procedure (e.g.,
the replacement of ``Teflon'' with ``PTFE''). Nonsignificant
revisions also include the movement of otherwise unchanged information
to another appropriate location in the method. We will, however,
consider comments on the reordering of otherwise unchanged information
in future revisions of Draft Update IVB.
As indicated in Table 1, some of the revised methods were also in
Draft Update IVA (documents dated January 1998). Based on further
review, we revised those documents and are releasing them again as part
of Draft Update IVB. You should replace your Draft Update IVA versions
with the Draft Update IVB versions. These documents include the Table
of Contents, Chapters Two through Five, and Methods 3535A, 3545A,
8081B, 8082A, 8141B, and 8321B (see Table 1 for the titles of these
methods).
Table 2 provides a listing of the twelve new SW-846 methods found
in Draft Update IVB. EPA is interested in comments on the content of
all sections or parts of the new methods. Finally, Table 3 identifies
the four air methods for which we are providing references in SW-846 as
part of Draft Update IVB. These one-page references for each method
indicate how one may obtain a copy of the method. We want to provide
this information in SW-846, for the convenience of the user, because
the methods are referred to by the RCRA regulations.
Table 1.--Revised Methods and Chapters of SW-846 Draft Update IVB
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Method or chapter Sections or parts open
Method No. title for comment
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Table of Contents*. All parts.
Chapter Two*....... All parts.
Chapter Three*..... All parts.
Chapter Four*...... All parts.
Chapter Five*...... All parts.
Chapter Six........ All parts.
Chapter Ten........ All parts.
3500C.................... Organic Extraction 1.2; 5.4.1; 5.5; 5.6;
and Sample 7.1; 7.9; 7.10; 7.11;
Preparation. 8.2.4.7; 8.3.1; 9.2;
Table 1.
3535A*................... Solid-Phase 1.1; 1.5; 4.3.2; 4.3.3;
Extraction (SPE). 4.4; 4.17; 5.5.7;
5.5.8; 7.0-7.11
(including all
subsections); 8.1-8.5;
10.0 Refs. 3-7; Table
1.
3545A*................... Pressurized Fluid 1.3; 1.5; 2.1; 2.2; 2.3;
Extraction (PFE). 3.3; 3.4; 5.3.4; 5.4;
5.5; 5.6.2; 5.6.3; 5.7;
5.7.4; 5.7.6; 5.7.7;
7.1; 7.1.3; 7.1.5;
7.1.6; 7.2; 7.2.1-
7.2.3; 7.3; 7.5; 7.6;
7.9.1-7.9.3; 7.12.1;
7.12.2; 8.4; 8.5; 9.4;
9.5; 10.0 Refs. 3 and
4.
3550C.................... Ultrasonic 1.4; 1.5; 1.6; 1.7; 5.4;
Extraction. 7.0; 7.3; 7.3.6; 7.4.2;
7.4.3; 7.4.5; 7.4.9;
7.5; 7.5.1-7.5.5; 7.6;
7.6.1-7.6.2.2; 8.3;
Table 2.
3620C.................... Florisil Cleanup... 1.5; 5.6.3.7; 5.10;
5.11; 5.12.
6010C.................... Inductively Coupled All parts.
Plasma-Atomic
Emission
Spectrometry.
8015C.................... Nonhalogenated 1.2; 1.2.1; 1.2.3; 1.4;
Organics by GC/FID. 2.2; 2.6; 2.7; 2.9;
2.10; 4.2; 4.2.5;
5.8.8; 7.1; 7.1.1.2;
7.1.3; 7.2.6; 9.1; 9.2;
9.4; 9.5; 10.0 Refs. 7
and 8; Table 8; Table
9.
8041A.................... Phenols by Gas 1.4; 1.6; 3.2; 3.5; 3.6;
Chromatography. 4.1; 4.2.3; 5.6; 7.0;
7.1.1.2; 7.1.3.2; 7.5;
7.5.1-7.5.3; 7.8; 8.5;
9.5; 10.0 Ref. 4;
Tables 4 and 5.
8081B*................... Organochlorine 1.8; 4.2; 5.3; 5.3.1;
Pesticides by Gas 5.3.2; 7.1; 7.3.1;
Chromatography. 7.3.2; 7.4.6; 7.5.4;
7.5.9; 7.6.2; 9.1; 9.5-
9.10; 10.0 Refs. 11-15;
Tables 12-21; removal
of former sec. 7.7.6.
8082A*................... Polychlorinated 1.3; 1.9; 4.2; 4.2.3.3;
Biphenyls (PCBs) 5.2; 5.6.3; 5.9.3;
by Gas 5.10; 6.2; 7.1.1;
Chromatography. 7.1.3; 7.5; 7.6.2.3;
7.6.2.4; 7.6.3; 7.6.6;
7.6.8; 7.7; 7.8.3;
8.2.1; 8.2.2; 8.3;
8.3.1-8.3.3; 8.5; 9.4;
9.4.1-9.4.3; 9.5; 9.6;
9.7; 10.0 Refs. 11-14;
Tables 11-22; Figures 1-
6; removal of former
secs. 7.10.4, 7.10.5,
8.3.1.1, and 8.3.1.2.
8141B*................... Organophosphorus 1.1; 1.6; 1.7; 2.1.1;
Compounds by Gas 2.1.2; 2.2; 4.2; 5.4.2;
Chromatography. 5.4.3; 6.2; 7.1; 7.2;
7.2.1-7.2.5; 7.3; 7.3.1-
7.3.3; 7.4; 7.5; 7.5.1-
7.5.2; 7.7; 7.7.1-
7.7.3; 7.8; 7.8.1-
7.8.3; 7.9; 7.9.1-
7.9.4; 8.3; 8.3.1-
8.3.3; 8.4; 8.4.1-
8.4.6; 8.5; 8.6; 9.1-
9.6; 10.0 Refs. 15 and
16; Tables 11-15;
removal of former secs.
8.3.3.1, 8.3.3.1.1-
8.3.3.1.5, 8.3.3.2,
8.7, 8.7.1-8.1.7.5.
8318A.................... N-Methyl Carbamates 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 1.4;
by High 2.1.1-2.1.3; 2.2; 2.3;
Performance Liquid 4.1; 4.1.4-4.1.7; 4.2-
Chromatography 4.8.4; 7.1-7.9 (and all
(HPLC). subsections); 8.1-8.4
(and all subsections);
9.1; 9.3; 10.0 Ref. 7;
Tables 5 and 6.
8321B*................... Solvent-Extractable 1.1; 1.5-1.9; 2.2.2;
Nonvolatile 3.11; 4.2; 4.3; 4.3.1;
Compounds by High 4.3.2; 4.19; 5.9; 5.15;
Performance Liquid 5.16; 7.1; 7.1.3;
Chromatography/ 7.3.1; 7.3.1.7; 7.4;
Thermospray/Mass 7.4.1-7.4.5; 7.5; 7.5.1-
Spectrometry (HPLC/ 7.5.4; 7.6.1; 7.8.1.1;
TS/MS) or 7.8.1.2; 7.8.2.2;
Ultraviolet (UV) 7.8.3; 7.9.4; 7.9.5;
Detection. 7.10.3; 9.3-9.5; 10.0
Refs. 10 and 11; Table
2; Tables 18-20;
removal of former secs.
7.5.2.8, 8.2.4, 9.2,
9.2.1, and 9.2.2;
removal of former
Tables 3, 10, 13, 14,
17, 18, and 19.
[[Page 70681]]
9056A.................... Determination of All parts.
Inorganic Anions
by Ion
Chromatography.
9210A.................... Potentiometric All parts.
Determination of
Nitrate in Aqueous
Samples with Ion-
Selective
Electrode.
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Note: The documents with an asterisk (*) were also in Draft Update IVA,
dated January 1998, and are being released again as part of Draft
Update IVB, with some revisions and a new date of November 2000.
Table 2.--New Methods of SW-846 Draft Update IVB
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Method no. Method title
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1040................................... Test Method for Oxidizing
Solids.
1050................................... Test Methods to Determine
Substances Likely to
Spontaneously Combust.
3546................................... Microwave Extraction.
3815................................... Screening Solid Samples for
Volatile Organics.
4425................................... Screening Extracts of
Environmental Samples for
Planar Organic Compounds
(PAHs, PCBs, Dioxins/Furans)
by a Reporter Gene on a Human
Cell Line.
8085................................... Compound-Independent Elemental
Quantitation of Pesticides by
Gas Chromatography with Atomic
Emission Detection (GC/AED).
8095................................... Explosives by Gas
Chromatography.
8261................................... Volatile Organic Compounds by
Vacuum Distillation in
Combination with Gas
Chromatography/Mass
Spectrometry (VD/GC/MS).
8510................................... Colorimetric Screening
Procedure for RDX and HMX in
Soil.
8535................................... Screening Procedure for Total
Volatile Organic Halides in
Water.
8540................................... Pentachlorophenol (PCP) by UV-
Induced Colorimetry.
9058................................... Determination of Perchlorate
Using Ion Chromatography with
Chemical Suppression
Conductivity Detection.
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Table 3.--Method References Provided by SW-846 Draft Update IVB
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Method no. Method title
------------------------------------------------------------------------
25D.................................... Determination of the Volatile
Organic Content of Waste
Samples.
25E.................................... Determination of Vapor Phase
Organic Concentration in Waste
Samples.
207-1.................................. Sampling Method for
Isocyanates.
207-2.................................. Analysis for Isocyanates by
High Performance Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: November 17, 2000.
Matthew Hale,
Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 00-30111 Filed 11-24-00; 8:45 am]
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