Chapter Overviews cont'd - doe-hdbk-1139-3-20050177

DOE-HDBK-1139/3-2005

CHAPTER 9: CHEMICAL DISPOSITION

This chapter consolidates existing DOE and federal safety and health requirements that address the

disposition of chemicals and chemical products (with the exception of nuclear materials and radiological

materials) when they are no longer needed at a DOE site. State and local requirements are not included.

This chapter applies to all locations involved in the storage or use of chemicals and chemical products

(see def.). An important point of this chapter is that these consolidated requirements apply until the time

the chemicals are identified as "solid waste" for final disposal (see def.) under the provisions of the

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The requirements consolidated in this chapter are derived primarily from DOE and federal property

management regulations, and are captured in ten major sections:

4.1 - Disposition of Excess (or Surplus) Chemicals

4.2 - Utilization of Excess Chemicals

4.3 - Off-site Transfer to Other Federal Agencies

4.4 - Donation or Sale of Surplus Chemicals to the Public

4.5 - Donation or Sale of Surplus Hazardous Materials to Public Agencies

4.6 - Sale of Hazardous Materials to Public Bodies

4.7 - Abandonment or Destruction of Surplus Hazardous Materials

4.8 - Disposition of Special Types of Hazardous Materials

4.9 - Utilization and Disposition of Hazardous Materials that are Radioactively or

Chemically

Contaminated

4.10 - Storage and Handling of Excess or Surplus Chemicals

Sections 4.1 through 4.9 address various methods available for the disposition of excess/ surplus

chemicals, and Appendices A and B provide explanatory and supporting material associated with the

requirements consolidated in this chapter.

Two key aspects (Section 4.1.3) pertinent to the disposition of a chemical product are:

identifying actual or potential hazards and

documenting that information with a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or a Hazardous

Materials Identification System (HMIS) record, if available. In the absence of either document,

an MSDS-equivalent document (consistent with the MSDS content requirements of the OSHA

Hazard Communication Standard, 29CFR1910.1200) must be prepared by the DOE site. It is

important to note that an MSDS or equivalent hazard identification document must accompany all

offsite transfers, donations and sales.

Appendix A, including Table A-1, summarizes the sequential steps that constitute the typical disposition

process: screening within the DOE complex (Section 4.2.1), screening for utilization at other federal

agencies (Sections 4.2.2, 4.2.3 and 4.3), donations to approved state organizations (Sections 4.4 and 4.5),

and sales to the public (Sections 4.4 and 4.6). Available disposition routes are limited by the hazard, risk

or value characteristics of the chemical.

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