Faxback 11926


9441.1994(15)

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

June 10, 1994

Ms. Mary Ann Habeeb
Albright & Habeeb
Attorneys At Law
1915 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220

Dear Ms. Habeeb:

Thank you for your letter dated May 18, 1994, requesting
clarification of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
regulations as they apply to the use of perchloroethylene in your
client's dry cleaning process.

In response to your request, the following provides general
guidance regarding Federal regulations that may apply in the
situation you describe and discusses the relevant factors to
consider in determining the regulatory status of the
perchloroethylene. However, regulatory determinations such as the
one you seek (i.e., specific to your client's process or products)
must be made on a case-by-case basis by the appropriate State
regulatory agency or EPA regional office.

According to your letter, the perchloroethylene is contained
in tanks that are connected to dry cleaning machines and/or
distillation units in a closed loop system. After use in the dry
cleaning machines, the perc is either returned directly to a tank
for reuse in the drycleaner, or piped to the distillation unit
where impurities are removed. Periodically, during repair or
maintenance, the perc is drained from the system and stored
temporarily (for periods that may exceed 90 days) in barrels prior
to reintroduction into the system. You ask whether the
perchloroethylene (perc) that is removed from the system and stored
in barrels pending its reinsertion into the process is a solid
waste subject to RCRA.

The regulatory status of the perc in this case depends on
whether the perc is a spent material that is to be reclaimed prior
to reuse or perc that is either unused or already reclaimed and
therefore not spent (i.e., fit for direct use without prior
reclamation). These issues are addressed by 40 CFR 261.1 and
261.2(e). Spent materials being reclaimed are regulated as solid
waste under RCRA regulations. A "spent material" is "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."

Among the factors to be considered in determining whether the
perc is a spent material in this case is the level of contamination
of the perc that is removed from the system (i.e., whether the perc
is spent and must be reclaimed, or is clean enough to be
directly reused), and where it is being reintroduced into the
process. For example, the fact that perc is being reintroduced
directly into the distillation unit or at a point in the line where
it will undergo distillation (a form of reclamation) prior to use
in the drycleaning machine would indicate that the perc is spent.
Reinsertion directly into the drycleaning unit, on the other hand,
would indicate that the perc is not spent because it need not, and
in fact is not being reclaimed prior to reuse. (The fact that the
perc can be reinserted anywhere within the system, as indicated in
your letter, lends credence to the point of reinsertion as an
indicator of whether the perc is a spent material.)

I trust that the above has helped you understand in general
how the RCRA regulations work. As previously noted, EPA Regions and
States authorized to implement the hazardous waste program make
determinations regarding the requirements that apply to specific
materials and facilities. Also, some States have programs more
stringent than the Federal hazardous waste program. To obtain a
definitive determination regarding a specific site, you should
submit your request to the appropriate State or Regional authority.

I hope this adequately addresses your concerns. If you have
any further questions, please contact Becky Daiss at
(202) 260-8718 or Mitch Kidwell at (202) 260-8551.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Petruska
Chief
Regulatory Development Branch

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Attachment
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Albright & Habeeb
Attorneys At Law
1915 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
Telephone 311-251-2808 Facsimile 317-251-1941

May 18, 1994

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste
401 M. St., SW
Washington, DC 20460

ATTN: Michael Shapiro

RE: Regulatory Status of Perchloroethylene used in Drycleaning

Dear Mr. Shapiro:

My office is currently working with a drycleaning business
which utilizes the solvent perchloroethylene. Perchloroethylene
("perc") is commonly used by the drycleaning industry to remove
dirt, grease and other undesirables from fabric.

Our client's drycleaning process involves one or more tanks
containing perc, one or more drycleaning machines, and one or more
distillation units, all connected by a closed-loop pipe system
supported by a pump. Several drycleaning machines may be connected
to and use the same still. The perc in the system is placed
directly into the drycleaner, into the process line, or into one of
the tanks. After use in the drycleaner it is then either returned
to a tank for reuse, or piped to the still where the impurities are
removed. The perc can be used and reused any number of times before
it is sent to the still, depending on the fabric being cleaned and
the nature and amount of impurities in the fabric.

After distillation, the "clean" perc is returned to the tank
for further use in the drycleaner. This process is closed-loop and
repeated as needed. When necessary due to evaporation and normal
product loss, additional perc may, as stated above, be added to a
tank, the line or directly into the drycleaner. During any
particular drycleaning process the tanks may contain perc with
varying degrees of impurities which are used and continuously
reused-in the drycleaning process, depending on the condition of
the item to be drycleaned.

Stillbottoms from the still are manifested under RCRA and
shipped off site for proper disposal, as is the fuzz and lint
collected in the drycleaning machine filters. The perc in the
system is circulated and reused indefinitely, and only supplemented
with additional perc as needed.

Periodically, due to equipment breakdown or regular machine
maintenance, the tanks and lines are drained and the perc placed
temporarily in specially-designed barrels. The barrels are
labelled as perc in order to meet OSHA and IOSHA requirements. As
needed, the perc is returned to the drycleaning system directly
from these barrels. It can be placed anywhere in the "loop", that
is, in the line, tank, still, or directly into the drycleaning
machine without reclamation.

A question has arisen as to whether perc which has been used
in the drycleaning process but which has been removed on a
temporary basis from the line or tank, and which is being stored in
barrels, pending its reintroduction into the system, is subject to
RCRA. Occasionally the perc may remain in the barrels for more than
90 days as it may not be immediately needed to replenish perc
already in a system which is in use. It is the company's position
that the perc does not meet the definition of solid waste in 40 CFR
261.2 and that it falls under the exclusion of 261.2(e). This
interpretation was also confirmed by a telephone conversation with
one of the information specialists at the RCRA-Superfund hotline
(800-424-9346).

We would like for you to confirm the interpretation given to
us by your hotline. We appreciate your prompt response to this
inquiry and look forward to hearing from you. If you have further
questions or clarification, please let me know.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Mary Ann Habeeb