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  Research Highlights

Disposal of Building Decontamination Residue

Image: A view of a kiln.
After terrorists use chemical or biological agents to attack buildings, transportation hubs, or other structures, cleanup and restoration activities can generate significant amounts of building decontamination residue (BDR). This BDR consists primarily of porous materials from inside the building. Although the BDR may have been decontaminated, sampling limitations cannot guarantee that the contaminants were destroyed. In addition, the BDR may contain residual decontamination chemicals and decomposition by-products from the contaminants.

Disposal is the final step in the restoration process after the initial response and decontamination activities. Likely disposal options include high temperature thermal incineration, landfilling, and steam autoclaving. However, issues related to disposal are inextricably linked with the entire previous process, including the impact of:

  • Containment activities on waste quantities and levels of contamination
  • Decontamination effectiveness and residual contamination levels on waste classification for transportation and disposal
  • Decontamination technologies on waste quantities and characteristics
  • Tradeoffs between decontamination costs and disposal costs

A May 2003 workshop in Cincinnati, OH, brought together various stakeholders to discuss BDR disposal. Afterwards, DCMD initiated a research program to consolidate available BDR disposal information and lessons learned into guidance for responders, permitting agencies, and the disposal industry, and to perform experimental research in order to help close existing data gaps.

The research program continues, presuming that all BDR disposal will occur under existing regulations. These regulations include proper transportation to the disposal site under Department of Transportation (DOT) rules, proper packaging and handling according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and proper operational permitting of the disposal facilities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Clean Air Act.

Primary clients for the program will be 1) emergency response authorities who must determine the appropriate decontamination and disposal methods for the resulting residues, 2) state and local permitting agencies who must decide which facilities may dispose of the materials, and 3) waste management facilities that must safely dispose of BDR without affecting facility operations and without violating environmental permits.

See Also
U.S. EPA R&D Program for Disposal of Building Decontamination Residue (PDF) (8 pp, 223 KB) October 2006

Contact: Paul Lemieux

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