Hazardous Waste or not
By Richard Wolfe
I recently attended a towing association meeting where the subject was if dry sweep and oil absorbent pads are considered hazardous waste or not. Also discussed was if we are required to clean them up and dispose of them.
Much discussion was on this subject, as some towers are being told to pick the oil absorption materials up and take them with the vehicle that caused the leak. If you do that, how do you dispose of them? That is a hard question to answer, because according to what I can find out, it depends on HOW you are going to get rid of them. Do you put it in the vehicle that causes the spill?
Let’s look at it in simple steps. First, the vehicle caused the accident and spill. Insurance companies cover all related claims for the accident, IF the vehicle or person has coverage. In the case of a large spill, such as an overturned tanker, an environmental cleanup company would respond and take care of the cleanup. Insurance would be charged for the costs to do this. This would be out of the capability of most if not all tow companies to handle.
In the case of an automobile accident, the quantity of oil would be small (about 1 gallon), or several gallons of gasoline. If the fire department showed up and put out the pads or dry sweep, then are you required to clean it up? In Oregon, we are required by law to clean up all debris from an accident scene before we can leave.
Here is the tricky part. DOES YOUR INSURANCE cover you when handling hazardous materials?
The main problem with hazardous materials is that two years or 50 years down the road, the incident debris comes back to haunt you. If you sent the debris to a waste disposal site, you are responsible for it until it is destroyed. Even though you get a receipt and all sorts of official looking paperwork, and the company provides you with all the legal mumbo-jumbo, you as the generator of the hazardous waste are responsible for it.
How can you get around it? There is a way. When you sign the paperwork, remember that you are acting as an agent (loosely) of the insurance company. The insurance company should pay for the disposal or at least be listed on the forms as the real generator of the waste.
So when and if you ever have to dispose of any hazardous waste that is generated by an accident vehicle, list the vehicle information you have on the form, list the insurance company information you have on the form, and then sign it as acting on behalf of the insurance company. Then get your receipt and attach it to your tow bills with other information about the vehicle. Create a special file folder that will not get tossed out. You will need this information of it comes back to haunt you.
Let’s look at how it is going to be disposed of. If the waste is sent to an incinerator, it should and might be considered fuel if the main purpose of the plant is to generate power or something along those lines. If it is to be recycled and turned into another product, then it is a supply material. But if it is so dangerous that it is going too buried or destroyed by burning to nothing, then it is considered hazardous waste.
I do not claim to have a lot of answers in this area, as this field is so specialized and rightly regulated that it requires special training to be an operator or worker at one of the disposal companies. So this is a subject that you as a towing operator or company owner should study carefully.
Failure to do so might come back and haunt you later. There are so many agencies that regulate hazardous waste; it is hard to follow all the rules and regulations. But rest assured that if you screw up, the agencies will be reaching into your wallet for hefty fines.
You might consider asking the EPA and other regulatory agencies in your area how and what you should do with all this stuff that you might generate.
Next, you should talk to your insurance agent to get their answers. They will be involved if you screw up. Better to know if you are covered before you attempt the job.
If you are not covered, turn the job down, or contact someone like the local environmental clean up company.
They are the experts, and they can tell you what to do and how to do it, and also how much it will cost to do the job. They are the ones that are called by the big guys to clean up the major problems, and who knows, if you show that that you are willing to work with them, you might get a chance to make a lot more money.
I know this subject is not covered completely, because there are regulations and rule changes that are being created as we discuss the subject. As I get more information I will pass it on to you.
(article originally printed in the August 1998 issue of Towing & Recovery Phootnotes, and reprinted – posted with their permission)
