FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 31, 2012
DEP NORTHEAST DISTRICT, NORTHEAST FLORIDA REGIONAL COUNCIL AND CITY OF JACKSONVILLE HOLD FREE HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP
~Workshop focused on used oil storage requirements and management of commercial hazardous waste~
 A workshop held this week in Jacksonville for 90 hazardous waste facility workers was part of an ongoing effort to provide guidance on Department rules and regulations.
JACKSONVILLE - The Florida
Department of Environmental Protection’s Northeast District, the Northeast
Florida Regional Council and the City of Jacksonville this week held a free
workshop that focused on the handling of commercial hazardous waste and the
storage of used oil. Agenda items included hazardous waste identification,
small quantity generator hazardous waste regulations, used oil and used oil
filter management standards and universal waste regulations.
“The
two-day, free workshop provided participants with an opportunity to learn how
to properly and legally manage wastes generated by their facilities,” said the
Department’s Northeast District Director Greg Strong. “The workshop is an
ongoing Departmental effort to provide compliance assistance to business and industry
representatives in Northeast Florida.”
The
workshop, which was held Oct. 30-31, was attended by 90 representatives of facilities
that may generate hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is a discarded substance
that, because of its concentration, physical, or chemical characteristics may
pose a substantial or potential hazard to human health or the environment when
improperly treated, stored, disposed, or transported. Common regulated wastes
include used oil and filters, anti-freeze, solvents, rags, paint wastes,
lead-acid batteries, dental amalgams, fluorescent tubes and high intensity
light bulbs containing mercury.
All
hazardous waste must be properly containerized as soon as it is generated. For
disposal, facilities must ensure delivery of the hazardous waste to a permitted
treatment, storage or disposal facility.
Hazardous
wastes must be handled in ways that prevent them from reaching the environment.
They need to be kept out of the soil, ground water, surface water and air.
Exposure to them can cause adverse health effects. In Florida, because of
shallow aquifers, even small amounts of hazardous waste can seep into the
groundwater and contaminate our drinking water supply.
The
Department’s Northeast District Hazardous Waste section inspects and/or permits
businesses that generate, transport, treat, store or dispose of hazardous
waste, used oil and used oil filters, or universal wastes in order to protect
the environment from the improper handling and disposal of these wastes. For
more information, please visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/northeast/waste/hw.htm.
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