DSHW-2024-008894

Standards for Used Oil Marketers (R315-15-7)&PCBs(R315-15-18)
David Wheeler, Environmental Scientist
[phone]
[e-mail]
What is a used oil marketer?
Official Definition: A used oil marketer is a person who:
(1) Directs a shipment of off-specification used oil from their facility
to a used oil burner; or
(2) First determines and claims that used oil that is to be burned for
energy recovery meets the used oil fuel specifications set forth in
R315-15-1.2.
Simplified Translation (of the 2nd case):
Someone who claims used oil is clean enough to burn.
Yes! Yes! It’s clean enough to buuurn!
When writing these rules, the
EPA struck a balance between
protecting people from the
inherent contamination found
in much of used oil and the
desire to allow people to burn
used oil for energy recovery.
So what is
“clean enough to burn?”
The used oil must meet the used oil fuel specifications found in
R315-15-1.2
Used oil burned for energy recovery, and any fuel produced
from used oil by processing, blending, or other treatment, must
be demonstrated not to exceed any allowable levels of the
constituents and properties shown in Table 1 in R315-15-1.2
-or-
must be burned according to the off-specification rules and
burned in the special furnaces specified in those rules.
TABLE 1
Constituent/property Allowable level
Arsenic 5 ppm maximum
Cadmium 2 ppm maximum
Chromium 10 ppm maximum
Lead 100 ppm maximum
Flash point 100 degrees F minimum
Total halogens 4,000 ppm maximum*
*
Used oil containing more than 1,000 ppm total halogens is
presumed to be a hazardous waste under the rebuttable presumption
described in R315-15-1.1(b)(1). Such used oil is subject to the
hazardous waste rules (R315-266-100 through 112) rather than the
used oil rules (R315-15) when burned for energy recovery unless
the presumption of mixing can be successfully rebutted.
*
Mixtures of used oil with hazardous waste or any
quantifiable level (2 ppm) of PCBs are regulated under the
hazardous waste or toxic waste rules, respectively, rather
than used oil rules.
Used oil that meets the used oil fuel specifications found in
R315-15-1.2 is referred to as
on-specification used oil
(often shortened to “on-spec used oil”)
Used oil that fails to meet the used oil fuel specifications found
in R315-15-1.2 is referred to as
off-specification used oil
(“off-spec used oil”)
Off-specification shipments
R315-15-7.2
A used oil fuel marketer may initiate a shipment of off-specification used oil
only to a used oil burner who:
(a) Has an EPA identification number; and
(b) Burns the used oil in an industrial furnace or boiler identified in
R315-15-6.2(a)
ON-SPECIFICATION USED OIL FUEL
R315-15-7.3(a)
Analysis of used oil fuel. A used oil fuel marketer who is a used oil
generator, transporter, transfer facility, processor/re-refiner, or burner
may determine that used oil that is to be burned for energy recovery
meets the fuel specifications of R315-15-1.2 and the PCB requirements
of R315-15-18 by performing analyses or obtaining copies of analyses
or other information* approved by the Director documenting that the
used oil fuel meets the specifications.
*Note that the EPA guidance specifies that generator knowledge used for this determination
has to be personal.
➣ Used oil is not considered to be on-specification until it has
been certified as such by a registered used oil fuel marketer in
accordance with the used oil fuel marketer's analysis plan,
approved by the Director.
Record retention R315-15-7.3(b)
A generator, transporter, transfer facility, processor/re-refiner, or
burner who first certifies that used oil that is to be burned for
energy recovery meets the specifications for used oil fuel under
R315-15-1.2 and the PCB requirements of R315-15-18 shall keep
copies of analyses of the used oil, or other information used
to make the determination, for three years.
Notification & Permitting
Used oil marketers must obtain an EPA Identification number and a
registration prior to acting as a marketer.
Kaci McNeill at DEQ can help you with the
EPA ID Number:
[phone]
[e-mail]
Tracking R315-15-7.5(b)
On-specification used oil delivery. Marketers shall keep a record
of each shipment of used oil to an on-specification used oil burner.
Records for each shipment shall include the following
information:
(1) The name and address of the facility receiving the shipment;
(2) The quantity of used oil fuel delivered;
(3) The date of shipment or delivery; and
(4) A cross-reference to the record of used oil analysis or other
information used to make the determination that the oil meets the
specifications required under R315-15-7.3(a) and the PCB
requirements of R315-15-18.
Tracking R315-15-7.5(a)
Off-specification used oil delivery. Marketers who direct a
shipment of off-specification used oil to a burner shall keep a
record of each shipment of used oil to a used oil burner. These
records may take the form of a log, invoice, manifest, bill of lading
or other shipping documents.
Tracking R315-15-7.5(a) (cont.)
Records for each [off-spec used oil] shipment shall include the
following information:

(1) The name and address of the transporter who delivers the used oil
to the burner;
(2) The name and address of the burner who will receive the used oil;
(3) The EPA identification number of the transporter who delivers the
used oil to the burner;
(4) The EPA identification number of the burner;
(5) The quantity of used oil shipped; and
(6) The date of shipment
Record retention R315-15-7.5(c)
Marketers shall keep used oil delivery records for three years.
Notices R315-15-7.6
(a) Certification. Before a marketer directs the first shipment of
off-specification used oil fuel to a burner, they shall obtain a
one-time written and signed notice from the burner certifying that:
(1) The burner has notified the Director stating the location and
general description of used oil management activities; and
(2) The burner has obtained an EPA identification number and, if
the off-specification used oil is burned in Utah, an
off-specification used oil burner permit and current used oil
handler certificate from the Director; and
(3) The burner will burn the off-specification used oil only in an
industrial furnace or boiler identified in R315-15-6.2(a).
Record retention R315-15-7.6(b)
Unsurprisingly, marketers are required to keep off-specification
used oil certifications for three years.
LABORATORY ANALYSES
R315-15-7.7
Used oil marketers shall use a
Utah-certified laboratory, as specified in
R315-15-1.8, to satisfy the analytical
requirements of R315-15-7. These
laboratories must be certified in the
analytical methods specified in the
marketer registration.
PCBs
(Polychlorinated Biphenyls)
R315-15-18
Why do we care?
1. Studies suggest the following eects of exposure to PCBs:
●Acute lethality, = Death
●Body weight loss,
●Carcinogenesis = Cancer
●Dermal toxicity,
●Fatty liver,
●Genotoxicity,
●Hepatomegaly, = Liver damage
●Immunosuppressive effects,
●Neurotoxicity,= Nerve damage
●Porphyria,
●Reproductive and developmental toxicity,
●Thymic atrophy, and
●Thyroid hormone-level alterations.
Why do we care?
2. They are very persistent in the environment. It takes a very long
time for them to break down.
3. They tend to bioaccumulate and biomagnify (so they become
more concentrated as they move through the food chain). Note
that tends to be especially bad news for the non-vegans among us.
Why do we care?
4. PCB releases can be VERY expensive to clean up!
Why do we care?
5. Used oil contaminated with PCBs even in a tank can be very
expensive to clean up and dispose. Burning that oil is strictly
regulated by the Federal Government under the TSCA regulations
because it can produce dangerous chemicals when burned (like
dioxins).
In Utah, while I have been working for the State, I can think of two
major PCB contaminations. One shut down plants in several states,
both were very expensive to clean up. This is real.
Where is PCB oil found?
Although no longer commercially produced in the United States,
PCBs may be present in products and materials produced before the
1979 PCB ban.
Where is PCB oil found?
Most of the PCB oil we find nowadays comes from:
1.Older transformers and capacitors and other electrical equipment (ex: voltage regulators,
switches, re-closers, bushings, and electromagnets). [This is often referred to as “dielectric
oil” or “mineral oil.”]
Historical note: here is what the very early transformers looked like. This was before PCBs were
added to transformer oil to cool and insulate electrical equipment and to reduce flammability:
Caution!
There is a very confusing term out there that could potentially get
you into trouble when handling transformer oil.
“Non PCB” does NOT mean zero PCBs. It means “less than 50
ppm.”
Can you really trust that transformer? Has it been certified to have no PCBs lurking in its heart?
Where is PCB oil found (cont.)?
2. Older oil used in motors and hydraulic systems (especially ones designed for operating at high
pressure or temperature).
Where is PCB oil found (cont.)?
3. Old electrical devices or appliances containing PCB capacitors
Where is PCB oil found (cont.)?
4. Mystery oil – why was it abandoned? Do you want to roll that dice?
PCB Rules
R315-15-18(a)
Used oil containing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations of 50 ppm
and above is subject to TSCA regulations in 40 CFR 761. Used oil containing
PCB concentrations greater than or equal to 2 ppm but less than 50 ppm is
subject to both R315-15 and 40 CFR 761.
2 ppm to <50 ppm:both R315-15 (Used oil) and 40 CFR 761 (TSCA)
50 ppm and above:40 CFR 761 (TSCA)
PCB Rules (cont.)
R315-15-18(b)
Used oil transporter PCB testing. Used oil transporters shall determine that the
PCB content of used oil being transported is less than 50 ppm prior to
transferring the oil into their vehicles. The transporter shall make this
determination as follows:
(1) Used dielectric oil. Dielectric oil used in transformers and other high voltage
devices shall be certified to be less than 50 ppm prior to loading to the transporter's
vehicle through laboratory testing following the procedures described in R315-15-18(d).
(2) Other used oils shall be certified to be less than 50 ppm prior to transfer through:
(A) Laboratory testing following the procedures described in R315-15-18(d) below,
-or-
(B) Written certification from the generator that the PCB content of the used oil is
less than 50 ppm based on manufacturing specifications and process knowledge.
PCB Rules
R315-15-18(c) & (d)
(c) Used oil marketer PCB testing. To ensure that used oil destined to be
burned for energy recovery is not a regulated waste under the TSCA
regulations, used oil fuel marketers shall determine whether the PCB content
of used oil being burned for energy recovery is below 2 ppm. A marketer shall
make this determination in a manner consistent with the used oil marketer's
sampling and analysis plan.
(d) Laboratory testing for PCBs. Used oil testing for total PCBs shall include
the following Aroclors: 1016, 1221, 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, and 1260.
Test kits
Note that PCB test kits are useful as a screening tool for dielectric oil but cannot be substituted
for the lab requirements of R315-15-18(b)(1).
Questions?
10 Minute Break