PFAS Impacts on the Waste Industry BM1 and US Ecologys Solutions - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

PFAS Impacts on the Waste Industry BM1 and US Ecology’s Solutions Andy Marshall Executive Vice President Regulatory Compliance & Safety

Slide 1 BM1 Andy: This title, "PFAS Impacts on the Waste Industry" is how UBS is advertising this presentation." I added "and US Ecology's Solutions" Beth Mickelson, 4/1/2020

The PFAS Challenge Regulatory Environment PFAS Market & Capabilities US Ecology Solutions

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) PFAS Products  Teflon  Scotchguard  Stainmaster  Stainsafe  Silverstone  Polartec  Texapore  Gore-tec PFAS were invented in the 1930s and were the main ingredients in • nonstick and waterproof coatings More than 3,000 manmade chemicals are classified as PFAS. Most is • known about PFOS and PFOA Compounds are persistent in the environment and mobile • 3

Contamination Pathways 4

Initial Regulatory Development EPA was slow to regulate PFAS environmental impacts Recognized in early 2000s for potential health and environmental • impacts EPA published provisional health advisory (not a regulatory limit) • of 70 ppt for PFOA/PFOS in drinking water in 2009 Phased elimination of the manufacture of certain PFAS compounds • by 2015 Developed PFAS Action Plan in February 2019 • States have been leading regulatory change Requiring testing of discharges, surface and ground water to • determine extent of the problem Some states eliminating inventory and disposal of PFAS foams • from fire departments Establishing discharge limits and requiring PFAS site clean-ups • 5

Progress on EPA’s PFAS action plan (Released: February 14, 2019)  February 20, 2020 released a preliminary determination to Drinking Water regulate PFOS and PFOA under the Safe Drinking Water Act  Initiated regulatory process to designate PFOA and PFOS Cleanup hazardous substances  Issued interim recommendations for groundwater contamination on December 19, 2019  February 20, 2020 added PFAS chemicals to the Toxics Release Toxics Inventory and proposed regulations on importing PFAS chemicals used in surface coatings  Added 6 PFAS compounds to monitoring by Public Waster Monitoring Systems  December 19, 2019 - Validated analytical methods for 29 PFAS Research compounds 6

Congress Acted through the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act, December 2019) DOD Provisions include: Phase out of AFFF foams by 2024 • PFAS-containing waste must be stored according to RCRA • Controls over the incineration of PFAS waste • Requirements that drive identification and cleanup of contaminated • military installations EPA Provisions Include: Requirement to add PFAS compounds to Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) • Publish interim guidance on disposal and destruction by Dec. 2020 • Expedite research into health and environmental effects and • remediation technology TSCA amendments requiring reporting by PFAS manufacturers • What wasn't included was inclusion of a CERCLA hazardous substance designation for certain PFAS chemicals 7

Current Market Opportunities AFFF firefighting foam Disposal of the PFAS foam inventory from fire departments and DOD • Disposal of diluted firefighting foam wastewater from firefighting • activity Soil and water contamination US Department of Defense • Identified 425 military sites with high concentrations of soil and • groundwater PFAS contamination Preliminary estimate of $2 billion in cleanup costs • Managing PFAS contaminated leachate from municipal landfills • Soil and groundwater from 100’s of contaminated sites • Other PFAS waste sources Water treatment media with concentrated PFAS • 8

Potential Treatment/Disposal Options PFAS contaminated Water Technology Risks  Activated carbon Treatment becomes more complicated when  Ion exchange wastewater has high levels of organics.  Reverse osmosis Deepwell disposal may be limited to lower  Deepwell Injection concentrations due to foaming. PFAS Soil Technology Risks  Thermal desorption Air emissions are in early stages of evaluation and  Thermal soil burners burner temperature and residence time are  parameters. Large resistance from activist groups. Commercial incineration  Landfill Leachate may require PFAS treatment. 9

US Ecology PFAS waste solutions Arid Climate Landfill Disposal (Beatty, NV and Grand View, ID) No leachate discharge • Capable of high concentration, large volume event projects • Other Landfill Solutions (Belleville, MI and Robstown, TX) Accept lower concentration PFAS waste to manage leachate • treatment Thermal Soil Treatment (Moose Creek, AK) Only thermal treatment unit specifically permitted for PFAS • EPA Office of Research and Development involved in extensive testing • Adjacent to Eielson AFB with approx. 300,000 tons of PFAS soil • Deepwell Disposal (Winnie, TX) Permitted to accept municipal landfill leachate • Caprock disposal facility can accept high levels of solids • 10