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Chapter 4 Intermediate Treatment of Industrial Waste
Article 19
Unless general industrial waste is reused or other central competent authority regulations apply, the following general industrial waste shall first undergo intermediate treatment. The treatment methods are as follows:
I. Flammable general industrial waste shall be treated with thermal treatment methods.
II. Waste transformers and their oil containing PCBs of more than 2ppm and less than 50ppm:
A. Waste transformers shall be first separated into solids and liquids, and their metal casing shall be recycled or treated with physical treatment methods.
B. The transformer oil or liquid shall be treated with thermal treatment methods.
C. As for nonmetal solid waste, nonflammable waste shall be finally disposed with the sanitary landfilling method, while flammable waste shall be treated with thermal treatment methods.
III. Waste pharmaceuticals for use in humans or animals shall be treated with thermal treatment methods.
IV. Wastewater treatment sludge from the manufacture of ethylene dichloride (EDC) or ethylene chloride shall be treated with thermal methods
V. Other treatment methods officially announced by the central competent authority.
Article 20
Unless hazardous industrial waste is reused or other central competent authority regulations apply, the following hazardous industrial waste shall first undergo intermediate treatment. The treatment methods are as follows:
I. Waste containing cyanides: treat using oxidative decomposition or thermal treatment methods.
II. Hazardous waste oils, hazardous organic sludge, or hazardous organic residues: treat using water-oil separation or thermal treatment methods.
III. Waste solvent: treat using extraction, distillation or thermal treatment methods.
IV. Waste containing pesticides or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): treat using thermal treatment methods.
V. Toxic chemical substances that contain halogenated organic substances: treat using thermal treatment or chemical treatment methods.
VI. Reactive industrial waste: treat using oxidative decomposition or thermal treatment methods.
VII. Waste acids or alkalis: treat using evaporation, distillation, film separation, or neutralization.
VIII. Waste containing mercury or its compounds: for such waste containing dry weight concentration greater than or equal to 260 milligrams, ultra-trace mercury shall be recycled, and its residue shall show a dissolved mercury content of less than 0.2 milligrams/liter in toxic characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test results; for waste containing dry weight concentration less than to 260 milligrams, other means of intermediate treatment shall be used, and its residue shall show a dissolved mercury content of less then 0.025 milligrams/liter.
IX. Waste containing toxic heavy metals: treat using solidification, stabilization, electrolysis, film separation, evaporation, melting, chemical treatment methods, or smelting. Waste composed of 30% or more of combustible or volatile solids may be treated with thermal treatment methods.
X. Steel industry ash and dust: treat using resource recycling, solidification, or stablization.
XI. Dioxinous waste: treat using thermal treatment.
XII. Toxic chemical substances containing toxic heavy metals: treat using chemical treatment methods, solidification, or stabilization.
XIII. Other toxic chemical substances that do not contain halogenated organic substances or toxic heavy metals: treat using thermal treatment methods, chemical treatment methods, solidification, or stabilization.
XIV. Containers for storage of toxic chemical substances or other hazardous industrial waste: treat using chemical treatment methods, thermal treatment methods, or cleaning/washing treatment; when using cleaning/washing treatment, proper wastewater treatment facilities must be used.
XV. Absestos and absestos product waste that contain hazardous industrial waste: use moistening treatment followed by packaging in double-layer plastic bags with a thickness of 60/10,000 cm. Bags shall be tied twice, with the first tie leaving overhang at the knot-ends to be tied again; the bags shall then be stored in sturdy containers or employ solidification with measures to prevent airborne dispersal.
XVI. Other treatment methods officially announced by the central competent authority.
Article 21
Unless other central competent authority regulations apply, biomedical waste shall be subjected to intermediate treatment. Intermediate treatment methods include the following:
I. Genotoxic waste: use thermal treatment or chemical treatment.
II. Waste sharp implements: use thermal treatment or pulverize after sterilization.
III. Infectious waste: use thermal treatment. However, waste microbial cultures, microbial colonies, and related biological products, surgical or autopsy waste, pathology waste, waste contaminated with blood or body fluids, may be treated by destroying its original form after sterilization. Waste whose original form has not been destroyed shall display in a prominent place on the waste containers the name of the waste producing enterprise, the sterilization method, the name of the sterilization personnel or enterprise, the date of sterilization and the results of sterilization efficacy tests.
Sterilization treatment standards, standards and procedures for operating rules and sterilization efficacy tests shall be determined on the basis of relevant central competent authority regulations.
Article 22
A trial operation plan shall be submitted whenever hazardous industrial waste is to be subjected to thermal treatment. Trial operation shall be performed in accordance with the trial operation plan after approval by the special municipality, county or city competent authority.One month before trial operation testing the special municipality, county or city competent authority shall be notified. Trial operation shall be performed in accordance with the trial operation plan under the supervision of the special municipality, county or city competent authority. For the testing required during trial operation, the enterprise shall commission on its own initiative an analysis and testing organization approved by the central competent authority or an academic or consulting organization approved by the central competent authority to perform testing on the basis of the trial operation plan, The enterprise shall submit a trial operation report after the completion of testing, and may proceed with treatment only after approval by the special municipality, county or city competent authority. However, the enterprise shall comply with any requirements governing trial operation among the management regulations designated in Article 28, Paragraphs 2 through 5 and Article 42 of this Act.
The trial operation period shall be limited to three months, however, an enterprise may apply for an extension when necessary; the extension period may not exceed three months.
The central industry competent authority shall be in charge of acceptance, authorization, and approval of the trial operation plans and trial operation reports of the joint waste clearance and disposal organizations and waste clearance and disposal facilities in Article 28, Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Act.
The central competent authority shall officially announce the format of the trial operation plan and trial operation report in Paragraph 1.
Article 23
Except where other regulations of the central competent authority apply, industrial waste intermediate treatment facilities shall comply with the following regulations:
I. Facilities shall have a sturdy basic structure.
II. Any surfaces of the facility in contact with waste shall be constructed from corrosion-resistant and water-impermeable materials.
III. Facilities shall have surrounding facilities or measures to prevent the inflow or infiltration of surface water, rainwater, and groundwater.
IV. Facilities shall have necessary measures to prevent the airborne dispersal or outflow of waste, dispersal of noxious odors or any influence on the quality of the surrounding environment.
V. Facilities shall have pollution control equipment and anti-corrosion measures.
Article 24
Apart from complying with the regulations in the foregoing article, facilities used for the incineration of hazardous industrial waste shall also comply with the following regulations:
I. The output central temperature of the combustion chamber shall be maintained above 1,000 °C. Combustion gas residence time shall be over one second for biomedical waste sharp implements and infectious waste and over two seconds for other hazardous industrial waste.
II. Combustion efficiency shall be over 99.9% when incinerating infectious industrial waste.
III. Apart from the incineration of infectious waste, in the incineration of other hazardous industrial waste the destruction and removal efficiency shall be over 99.99% for chlorinated organic compounds, over 99.999% for polychloriated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins and over 99.9% for other toxic chemical substances.
IV. Facilities shall possess devices for automatic monitoring, automatic monitoring and control of combustion conditions, the recording of the output central temperature of the combustion chamber and emergency response.
V. Other items officially announced by the central competent authority.
Fluidized bed waste incinerators are not subject to the restrictions of Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the foregoing paragraph.
Article 25
Facilities used to dispose of hazardous industrial waste by thermal treatment methods other than incineration shall comply with the requirements of Article 23 and the previous Article, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs 3 to 5.
Article 26
Thermal treatment facilities for the disposal of general waste shall comply with the requirements of Article 23 and Article 24, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs 4 and 5.
Disposal facilities employing incineration disposal shall be subject to general waste incineration disposal facility regulations.
Article 27
Fly ash, bottom ash and ash resulting from disposal by thermal treatment shall be tested once each half-year, and shall be assessed and disposed of pursuant to the Standards for Defining Hazardous Industrial Waste.
Article 28
Apart from complying with the regulations of article 23, facilities used for disposal by solidification and stabilization shall possess equipment for the even mixing of waste with solidifying agents or chemical agents.
Article 29
Industrial waste disposal or reuse organizations shall complete waste disposal or reuse operations within 30 days after receiving the waste.
When due to particular circumstances an industrial waste disposal or reuse organization is not able to complete disposal or reuse within 30 days after accepting the waste, the said disposal or reuse organization shall apply for approval by the competent authority that issued the original permit documents or the reuse industry competent authority. At the same time the competent authority that issued the said original permit documents or the reuse industry competent authority shall send copies of the approval documents to the central competent authority. The restrictions of the foregoing paragraph shall not apply.
Industrial waste disposal, or reuse organizations that have already clearly stated their disposal or reuse schedule when the permit documents are issued are not subject to the restrictions of the first paragraph.