A newly finalized rule from EPA makes no substantive changes to the pollution rules for combustors that burn hazardous waste.
Environmentalists in 2022 sued to force the update because EPA hadn’t updated the rule since the George W. Bush administration, arguing that hazardous waste combustor rules have historically been too weak to protect nearby residents, often communities of color or poor communities.
But in the new rule, EPA said the health risks from combustors’ emissions are “adequately addressed by the existing standards” and that there are no new technologies that are worth revisiting the standards.
The rule does set new standards for two previously unregulated pollutants, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen cyanide. The new standards set either numerical emission limits or work practice standards, depending on the type of combustor.
