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Strengthening Ontario's Hazardous Waste Framework (Next Steps)

December 18, 2001

The Ontario government is taking a major step forward in its environmental protection agenda with the launch of a comprehensive plan to handle the disposal and elimination of hazardous wastes.

The plan comes into effect immediately with the release of three draft regulations to:

• phase out existing hospital incinerators, a major source of mercury emissions and one of the province's largest emitters of dioxins and furans;
• set requirements for the handling, transportation and treatment of biomedical waste; and
• require the destruction of 99,000 tonnes of PCBs currently in storage.

Proposed Regulatory Amendments

• Environmental Registry Posting RA01E0023
  Strengthening Ontario's Hazardous Waste Management Framework (Next Steps)

  Associated Documents (included in posting)

  • Draft Regulation: Phasing-out Existing Hospital Incinerators in Ontario
    English Only
  • Draft Regulation: The Management of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) Wastes in Ontario
  • Draft Regulation : Biomedical Waste Management Requirements in Ontario

Proposed Guidelines

(included in posting above)

In addition, the ministry is releasing related draft guidelines that support these regulatory changes. These include:

• Non-Incineration Technologies for Treatment of Biomedical Waste (Protocols for Microbiological Testing)
• The Management of Biomedical Waste in Ontario
• Combustion, Air Pollution Control and Monitoring Requirements for Biomedical Waste Incinerators in Ontario

Proposed Pre-treatment Standards/Land Disposal Restrictions

Also released is a discussion paper that proposes new pre-treatment standards that will prohibit hazardous wastes from being landfilled in Ontario unless they are treated or meet specific requirements. A draft regulation that would make Ontario's standards at least as tough as those in the United States will be available by the summer of 2002.

• Environmental Registry Posting PA01E0027
  Pre-treatment Requirements for Hazardous Wastes Prior to Land Disposal (Land Disposal Restrictions) - Discussion Document
  

Associated Document (included in posting)

• Discussion Document: Pre-Treatment Requirements for Hazardous Wastes Prior to Land Disposal (Land Disposal Restrictions)