hazardous waste must meet both state and federal standards outlined in a site-specific operating permit.
Owners and operators of hazardous waste management facilities report their activities annually to the Illinois
EPA.
Hazardous waste disposal in Illinois has decreased as a result of: (1) land disposal restrictions; and (2)
increased pollution prevention and waste minimization practices. Land disposal restrictions require that
generated hazardous wastes to be placed on land (“land disposed”) meet waste-specific treatment standards
that substantially diminish the toxicity of wastes or reduce the likelihood that contaminants in such wastes
would leach. Wastes that do not meet the treatment requirements are prohibited from land disposal. Pollution
prevention and waste minimization practices reduce the use of hazardous and nonhazardous materials, energy,
water, other resources as well as those that protect natural resources through conservation or more efficient use
(see Multimedia Management section).
In 2000, the following facilities reported hazardous waste disposal in Illinois.
Land treatment units incorporate the hazardous waste into the upper layers of the soil to allow soil microbes
and sunlight to degrade, transform, or immobilize hazardous constituents present in hazardous waste.
Treatment changes the nature of the hazardous waste so as: (1) to neutralize it, or render it non-hazardous or
less hazardous; (2) to recover it; (3) to make it safer to transport, store or dispose of; or (4) to make it
amendable for recovery, storage or volume reduction. Approximately 0.3 million tons of the hazardous waste
was treated in 1999 by Illinois hazardous waste management facilities. The residuals were handled as
pollution control wastes (415 ILCS 809). A pollution control waste is any liquid, solid, semi-solid or gaseous
waste generated as a direct or indirect result of the removal of contaminants from the air, water, or land, and
which pose a present or potential threat to human health or to the environment or with inherent properties
which make the disposal of such waste in a landfill difficult to manage by normal means. Examples of
pollution control wastes are waste water treatment plant sludges, baghouse dusts, landfill waste, scrubber
sludges, and chemical spill cleanings (415 ILCS 5/3.27).
7. Underground Injection Control
Since 1984, landfill disposal of liquid hazardous waste has been banned in Illinois (415 ILCS 5/22.6). Liquid
hazardous waste must be: (1) treated (e.g., render it so it meets sewer discharge criteria, render it non-liquid
with sorbents, etc.) and disposed; or (2) incinerated; or (3) injected into underground injection control wells.
The Illinois EPA and USEPA regulate underground injection of liquid waste into deep wells (i.e., underground
injection control wells) to ensure that underground sources of drinking water are protected from contamination
(Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) and Resource Conservation Recovery Act ( RCRA, 42 U.
S.C. 6901 et seq.)).
Four deep underground injection control wells are permitted to dispose of liquid waste generated on-site.
Three of these wells are permitted to dispose of liquid hazardous waste and one (Equistar in Tuscola) is
permitted only to dispose of liquid nonhazardous waste.
Facility
Illinois Identification
Number Location
Hazardous Waste
Management Unit
Amount Disposed
(tons)
Cabot Corporation 041808001 Tuscola
Underground Injection
Well 436,364
LTV Steel 1558010006 Hennepin
Underground Injection
Well 33,868
Peoria Disposal
Corporation 1438120003 Peoria
Hazardous Waste
Landfill 22,513
Marathon Oil 338080002 Robinson Land Treatment 45,597
CWM CID 031039001 Calumet City
Hazardous Waste
Landfill 3,741
TOTAL 542,083
B14
