Laboratory Evaluation of Test Procedures for Use in the RCRA Hazardous Waste Ignitability Characteristic

The purpose of this research project was to conduct a single-laboratory evaluation of three methods to determine and characterize the potential hazard posed by flammable materials disposed in landfills. The test procedures—(1) radiant heat ignition, (2) linear flame propagation and (3) extinguishability with water tests—were conducted in six replicates on 26 actual and simulated wastes, including three reference standards. Precision of the replicate analyses was approximately 30% and was consistent between actual samples and reference standards. Evaluation of the data from the three tests revealed a significant correlation between the radiant heat and flame propagation tests and hence a possible redundancy based on the samples analyzed. The data show that the ignitability of a waste is directly related to the rate of flame propagation and the volume of water necessary to extinguish the flame, and is inversely related to the time to ignition under a radiant heat source. These relationships were combined into an “ignitability factor” for assessing the overall ignition tendency for the samples tested.