ABSTRACT
As discussed in Chapter 3, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was the rst truly signicant step in the comprehensive management of hazardous, as well as municipal wastes, in the United States. The ultimate goal of RCRA is to promote the protection of public health and the environment, and to conserve material and energy resources. RCRA requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate and enforce regulations regarding management of hazardous waste. These regulations have established mandatory procedures and requirements for compliance. RCRA has remained current with waste management issues and problems by being amended several times. The most sweeping set of amendments was included in 1984 as the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA).
