ABSTRACT

Activity associated with transportation of hazardous wastes from the generator or source to intermediate destinations and to final disposition has been fraught with mismanagement of the wastes, especially during the early years of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). During those years, and before, there were transportation incidents which frequently involved major threats to the environment and public safety. In pre-RCRA times, small locally based refuse haulers provided immediate and cheap removal of hazardous waste accumulations on a “no questions asked” basis. The most marginal of trucking operations could survive by removing unwanted wastes and disposing of them with abandon.