Drums and containers of unknown contents

The site visit finds drums, totes or other containers whose contents nobody present can name. A container alone does not settle whether there is a recognized environmental condition (REC). That depends on four things: what the containers hold, whether anything has been released from them, whether their condition poses a material threat of a release, and how they came to be there.

What the answer turns on

A REC is hazardous substances or petroleum products present at the subject property because of a release, likely present owing to a release or a likely one, or present where conditions make a future release a material threat (E1527-21, 3.2.73). The standard's appendixes are nonmandatory.

What the containers hold. Only hazardous substances and petroleum products count (E1527-21, 3.2.73). The standard includes no sampling (E1527-21, 7.4), so the contents are learned from labels, safety data sheets and the people asked. The federal generator rule, 40 CFR part 262, puts the duty to know on the person who generated a waste: that person has to determine whether it is hazardous, and to test it when knowledge is not enough (40 CFR 262.11). The rule classifies nothing under the standard.
Whether anything has been released. Appendix X4's examples of observations that could be direct evidence of a release include liquid pooled around an area where drums are stored, with stressed vegetation. Its first illustration is a labeled drum in good condition, not leaking, with no stains or corrosion on the floor around it: a finding with no REC attached, in an example the appendix says is not to be applied universally (E1527-21, X4.1, X4.3). A release that is found is weighed against the de minimis definition (E1527-21, 3.2.20).
A material threat. Three things make one: the threat is obvious, a release is likely to follow, and the environmental professional judges that the release would likely affect public health or the environment (E1527-21, 3.2.52, 3.2.55). Appendix X4's note gives drums of hazardous substances stacked precariously on pallets as a possible example, only if the professional deems the condition serious enough to cause or contribute to a release (E1527-21, X4.1).
How they came to be there. The hazardous waste definitions make a generator "any person, by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in part 261 of this chapter or whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation" (40 CFR 260.10). The legal background appendix reports that the federal cleanup statute's definition of a release takes in the abandoning or discarding of barrels and other closed receptacles that hold a hazardous substance (E1527-21, X1.1.1). At an abandoned property with evidence of unauthorized use or uncontrolled access, owners or occupants of adjoining or nearby properties are interviewed (E1527-21, 10.5.5).

The records that bear on it

Site visit. The standard's site visit items include drums, totes and intermediate bulk containers, containers connected and not connected with identified uses, and unidentified substance containers. For each the report gives the approximate number, a general description of contents, capacity and container types, and the storage conditions; no detailed inventory is required (E1527-21, 9.4.11, 9.4.15, 9.4.16, 9.4.17).
Labels and dates. As conditions of accumulating without a permit, part 262 has a small or large quantity generator label its containers with the words Hazardous Waste, an indication of the hazards, and the "date upon which each period of accumulation begins clearly visible for inspection on each container" (40 CFR 262.16(b)(6), 262.17(a)(5)). It lets a small quantity generator accumulate on site without a permit "for no more than 180 days", with non-acute waste that "never exceeds 6,000 kilograms", and a large quantity generator "for no more than 90 days", with stated exceptions (40 CFR 262.16(b), 262.17(a)). A label and a date, where present, give a container's hazards and when accumulation began.
Documents and interviews. The owner, key site manager and user are asked whether they know of safety data sheets and hazardous waste generator notices or reports (E1527-21, 10.8, 10.8.1). Past occupants likely to have material information are interviewed where identified (E1527-21, 10.5.4).
Government records. The federal generator list is a standard source, searched for the subject property and adjoining properties (RCRA generators; E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). Georgia requires notification for discarded or abandoned regulated substances in barrels, drums, tanks or other vessels.

What the federal rule says

The inquiry rule, 40 CFR part 312, has the visual inspection take in

areas where hazardous substances may be or may have been used, stored, treated, handled, or disposed

40 CFR 312.27(a)(1)

Of anyone who produces a solid waste, the generator rule says that person

must make an accurate determination as to whether that waste is a hazardous waste

40 CFR 262.11

and of a small quantity generator's containers:

A container holding hazardous waste must not be opened, handled, or accumulated in a manner that may rupture the container or cause it to leak.

40 CFR 262.16(b)(2)(iii)(B)

How it is written up

Containers identified at the subject property are described in the report (E1527-21, 9.4). They become a finding when the professional judges they may indicate presence or likely presence at the subject property, and the opinion reasons for or against calling them a REC (E1527-21, 12.5, 12.6).

Where the professional concludes a release has occurred or is likely, the opinion gives the grounds: what was observed, what is known of the contents, what the records show. Unless judged a de minimis condition or a historical REC, the REC is listed in the Conclusions, and the professional should give an opinion on additional investigation (E1527-21, 3.2.20, 3.2.39, 12.7, 12.8).

Where the professional concludes the containers' condition poses a material threat of a future release, the opinion says what was observed and why. That REC is listed in the Conclusions as well (E1527-21, 3.2.52, 3.2.73, 12.7).

Where the professional concludes neither, the opinion gives its reasoning on the same four facts (E1527-21, 12.6). Whether the containers are kept as the waste rules require is regulatory compliance, outside the standard's scope unless the user adds it (E1527-21, 13.1.2, 13.1.5.14).

The room, shed or yard that holds the containers may be what could not be observed on the site visit. Required information that good faith efforts could not obtain is a data gap, significant if it affects the ability to identify a REC: named in the Findings with the sources consulted, discussed in the Opinions and listed in the Conclusions (E1527-21, 3.2.19, 3.2.78, 12.5.1, 12.6.2, 12.7).

This page is general reference for environmental professionals. It does not classify any property. ASTM E1527-21 is the standard and is not reproduced here; the judgment of the environmental professional on the facts governs.