TM 43-0139
1-9. DISPOSAL
a.
General. Unusable paint mixtures, paint components, primers, thinners and other materials may be considered
hazardous waste and require disposal in accordance with Federal, state, DOD, and DA hazardous waste regulations. This
may apply to dried paint/primer waste as well. Consult local environmental personnel for proper disposal guidance.
b.
Method of Disposal. The method used to dispose of this waste stream depends on the types of paint used. When
the paints contain no hazardous heavy metals, the liquid portion of the waste stream may be able to be discharged into the
sanitary sewer and the sludge disposed of in a sanitary landfill. The environmental coordinator should be contacted to
ensure state and local ordinances are not violated. If heavy metal-based paints have been used, samples of the liquid and
sludge should be analyzed for the characteristic of extraction procedure (EP) toxicity (heavy metals) and disposed of
accordingly.
(1)
If sanitary sewer serving a paint processing operation discharges to a government-operated sewage
treatment plant (STP), notify the STP operator of the approximate additional loadings of total organic carbon, biochemical
oxygen demand, and total processing operation prior to discharge.
(2)
If a sanitary sewer serving a paint processing operation discharges to privately owned treatment works,
pretreatment of wastewaters may be required by local regulatory authority. The installation environmental coordinator
should determine such cases with public environmental regulators having primacy over government installations.
Pretreatment regulations have been summarized by the USAEHA Water Quality Information Paper No. 13.
1-10. SPECIFIC HAZARDS
Listed below are the various specific hazards associated with spray painting, cleaning, fires, safety equipment, hazardous
materials, temperatures and equipment.
a.
All Painting.
WARNING
The local safety office and preventive medicine support activity must be consulted
before beginning/changing any painting operation, regardless of the material used.
WARNING
Dry/cure freshly painted materials only in well-ventilated or unoccupied areas for a
minimum of 30 minutes to allow solvents to flash off.
b.
Spray Painting.
WARNING
All personnel who work in or near a spray painting booth must wear a NIOSH
approved respirator as well as personal protective equipment (PPE), when spray
painting operations are underway.
WARNING
Only one person will spray paint at a time unless all people are protected in
accordance with para 1-7. This is to eliminate the hazard of accidently spraying
paint on another person.
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