[RCRA waste code finder](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes)

# U239 RCRA waste code Ignitable, toxic paint & ink thinner, thrown away unused.

> U239 RCRA waste code. Ignitable & toxic U-listed hazardous waste for unused xylene, a solvent in paints, inks & thinners.
> Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u239

- Free, no account
- Based on 40 CFR 261.33 and EPA guidance
- Nothing is stored

## Is U239 hazardous waste?

**Yes, when the listing applies.** U239 is the U-listed code for unused xylene thrown away, including off-specification product and qualifying residues. It is nonacute, not a P-listed acute waste. It depends on the product and how it is discarded, not on a TCLP result.

The listing is printed as “Benzene, dimethyl- (I)” and “Xylene (I)”, but also as “Benzene, dimethyl- (I,T)”. These disagree on whether the hazard is ignitability alone or ignitability and toxicity. Whether U239 still applies once the waste is no longer ignitable is unsettled under 261.3(g).

On a required [hazardous waste manifest](https://complyonsite.com/tools/hazardous-waste-manifest), put U239 in Item 13. Read the [VSQG exemptions and empty-container rules](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?list=routes) and [pharmaceutical containers](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?waste=pharmaceuticals) too.

## What does U239 cover?

This is xylene that was never used, such as a commercial chemical product, an off-specification batch, a residue in a non-empty container or a spill cleanup residue. It must be pure, technical grade or the only active ingredient of the product. Xylene that has already worked as a solvent needs the spent-solvent assessment instead.

- **CAS**: 1330-20-7
- **Table entries**: Benzene, dimethyl- (I) / Xylene (I) / Benzene, dimethyl- (I,T)
- **Printed hazard annotations**: “Benzene, dimethyl- (I)”: (I); “Xylene (I)”: (I); “Benzene, dimethyl- (I,T)”: (I,T).
- **Rule**: [40 CFR 261.33(f)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-261/section-261.33)

## Is xylene waste always U239?

| Code | When it fits |
| --- | --- |
| U239 | The unused chemical is thrown away pure, in technical grade or as the only active ingredient. Qualifying product residues are included. |
| [F003](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=f003) | It has been used as a solvent, alone or blended before use only with F003 solvents. Still bottoms from recovery are included. |
| [F001–F005](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?list=spent-solvents) | Before use, the blend held an F003 solvent plus at least 10% by volume of F001, F002, F004 or F005 solvents in total. |
| Characteristic waste (D001–D043) | A used chemical or a different formulation has a hazardous characteristic. Assess any process listings too. |

Both rows can apply to one waste, because a listed unused product can also have a characteristic. The chemical merely turning up in a manufacturing waste doesn't make the waste U239. Match the waste’s origin, formulation and use history. Mixing or treating listed waste doesn't generally remove the listing. That takes an exclusion, an exception or an approved delisting. Using the chemical as an ingredient or reactant doesn't by itself make it a spent F-listed solvent. Read each listing’s before-use blend conditions.

## Which wastes take U239?

| Waste | When it’s U239 |
| --- | --- |
| Paint thinner | Unused thinner thrown away as a commercial chemical product with xylene as its only active ingredient. |
| [Solvent-contaminated wipes](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?waste=solvent-wipes) | The wipes hold unused xylene that meets U239. |
| Unused xylene | The discarded commercial product is pure or technical-grade xylene, or xylene is its only active ingredient. |

## Which codes sit beside U239?

| Code | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| [U235](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u235) | Tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate |
| [U236](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u236) | Trypan blue |
| [U237](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u237) | Uracil mustard — a cancer-treatment compound |
| [U238](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u238) | Ethyl carbamate (urethane) |
| [U240](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u240) | 2,4-D, salts and esters — a herbicide |
| [U243](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u243) | Hexachloropropene |
| [U244](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u244) | Thiram — a dithiocarbamate fungicide |
| [U246](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rcra-waste-codes?code=u246) | Cyanogen bromide (CN)Br |

### Sources

- [40 CFR 261.33 — Discarded commercial chemical products, off-specification species, container residues, and spill residues thereof](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-261/section-261.33)
- [40 CFR 261.3 — Definition of hazardous waste](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-261/section-261.3)
- [40 CFR 261.7 — Residues of hazardous waste in empty containers](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-261/section-261.7)
- [40 CFR 260.10 — Definitions](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-260/section-260.10)
- [40 CFR 262.14 — Conditions for exemption for a very small quantity generator](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-262/section-262.14)
- [40 CFR 262.20 — General requirements](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-262/section-262.20)
- [40 CFR 266.507 — Residues of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals in empty containers](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-266/section-266.507)
- [Hazardous Waste Manifest Instructions](https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/documents/manifest_instructions_web.pdf)
- [40 CFR 261.31 — Hazardous wastes from non-specific sources](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-261/section-261.31)