K175 RCRA waste code Mercury-bearing treatment sludge from making vinyl chloride for PVC.

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Based on 40 CFR 261.32 and EPA hazardous-waste rules
Nothing is stored

K-listed waste
Wastewater sludge from acetylene-based vinyl chloride production

Industry: Organic chemicals.

Toxic K-listed waste from organic chemical plants. Wastewater sludge from vinyl chloride made from acetylene with mercuric chloride.

Is K175 hazardous waste?

Yes. K175 is a nonacute K-listed hazardous waste when the waste comes from the named process and stream. The federal table gives it hazard code (T), meaning toxicity.

Source decides a K listing, not a concentration test. A test can add a characteristic code, but it doesn't remove the K175 listing.

On a required hazardous waste manifest, put K175 in Item 13. See VSQG exemptions and empty-container rules.

What does K175 cover?

Wastewater treatment sludges from making vinyl chloride monomer with mercuric chloride catalyst in an acetylene-based process. The waste form and its exact source process must both match the listing, so chemical content alone isn't enough.

Hazard code: (T), toxicity
Industry: Organic chemicals
Rule: 40 CFR 261.32

Is acetylene-route vinyl chloride sludge always K175?

Code	When it fits
K175	Wastewater treatment sludges from producing vinyl chloride monomer using mercuric chloride catalyst in an acetylene-based process.
K174	EDC or vinyl-chloride production generates wastewater sludge that does not meet all landfill, no-prior-land-placement and documentation exclusion conditions.
K151	Wastewater treatment sludge from producing chlorinated toluenes, benzoyl chlorides or compounds combining those groups.

The industry, production step and waste form tell these K listings apart, not the chemicals alone. The rows show nearby listed streams, not every code that could fit. Add any characteristic or other listing that also fits, because one waste can carry more than 1 federal code.

When does the old-disposal exception affect K175?

Under 261.4(b)(15), landfill leachate or gas condensate from K175 waste disposed of before May 7, 2001 is excluded only if it has no hazardous waste characteristic, comes from no other listed hazardous waste, and its discharge is regulated under Clean Water Act section 307(b) or 402.

Which codes sit beside K175?

Code	What it is
K169	Crude-oil storage-tank sediment from a petroleum refinery
K170	Slurry-oil tank sediment and filter solids from a petroleum refinery
K171	Spent hydrotreating catalyst from a petroleum refinery
K172	Spent hydrorefining catalyst from a petroleum refinery
K176	Baghouse filters from making antimony oxide
K177	Discarded or speculatively accumulated slag from making antimony oxide
K178	Ferric chloride manufacturing or storage residue from titanium dioxide production
K181	Non-wastewater dye or pigment waste meeting annual mass-loading limits