Foundry Sand Reuse in New Jersey

Planning to reuse spent foundry sand in New Jersey? This guide covers the rules that apply, the tests that decide how the sand can be managed, and what NJDEP needs before the sand can be reused.

Key terms

Spent foundry sand

Foundries bond silica sand into molds and cores for casting metal. The sand is reused many times in the plant. Spent foundry sand is molding and core sand that can no longer make molds or cores.

Green sand and chemically bonded sand

Green sand is bonded with clay, usually bentonite, plus water and additives such as carbon. Chemically bonded sand uses resin binders. Most cores are chemically bonded. The binder system affects what the spent sand contains.

Beneficial reuse

Beneficial reuse puts a waste material to productive use instead of disposing of it. New Jersey calls this a beneficial use project. NJDEP approves each project by issuing a certificate of authority to operate (CAO).

TCLP

The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (EPA Method 1311) measures how much of certain contaminants can leach from a sample. It is one part of deciding whether a waste is hazardous.

What’s in your spent sand?

Spent sand carries what the casting process added: binder residue, metal fines, and burnt core material. The alloy matters most. Sand from iron, steel, and aluminum foundries is the most commonly reused. Sand from leaded brass and bronze foundries is often regulated as hazardous waste.

Keep each stream separate. Baghouse dust, shotblast fines, cupola slag, broken cores, and core room sweepings need their own evaluation. Mixing them into spent sand can change how the whole load is managed. Track the alloys cast, the binder system, and any process changes.

New Jersey’s beneficial use rule

New Jersey’s beneficial use rule is N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.7(g). The generator or owner who first produced the material must get a CAO from NJDEP before any sale, distribution, shipment, or use. NJDEP issues a CAO when the project is designed and run in line with the state’s solid waste, water pollution, and air pollution laws. The project must then follow the CAO’s specific conditions.

The material must serve a real use, either as a raw material or directly as a product. It must match or exceed the physical character and chemical makeup of the manufactured product it replaces. Otherwise, you must show NJDEP that it poses no greater risk than that product.

Two kinds of use fall outside the CAO requirement:

1. material used directly as a product, or as a raw material in a product that meets the original product specifications, when it poses no greater risk than what it replaces; and
2. products from a recycling center permitted under N.J.A.C. 7:26A that meet accepted product specifications and pose no greater risk than what they replace.

The rule also approves some materials by category, such as listed uses of coal combustion ash, tire chips, and glass. Foundry sand is not on that list.

Under N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.13, anyone who claims an exemption must document it when NJDEP asks or in an enforcement action.

Applying to NJDEP

• Who files: the generator or owner who originally produced the material. A principal executive officer, general partner, or proprietor signs the application, and it must be notarized.
• Form: use NJDEP’s CAO beneficial use project application form and instructions.
• What it covers: the site of origin and its history, how and when the sand was generated, the quantity, and maps of both sites. Add a contaminant profile, the waste classification and its rationale, any treatment, handling and transport controls, and a project schedule.
• Proof of use: include evidence that the sand works as a raw material or product in the proposed use. Include a letter from the receiving site agreeing to accept a set amount and use it.
• Out-of-state use: a New Jersey generator sending sand to another state also needs a CAO. Certify that the sand is not hazardous. Include a letter from that state’s regulator and the receiving facility’s permit. Send the receiving site’s letter to the solid waste coordinator of the county where the sand was generated.
• Fees: under N.J.A.C. 7:26-4.3(i), base review fees are $534 for in-state use without sampling results, $962 with sampling results, and $321 for out-of-state use without sampling results. NJDEP charges more for extra work such as meetings or site visits. It sends an invoice after it receives the application, so do not send payment with it.
• Review time: NJDEP issues or denies a CAO within 90 days of a complete in-state application, or 45 days for out-of-state use.
• After approval: the generator reports each year on the amount used, the dates, and the locations. NJDEP must order a project stopped at once if that is needed to protect health or the environment.

NJDEP Bureau of Recycling and Hazardous Waste Management: (609) 984-3438, recyclingfacilities@dep.nj.gov. Mail applications to Mail Code 401-02C, P.O. Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420.

Hazardous waste determination

New Jersey adopts the federal hazardous waste rules by reference in N.J.A.C. 7:26G. Under N.J.A.C. 7:26G-1.4, its adoption of 40 CFR Parts 124, 260–266, 268, and 270 updates automatically when EPA changes those rules.

Sand that is hazardous in New Jersey, or subject to the Phase IV land disposal restrictions in 40 CFR 268, does not qualify under the beneficial use rule. It stays managed as solid or hazardous waste. Nonhazardous waste from industrial processes is waste type ID 27, dry industrial waste, under N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.13(g).

Under 40 CFR 262.11, the foundry must decide whether its spent sand is hazardous:

1. Make the determination at the point of generation, before mixing or dilution. Repeat it if the waste may have changed.
2. Check whether the waste is excluded from the hazardous waste rules.
3. Check whether it matches a listed hazardous waste.
4. Check for hazardous characteristics, including toxicity. Use knowledge of the materials and process, testing, or both. Test when knowledge alone is not enough.

Small and large quantity generators must keep records supporting the determination for at least three years after the waste was last sent for treatment, storage, or disposal.

TCLP testing and limits

Tell the lab the alloys cast, the binder system, and which streams the sample includes. Use representative samples. Agree on the sampling plan with the lab, NJDEP, and the receiving site before collecting.

A waste is hazardous for toxicity if its TCLP extract meets or exceeds any limit in 40 CFR 261.24. The limits for the RCRA metals are:

Passing TCLP addresses toxicity for the substances tested. It does not approve reuse or rule out other reasons a waste may be hazardous. See material testing for sampling basics.

For in-state use, compare contaminant levels with NJDEP soil cleanup criteria, sampled and analyzed under N.J.A.C. 7:26E. Unless NJDEP agrees otherwise in advance, test for the TAL/TCL and Priority Pollutant + 40 lists at a New Jersey certified lab, and report whether dioxins and furans were tested.

Finding a reuse destination

EPA’s 2014 risk assessment found three uses protective of health and the environment for silica-based spent sand from iron, steel, and aluminum foundries: manufactured soil, soil-less potting media, and road subbase. EPA and USDA support those uses. The finding does not cover sand from brass or bronze foundries, olivine sand, or sand mixed with other foundry wastes such as baghouse dust or cupola slag. EPA defers to state programs, so the state rules on this page still decide each use.

NJDEP approves foundry sand projects one at a time through a CAO. Check any destination and proposed use with NJDEP before scheduling delivery.

When you talk to NJDEP, say whether the sand will be used directly as a product or raw material, or needs a CAO. For example, is it an ingredient in a product that meets its original specifications, or fill at a project site? Get the receiving site’s specifications and written acceptance. If reuse is not cleared, arrange disposal that fits the waste determination.

Worker protection

• Silica: foundry sand is mostly crystalline silica. OSHA’s general industry standard, 29 CFR 1910.1053, sets a permissible exposure limit of 50 µg/m³ of respirable crystalline silica as an 8-hour average. Exposure assessment starts at the 25 µg/m³ action level.
• Construction use: crews placing sand as fill or subbase fall under the construction silica standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153.
• Lead: brass and bronze foundries that cast leaded alloys also follow OSHA’s lead standard, 29 CFR 1910.1025.
• Dust: control dust during shakeout, storage, and loading.

New Jersey Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) covers state and local government workers in New Jersey. Federal OSHA covers private employers.

Storage and records

Store spent sand on a defined pad or in bins, control dust and runoff, and keep other foundry wastes out. Describe your handling and transport controls in the CAO application, and follow the CAO’s conditions.

Keep the waste determination, lab reports, the CAO, and the receiving site’s acceptance together. Record tonnage shipped, dates, and destinations. The generator reports each year on the amount used, the dates, and the locations.

Before pickup

1. Identify the alloys cast, sand and binder systems, separate streams, monthly volume, and plant location.
2. Make the hazardous waste determination and complete the required tests.
3. Choose a destination and get its material specifications.
4. Get the NJDEP CAO for that sand and project, or document why the use falls outside the CAO requirement.
5. Get written acceptance and arrange pickup.

Common questions

Rules and guidance

• NJDEP: Beneficial Use Project Approval Process
• NJDEP: CAO Beneficial Use Project application form and instructions
• N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.7: Exemption from SWF permitting
• N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.13: Burden of proof
• N.J.A.C. 7:26-4.3: Fee schedule for solid waste facilities
• N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.13: Solid waste facility records
• N.J.A.C. 7:26G-1.4: Incorporation by reference of the CFR
• 40 CFR 262.11: Hazardous waste determination
• 40 CFR 261.24: Toxicity characteristic
• EPA Method 1311: TCLP
• EPA: Beneficial Uses of Spent Foundry Sands
• EPA: Risk Assessment of Spent Foundry Sands in Soil-Related Applications
• 29 CFR 1910.1053: Respirable crystalline silica
• 29 CFR 1926.1153: Respirable crystalline silica in construction
• New Jersey Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH)