Foundry Sand Reuse in New York

Planning to reuse spent foundry sand in New York? This guide covers the rules that apply, the tests that decide how the sand can be managed, and what DEC 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 York calls DEC’s approval a beneficial use determination, or BUD. Once DEC grants a BUD, the material stops being a solid waste when it is used as the BUD describes.

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 York’s beneficial use rule

New York’s rule is 6 NYCRR 360.12. It covers wastes used as effective substitutes for commercial products or raw materials. It does not apply to waste used in a way that amounts to disposal.

There are two routes:

1. Predetermined BUDs: section 360.12(c) lists specific materials and uses, such as coal combustion fly ash in concrete products. Spent foundry sand is not one of the listed materials.
2. Case-specific BUDs: for other wastes and uses, file a written petition under 360.12(d). These cover waste used in a manufacturing process to make a product, or as an effective substitute for a commercial product or raw material.

DEC grants a case-specific BUD only when:

• the petition has all the required technical information;
• the use is truly use, not disposal;
• the waste is managed as a commodity and works as an effective substitute for a commercial product or raw material;
• it needs no decontamination or other processing at the point of use;
• a market exists, or is reasonably certain, for the quantity proposed;
• heavy metals and other pollutants are at levels DEC accepts for the use; and
• the use will not significantly harm public health or the environment.

DEC sets conditions on each approval. It also sets the point where the sand stops being waste. Unless DEC says otherwise, that is when the sand is received for use.

For land placement, DEC may require a solid waste permit instead of a BUD. Triggers can include a fee paid for accepting the material, more than 100,000 cubic yards at one site, material from more than one source, or receipt over more than 365 days.

Petitioning DEC

• Who files: the generator or the potential end user signs the petition. A third party may sign only if it shows it will manage the material for the life of the BUD.
• How: use DEC’s Beneficial Use Determination Petition – General form. DEC also has forms for cement kiln feedstock and for case-specific fill or cover use.
• What to include: describe the sand and the proposed use, the annual quantity by weight and volume, and the process it came from. List the chemicals added in that process and their quantities.
• Data and market: add chemical and physical data for the sand, each proposed product, and the material it replaces. Show the use meets government or industry specifications. Give a contract or other proof of a market.
• Waste control plan: describe periodic testing, the storage type and maximum volume, run-on and run-off controls, and steps to keep the sand from spreading.
• Review: DEC responds in writing that the BUD is granted, denied, or incomplete. Review time depends on completeness, complexity, and any coordination with other programs. DEC suspends review if an enforcement action is open against the petitioner at the site.
• After approval: a case-specific BUD lasts no more than five years. Ask in writing, with a justification, to renew it. DEC may modify, suspend, or revoke a BUD after notice and a chance to be heard.
• Annual report: by March 1 each year, report the quantity used in the prior year and any data the BUD requires. A responsible official must sign a statement of compliance with the BUD.

DEC Bureau of Solid Waste Management: (518) 402-8678, benuse@dec.ny.gov.

Hazardous waste determination

New York writes its own hazardous waste rules in 6 NYCRR Parts 370 through 374 and 376. Section 370.1(e) incorporates 40 CFR Parts 260 through 266, 268, 270, 271, and 279 as revised July 1, 2014.

New York also lists PCB wastes as hazardous. Under 6 NYCRR 371.4(e), any solid waste with 50 ppm or more PCBs, on a dry weight basis, is a listed hazardous waste.

Under 6 NYCRR 372.2(a)(2), the foundry must decide whether its spent sand is hazardous:

1. Check whether the waste is excluded from the hazardous waste rules.
2. Check whether it matches a listed hazardous waste.
3. Check for hazardous characteristics, including toxicity. Test the waste, or apply knowledge of the materials and processes used.

New York requires generators to keep determination records for at least 3 years.

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, DEC, 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.

A BUD petition compares the sand’s chemical and physical data with criteria for the proposed use. For fill or cover, the sand must stay out of ecologically sensitive areas. Pollutants must also stay below Table 375-6.8(b) levels for residential use and groundwater protection, unless DEC accepts properties unique to the material or use.

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.

In New York, foundry sand reuse goes through a case-specific BUD petition. DEC’s list of granted case-specific BUDs includes foundry sand used as asphalt and concrete aggregate, flowable fill, and fill. Each BUD covers only its holder’s waste, use, and conditions. Check any destination and proposed use with DEC before scheduling delivery.

When you talk to DEC, name the commercial product or raw material the sand replaces. 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 York Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) covers state and local government workers in New York. 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. Storage before beneficial use may not exceed 365 days unless DEC approves a different period. Control run-on and run-off at storage areas.

Keep the waste determination, lab reports, the BUD letter, and the receiving site’s acceptance together. Record tonnage shipped, dates, and destinations. File the annual BUD report by March 1.

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. File a case-specific BUD petition with DEC for that sand and use, or confirm an existing BUD covers it.
5. Get written acceptance and arrange pickup.

Common questions

Rules and guidance

• DEC: Beneficial Use Determinations (BUDs)
• 6 NYCRR 360.12: Beneficial use
• NYS Open Data: Case-Specific Beneficial Use Determinations, Beginning 1988
• 6 NYCRR 370.1: Hazardous waste management system, general
• 6 NYCRR 371.4: Lists of hazardous wastes
• 6 NYCRR 372.2: Standards applicable to generators of hazardous waste
• 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 York Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH)