Waste Blanket Wash — Watch Out for Your Wash

The topic is important enough that it is also being featured at the upcoming National Environmental, Health and Safety Conference for the Graphic Communications Industries in Indianapolis, scheduled for March 27-29 (see sidebar below).

At the heart of the problem is generation and disposal of the waste blanket wash from liquid automatic blanket wash systems, which is usually classified as a hazardous waste. Under USEPA’s regulations, waste blanket washes are hazardous wastes because they usually have flashpoints below 140° F, even though they may have been mixed with a considerable amount of water.