Waste services
Tank cleaning and turnaround waste
High volume, short window, multiple streams at once. Plan it before the unit comes down.
Tank cleaning and turnaround work generates large volumes of mixed waste in a compressed period: sludges, wash water, spent media and debris. Characterization and outlet confirmation belong in turnaround planning, not in the middle of it.
Source: 40 CFR Part 262, and 29 CFR 1910.146 for confined spaceStreams generated
- Tank bottom sludge, frequently F037 at refineries
- Wash and rinse water, often oily and requiring treatment
- Spent cleaning chemicals and degreasers
- Scale and solids removed from internals
- Contaminated PPE, absorbents and debris
- Spent catalyst and media where units are opened
- NORM bearing scale in oil and gas equipment
The waste decisions get made last and should be made first
A turnaround is scheduled months ahead and is expensive to overrun. Waste is frequently the last thing planned and the first thing to cause a delay, because a stream with no confirmed outlet cannot leave the site.
Profiling the expected streams ahead of the shutdown, confirming the receiving facilities will take them, and having containers and transport staged, removes an entire category of turnaround risk for very little cost.
What we plan with you
- Expected streams and volumes profiled before the shutdown
- Waste determinations completed in advance where history allows
- Receiving facility acceptance confirmed ahead of generation
- Containers and equipment staged before work starts
- Transport scheduled against the work plan rather than after it
- Consolidated documentation across the whole event
Common questions
Can you work to a turnaround schedule?
That is what this work is. Scheduling against the work plan, with containers staged ahead of generation, is the difference between waste supporting the turnaround and delaying it.
What about confined space entry?
Tank cleaning is confined space work under 29 CFR 1910.146 with its own permitting, atmospheric monitoring and rescue provisions, separate from and additional to waste requirements.
How do we handle unknowns in old tanks?
Sample and characterize before generating volume. An old tank with no reliable history is profiled from analysis, because the alternative is discovering the problem when a load is rejected.
Related services
Not sure how this applies to your site?
Send a profile, an old manifest, or photographs of the drums. A technical professional will tell you where you stand.
This page summarizes federal requirements and is not legal advice. State programs can be more stringent than the federal baseline. Verify against current federal and state regulations before acting. Last reviewed September 2026.