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A Brief History of Hazardous Waste Management in North Carolina Hazardous wastes are the chemical by-products of manufacturing such everyday items as cars, computers, telephones, furniture and clothing. Hazardous wastes are not low-level radioactive wastes, nor high-level radioactive wastes. They are not medical wastes -- like that which washed up on our beaches. They are not solid wastes -- like the garbage which goes into our landfills. They are not PCBs or dtoxins. In 1987, North Carolina institutions and industries treated on-site 93 percent of the hazardous waste they generated. The remainder, about 200 million pounds, was shipped off-site or ouT-of-state for treatment and disposal. The Hazardous Waste Treatment Commission was created in 1984, according to the N.C. General Assembly, because "the safe management of hazardous waste is one of the most urgent problems facing North Carolina." It was the Commission.s mandate to design and site necessary hazardous waste facilities for North Carolina. The Treatment Commission reviewed 517 sites prior to narrowing /ts consideration to Lee County in May 1988. In June 1988, the Commission was placed on a site selection moratorium by the General Assembly. While it could no longer search for prospective facility sites, the Legislature encouraged the Commission to pursue i from counties seekino in~.~- -~ - _ nterest = ~,,,~u,~ ~uou~ volunteering to host a facility. The Legislature created a Hazardous Waste Management Study Commission to determine the need for treatment and disposal facilities and the procedures necessary for siting such facilities. During the following year, the Commission informed all 100 counties of its search for volunteer counties, and held meetings with those wishing to obtain information about s/ting a hazardous waste facility. Even though several counties expressed interest, there were no volunteers for hosting the site. As an outgrowth of the Hazardous Waste Management Study Commission's work and the Treatment Commission's previous experiences, a new law was drafted. Senate Bill 324 wes ratified on May 30, 1989, creating the Hazardous Waste Management Commission. The bill changed the Co~mission.s name and refocused its work.