What is considered a hazardous material?

• A. A material that is always radioactive
• B. A material that has no hazard
• C. Any discarded or abandoned hazardous substance as defined in 40 CFR 261 or state regulations.
• D. A material that is benign

Answer: (C)

In this area, hazardous material is defined by regulatory status: a substance becomes hazardous material when it is discarded or abandoned and then classified as hazardous waste under 40 CFR 261 or state regulations. The essential point is that the hazard is tied to how the material is managed as waste, not just to whether it could be dangerous in some uses. The regulations categorize these wastes by characteristics like ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity, or by being listed as hazardous waste. Because of that, the statement that aligns with the regulatory definition is that any discarded or abandoned hazardous substance as defined in 40 CFR 261 or state regulations is considered hazardous material.

Choices that imply a material must always be radioactive, or that it has no hazard, or that it’s benign, don’t fit this framework because they ignore the regulatory basis for classifying waste.