Is kerosene a hazardous waste material?

Answer 1

Kerosene is a light oil distilled from petroleum or shale oil and consists of a complex mixture of several hydrocarbons, no one of which stands out as a primary hazardous constituent. Constituents include, in alphabetical order:

• Benzene

• Butadiene

• Cyclohexane

• Cyclohexene

• Cyclopropane

• Ethyl benzene

• Methylcyclohexene

• n-Heptane

• n-Hexane

• Naphthalene

• Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, PNAs)

• Toluene

• Xylenes

Although benzene may be specifically removed before the product is marketed.

Answer 2

Yes. It is toxic and inflammable. On a body of water it would form a film blocking oxygen from the air, and could be ingested by animals when drinking or trying to clean it from their fur or feathers. (An old way of destroying the malaria mosquito was to spray its breeding swamps with oil.)