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Solid and Hazardous Waste

This document discusses solid and hazardous waste. It begins by outlining the types and amounts of waste produced in the US each year, including mining, agricultural, industrial, and municipal solid waste. It then discusses various methods for dealing with waste, including reducing waste production, reuse, recycling, burning, and burying wastes. The document focuses in on hazardous waste regulation and outlines some common hazardous chemicals found in homes and their health impacts. Specific contaminated sites like Love Canal and Hanford Nuclear Reservation are also summarized.

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54 views40 pages

Solid and Hazardous Waste

This document discusses solid and hazardous waste. It begins by outlining the types and amounts of waste produced in the US each year, including mining, agricultural, industrial, and municipal solid waste. It then discusses various methods for dealing with waste, including reducing waste production, reuse, recycling, burning, and burying wastes. The document focuses in on hazardous waste regulation and outlines some common hazardous chemicals found in homes and their health impacts. Specific contaminated sites like Love Canal and Hanford Nuclear Reservation are also summarized.

Uploaded by

surefooted1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Solid and Hazardous Waste

Chapter 13

Key Concepts
Types and amounts of wastes
Preventing waste
Methods of dealing with wastes
Hazardous waste regulation in
the US

Wasting Resources
US waste: 11 billion
metric tons/year

Mining waste
Agricultural waste
Industrial waste
Municipal solid
waste (MSW)
Sewage sludge

US Solid Waste since 1960

Waste Disposal Methods

Whats in our trash?

US consumers toss every year:


aluminum cans to rebuild
commercial airline fleet 4 times
e-waste by the millions
tires to circle planet 3x
diapers to moon and back 7x
carpet to cover Delaware
670,000 metric tons of food
and much, much more

Producing Less Waste


Waste management

high waste approach


Burying, burning, shipping

Waste prevention

low waste approach

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Dealing with Material Use and


Wastes

Solutions: Cleaner Production


Ecoindustrial revolution
Resource exchange webs

waste from one industry is raw material


for another see figure

Biomimicry (mimic nature)


no waste in nature

Service-flow economy
more in a moment

Industrial Ecosystem in Denmark

Solutions: Selling Services Instead


of Things
Service-flow economy

Dow Chemical - solvents

Uses a minimum amount of material


Xerox copy services

Products last longer


Products are easier to maintain,
repair, and recycle
Carpet tiles

Eco-leasing

Reuse
Extends resource supplies
Saves energy and money
Reduces pollution
Creates jobs
Reusable products

Recycling
Primary
(closed-loop)
Secondary
(open loop)
Pre-consumer
waste
Postconsumer
waste

Characteristics of Recyclable
Materials
Easily isolated from other waste
Available in large quantities
Valuable

Benefits of Recycling

Case Studies: Wastepaper and Plastics


49% of wastepaper recycled in US
Chlorine-based compound in paper
production
10% or less of plastic recycled in US
Plastics can be very difficult to
recycle

Burning Wastes
Mass burn
incineration
Air pollution
Waste to
energy

Burying Wastes
Landfills most common method of waste
disposal - cheap and convenient.
Open pits no longer acceptable.
Complex impermeable bottom layers to
trap contaminants
Daily deposits are covered by layer of dirt.
Methane gas and leachate monitoring
wells

Sanitary Landfill

Sanitary Landfills: Trade-offs

The Love Canal Story


Love Canal was a waterway built in the
1800s next to Niagara Falls, NY.
Hooker Chemical Company purchased the
site and used it for a chemical dump 194253.
Site was sold to local govt for $1. A housing
development and school were constructed
on the site in the 70s.
Chemicals began seeping into basements.
Housewife and resident Lois Gibbs brought
problems to national attention in 1977.
Some families moved right away, some
cleanup done.

The Love Canal Story


Of remaining families, miscarriage rate 50%
higher than normal.
Of 17 pregnancies in 1979, 2 normal, 9 had
birth defects, 2 still born, 4 miscarriages.
In adults tested, nerve impulses slower, 30%
had broken chromosomes.
1980, govt relocated everybody, started
massive cleanup.
1990 cleanup done, new development called
Black Creek Village opened. Houses cheap.

Hazardous Waste Regulation in the


United States
Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA)
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (Superfund)
National Priority List
Polluter-pays principle

Hazardous Wastes: Types


Contains at least one toxic compound
Catches fire easily
Reactive or explosive
Corrodes metal containers

Not Hazardous Wastes under


RCRA
Radioactive wastes
Household wastes
Mining wastes
Oil and gas drilling wastes
Liquids containing organic
hydrocarbons
Cement kiln dust
<100 kg (220 lb) per month

Dealing with Hazardous Wastes

What Harmful Chemicals Are in Your Home?

What Harmful Chemicals Are in Your Home?


Cleaning

Gardening

Disinfectants
Drain, toilet, and
window cleaners
Spot removers
Septic tank, cleaners

Pesticides
Weed killers
Ant and rodent killers
Flea powders

Paint
Latex and oil-based paints
Paint thinners, solvents,
and strippers
Stains, varnishes,
and lacquers
Wood preservatives
Artist paints and inks
General
Dry cell batteries
(mercury and cadmium)
Glues and cements

Automotive
Gasoline
Used motor oil
Antifreeze
Battery acid
Solvents
Brake and transmission
fluid
Rust inhibitor and
rust remover

Detoxifying and Removing Wastes


Physical methods
Chemical methods
Bioremediation
Phytoremediation
Plasma incineration

Deep-well Disposal

Hazardous Waste Landfill

Surface Impoundments: Trade-offs

Some common hazardous chemicals


Lead
paint, gasoline, pipes, accumulates in soil and
water
neurological damage, slows brain
development, kidney disorders; children
especially vulnerable

Mercury
paint, batteries, old thermometers, industrial
processes, combustion of coal, dental fillings,
contaminated historical mining sites
damages brain, kidneys, developing fetus,
learning disabilities, death with high doses

Some common hazardous chemicals


Arsenic
treated wood, industrial processes,
contaminated soil and water
impairs organ, heart, and blood functions;
damages nervous system

PCBs (Ploycholorinated biphenyls)


industrial chemical (used in fire retartands,
lubricants, insulation for electrical
transformers, some printing inks)
carcinogenic, birth defects, lower IQ, learning
disabilities, impairs neurological development

ASARCO of Tacoma
Commencement Bay home to smelting,
shipbuilding, sawmills, refineries
Lead and Copper smelter
Operated 1890-1986
Released arsenic and lead into
atmosphere
Now contaminated soil present
throughout Puget Sound region
Largest Superfund site in Washington

Hanford Nuclear Reservation :


a complicated cleanup
1377 waste sites: trenches, pits, tanks,
ponds, underground cribs
Both radioactive and toxic materials present
Example: Two pools store 100,000 spent fuel
rods. Radioactive uranium, plutonium,
cesium, and strontium released into water.
The pools leak and soil and groundwater
have become contaminated. The Columbia
River is threatened.
Tanks of toxic and/or radioactive liquids have
boiled for years by their own reactivity.
Crusts of hazardous material forms on
outside of tanks.

Solutions: Achieving a Low-Waste


Society
Local grassroots action
International ban on 12 persistent
organic pollutants (POPs)
(the dirty dozen)

Precautionary Principle

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