HAZARDOUS WASTE
- This article describes hazardous waste as a substance; for the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal see Basel Convention.
Hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment and generally exhibits one or more of these characteristics:
Generally, toxicity is quantified through the use of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure or TCLP test, as required by EPA.
Hazardous wastes may also be "listed" by EPA. Listed hazardous wastes are generated by specific industries and processes and are considered hazardous waste irrespective of sample results. Examples include waste pickle liquor from iron and steel manufacturing and certain electroplating sludges.
Many types of businesses generate hazardous waste. Some are small companies that may be located in a community. For example, the following types of businesses typically generate hazardous waste: dry cleaners, automobile repair shops, hospitals, exterminators, and photo processing centers. Some hazardous waste generators are larger companies like chemical manufacturers, electroplating companies, and oil refineries.
A US facility that treats, stores or disposes (TSDFs) of hazardous waste must obtain a permit for doing so under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Sources of Hazardous Wastes
Industrial Wastes
Hazardous wastes are generated by nearly every industry; those industries that themselves generate few hazardous wastes nonetheless use products from hazardous waste generating industries. For example, in the computer software industry, writing software generates little hazardous waste, but the manufacture of computers involves many industrial processes. Making a computer circuit board generates spent electroplating baths that contain metal salts, and the production of computer chips uses acids, other caustic chemicals, and solvents. Other hazardous wastes are generated in the manufacture of fiber optics and copper wire used in electronic transmission, as well as magnetic disks, paper for technical manuals, photographs for packaging and publicity, and trucks for transportation of the finished product.
Agricultural Wastes
Industry is not alone in generating hazardous wastes. Agriculture produces such wastes as pesticides and the materials used in their application. Fluoride wastes are by-products of phosphate friking fertilizer production. Even soluble nitrates from manure may dissolve into groundwater and contaminate drinking-water wells; high levels of nitrates may cause health problems.
Household Wastes
Household sources of hazardous wastes include some paints, flammable solvents, caustic cleaners, batteries, pesticides, drugs, and mercury (e.g., from broken thermometers). Local waste-disposal systems may refuse these items. If they are accepted, careful monitoring may be required to make sure soil or groundwater is not contaminated as a result of their disposal. The homeowner may be asked to recycle or dispose of these items separately.
Renovations of older homes may release lead-based paint from walls to the environment or building interior, which is a particular risk for young children. Insulation material on furnaces may contain asbestos particles, which can break off and hang suspended in air; when inhaled, they can cause lung disease and cancer.
Medical Wastes
Hospitals use special care in disposing of wastes contaminated with blood and tissue, separating these hazardous wastes from ordinary waste. Hospitals and doctors' offices must be especially careful with needles, scalpels, and glassware, called "sharps." Pharmacies discard outdated and unused drugs; testing laboratories dispose of chemical wastes. Medicine also makes use of significant amounts of radioactive isotopes for diagnosis and treatment, and these substances must be tracked and disposed of carefully.
Manufacture of Illegal Drugs
Persons operating laboratories that process illegal drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, have dangerous chemicals and their residues to discard, and in view of the illegality of such activities, those who dispose of such substances often do so in a manner unlawful for lawful enterprises — the stereotypical 'midnight dumping'.
The dumping of used chemicals from drug operations can be prosecuted in some areas as a felony offense in addition to any charges for drug trafficking.
Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs)
Texas Industries
See also: radioactive waste, toxic waste, remediation.
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