Hazardous Waste…. Name Says It All
Hazardous waste is defined as any type of waste material that presents a health, safety or environmental risk or harm to human beings, animals, the environment and natural resources.
It includes contaminated water and soil, asbestos dust, sludge from wastewater and industrial processes. Hazardous waste is regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). It is also known as hazardous substance.
Learn more about hazardous waste - http://plasticpollutionnetwork.org/hazardous-waste-facts/
Bad stuff happens when you're in charge of hazardous materials; it's important to have plans in place for dealing with them if an accident does happen. Watch this video to learn more. EPA experts discuss the serious consequences that result when hazardous waste is not properly managed, and how you can best protect yourself and your family from exposure.
Learn more about handling hazardous materials safely - http://plasticpollutionnetwork.org/hazardous-waste-facts/
Hazardous waste such as paints, thinners, cleaning fluids, solvents and flammable liquids should be disposed of properly at a Hazardous Waste drop off center or a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center (HHWCC). Paint must be in a container with a lid from the original store where it was purchased. You cannot bring paint you bought at a hardware store and put it in a previously used container.
Federal and state laws protect public health and safety by regulating hazardous wastes. The federal government has strict rules about managing hazardous waste—including standards for spill prevention, emergency action plans, and notifications to state authorities if the quantity of hazardous waste is over certain levels. These laws may differ somewhat from state to state. Some states have more stringent requirements than federal law.
Many people do not realize that they are generating hazardous waste in the course of their daily lives. Hazardous wastes can be generated either by households or industrial facilities and found in a wide variety of products.
Hazardous wastes come in different forms. The term is commonly used to refer to discarded household products such as cleaning fluids, pesticides and solvents, although these are not the only instances in which a product can be considered hazardous. Other common industrial by-products such as heavy metals, radioactive materials and asbestos also fall under this label. Radioactive wastes, for example, are highly regulated on the federal level because they have the potential to negatively affect public health and safety.
In the United States all states are required by federal law to regulate the disposal of hazardous waste generated within their borders. States that do this through state agencies or individual nonprofits or private companies instead of using their own offices are known as authorized states.
States require that hazardous waste generators provide a list of products they generate that are considered hazardous to the public, as well as what they will do with them. They must also provide state and federal agencies with a plan for disposing of these wastes. State authorities may conduct audits to make sure that the collection centers are operating properly and following all procedures for safe disposal of hazardous waste.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for implementing federal laws related to the management and disposal of hazardous wastes, such as RCRA (for municipal and industrial wastes). The EPA provides guidelines on how to manage hazardous wastes generated by U.S., states, local communities, industry and other groups through its website at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/index.htm and its programs, including:
The EPA provides information on the location of hazardous waste disposal sites in all states, which is available at http://www.epa.gov/region04/waste-site-search-map
its “What is RCRA?” pages (http://www.epa.gov/RCRA) and at its National Household Hazardous Waste Management Program http://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/index-whatisgeneratorsandrun4u.htm (generator pages).
Eradicating or completely eliminating hazardous wastes is not a realistic goal, as that would require the generation of no waste. Many people are unaware of hazardous waste generated by household activities and industries.
In the United States in 2006, over 2.6 billion pounds of hazardous waste were generated. This tonnes is divided into over 5,300 types of wastes that make up 41 different types of hazardous materials. Of these wastes, more than half were generated in the form of paint products which accounted for approximately 1 billion pounds or 35 percent. Everyday products such as cleaners and pesticides made up 38 percent, industrial chemicals 16 percent and plastics about 11 percent each. Various household products accounted for another 7 percent each including metals 5% and electronics 3%.
In the European Union, in 2001, more than 1.7 million tons of hazardous waste was generated, of which some 80 percent was hazardous to humans or the environment. In about half of these cases, the substance is considered toxic to humans.<ref name="Safet-HazWast94/312">"Safet-HazWast94/312". European Environment Agency.</ref> The other 20 percent are classified as corrosive, ignitable or reactive chemicals that can have an explosive or damaging effect on people and/or are highly flammable substances.. The remaining 5 percent are considered "other" hazardous wastes that could be toxic to animals or result in ecosystems being harmed by contamination.
In Germany in 2001, there were over 230,000 tons of hazardous waste at the end of the year. This was slightly more than in 2000, but an increase in hazardous waste being sent to landfill sites always causes a slight increase in final quantities. In contrast to this trend, the quantity of hazardous waste generated by industry is decreasing. But it is difficult to interpret these numbers as they are partly caused by the fact that the industry is already fulfilling its obligation to separate out specific wastes at source and deal with them separately. The increase can therefore be attributed to higher quantities being sent for recycling and recovery processes such as incineration or for energy generation.
In the United States, the federal government regulates hazardous waste through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). RCRA requires states to provide a place for generating, storing and transporting hazardous waste disposal sites. According to EPA guidelines, hazardous waste must be stored in a manner that protects health and safety as well as the environment. The remains of specific toxic substances are required to be stored in special containers. This can include specialized drums, brick-lined pits or simple caverns with walls and linings. The total quantity of hazardous materials stored must not be more than 1,000 gallons per site, according to EPA standards.
The EPA has outlined rules for different types of hazardous waste. As a general rule, hazardous waste is either solid or liquid. Solid waste that can be “handled” must be stored in drum containers made of plastic or metal. “Handling” includes putting it in a container, storing it in a warehouse and transportation. However, if the waste is going to be stored for longer than six months, then it must be packaged in drums made for those with no less than 18 gauge steel walls and coated with rust-resistant materials.
Hazardous liquid waste must always be stored in tanks designed to hold more than 1,000 gallons of hazardous material each.
Conclusion of overall management of hazardous waste
Hazardous waste generally needs to be first stored in a container and is then shipped to an authorized disposal facility. This system has the benefit of reducing the amount of hazardous waste on site, for example, by sending hazardous liquid or solid waste off site for treatment or disposal. However it does sometimes create problems, because the hazardous wastes are then brought back again for reuse as raw materials or for incineration when demand is particularly low.
The management and disposal of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) has become a complex and politically charged issue in recent decades. PCBs were banned by the EPA in 1979, but some are still produced today.