Sol/Haz Waste Management - Exam 1

The Mobro 4000

The barge set sail with over 3,000 tons of garbage from a crowded landfill in Islip, New York and was turned away by numerous locations, including six states and three foreign countries, due to concerns about hazardous materials and overflowing landfills. After months and 6,000 miles at sea, finally returned to its home port in Brooklyn, New York, where the garbage was eventually incinerated.

Khian Sea Incident

a ship carrying Philadelphia's incinerator ash, could not find a place to dump its toxic load and eventually illegally dumped some of the ash in Haiti and the rest at sea, sparking international outrage and contributing to the creation of the UN Basel Convention to regulate hazardous waste

Love Canal Tragedy

Hooker Chemical dumped over 20,000 tons of waste, including carcinogens, into an abandoned canal in Niagara Falls from 1942-1953.A town built on top of the chemical waste site that caused severe health and env hazards as It caused birth defects and several carcinogenic chemicals were exposed.

Soild waste is:

Garbage, refuse, sludges, and other discarded materials resulting from industrial and commercial operations & community activities

Solid waste is NOT:

domestic sewage, water resources, industrial wastewater effluents, irrigation return flows

Garbage

plant and animal waste generated while preparing & consuming food, putrescible (decomposes)

Rubbish

Everything else in waste other than food, not putrescible, a portion is combustible

Nine Categories of Waste (usually managed separately)

1. municipal

2. hazardous

3. industrial

4. medical

5. universal

6. construction and demolition (c&d)

7. radioactive

8. mining

9. agricultural

Industrial Waste

any non-hazardous waste generated via industrial process (includes wastewater, construcution and demolition materials, and scraps generated during manufacturing, as well as shipping containers like drums)

Medical Waste

any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals

-> generated by hospitals, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, long-term healthcare facilities, clinics, laboratories, blood banks, funeral homes etc.

Universal Waste

Includes batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing thermostats & thermometers, and fluorescent bulbs

Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris

Waste and recyclables generated from construction, renovation, and demolition or deconstruction of preexisting structures.

ex) concrete, asphalt, wood, metals, gypsum, wallboard, roofing, land-clearing debris

Radioactive Wastes

Industrial waste from nuclear plants, nuclear waste reprocessing facilities, and nuclear weapons facilities

Mining Waste

1) soil, overburden rock above resource being removed subsurface

2) tailings or spoilings from processing materials

3) heap wastes left behind from spraying piles of low grade rock or tailings with acid or cyanide solutions to extract precious materials

Agricultural Waste

Waste from the raising of animals and harvesting and processing of crops and trees

RCRA Characteristics of Hazardous Wastes

Ignitibility, Corrosivity, Reactivity, Toxicity

RCRA F-list

non-specific source wastes, from common manufacturing and industrial processes. ex) solvents that have been used in cleaning or degreasing operations

RCRA K-list

Source-specific wastes, from specific industries such as petroleum refining or pesticide manufacturing

RCRA P-list and U-list

discarded commercial chemcial products, including specific commercial chemical products in unused form. ex) pesticides and some pharmaceutical products

Laws vs regulations

Laws: lack details needed to explain how to follow the law

Regulations: set specific requirements about what is legal

Laws & Regulations come back to two principles

health of people/environment, and cost

Need to find balance for level of protection through:

affordability of implementation, incentives of penalty fines

Creating a Law

Congress writes a bill -> president approves or vetos -> act/statute is codified in the United States Code U.S.C.

Creating a Regulation

EPA proposes regulation -> EPA considers public comments & issues final rule -> regulation is codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

Title 40, CFR

Protection of the environment, deals with the EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment

The Federal Register (FR)

official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies/organizations

CFR vs FR

FR - announces ongoing activities of the agencies and notifies you when you can comment on a proposed regulation

CFR - once a final decision is issued in the form of a final regulation, the regulation is codified when it is incorporated into the CFR

Solid Waste Disposal Act (1965)

First federal law to focus on managing solid waste, primarily addressing municipal and industrial waste by promoting better disposal tech & research. Laid the groundwork for future legislation (RCRA)

Resource Recovery Act (1970)

-Amended SWDA, shifted emphasis from disposal to recycling and reuse of recoverable materials, and the conversion of waste to energy

-transferred the oversight of MSW from the US public health service to the EPA

Toxic Substances Control Act (1976)

Authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the manufacture, distribution, import and processing of certain toxic chemicals (ex. PCBs [polychlorinated biphenyls], asbestos, radon, and lead-based paint

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (1976)

Management of non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste including landfills and storage tanks. Set minimal standards for all waste disposal facilities and for hazardous wastes, control haz. waste "from cradle-to-grave"

- FOCUSES ONLY ON ACTIVE AND FUTURE FACILITIES

Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) (1984)

modified RCRA (encouraged waste minimization and phased out the disposal of hazardous wastes on land and increased law enforcement authority to punish violators)

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund/CERCLA) (1980)

Created a superfund to clean up

1. uncontrolled/abandoned hazardous waste sites

2. Accidents, spills, and other emergency releases

3. Orphaned sites when responsible parties cannot be identified or loacted, or when they fail to act (also obtains private party cleanup through orders, etc and recovers costs from financially viable individuals and companies once response action has been completed)

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) (1986)

REauthorized CERCLA to continue cleanup activities around the country

added to legislation:

--> site specific amendments

--> definition clarifications

--> technical requirements

SARA Title I

Protection of workers (training) in haz. waste ops/HAZWOPER/emergency repsonse plans

SARA Title II

Cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks (USTs), r&d to promote treatment tech, Love Canal property acquisition

SARA Title III

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (1986):

development and comprehensive community emergency plans and reporting of certain chemical inventory and release information to local and state authorities

Oil Pollution Act (1990)

- establish provisions that expanded the federal government's ability & provide the money and resources necessary to respond to oil spills

- created the national Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is available to provide up to one billion dollars per spill incident

Pollution Prevention Act (1990)

designed to promote source reduction (stop pollution from being produced)

Federal Facility Compliance Act (1992)

- Amended SWDA to handle legal dispute as to whether federal facilities are subject to enforcement actions

- Waived government immunity from prosecution due to improper management of hazardous wastes

Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act (1996)

provided regulatory flexibility for land disposal of certain wastes

Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfield Revitalization Act (2002)

Amended CERCAL to provide certain relief for small businesses from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, and:

-> Promote the cleanup and reuse of brownfields

-> provide financial assistance for brownfields revitalization

-> enhance State response programs

Superfund Task Force (2017)

Goal is to improve CERCLA performance by:

- Expediting Cleanup and Remediation

- Re-Invigorating Responsible Party Cleanup and Reuse

- Encouraging Private Investment

- Promoting Redevelopment and Community Revitalization

- Engaging Partners and Stakeholders

may lead to new amendments!