Hazardous Waste Management: Complete Overview
Hazardous waste management involves reducing the amount of hazardous pollutants produced, handling hazardous wastes to reduce toxicity, and implementing sound engineering controls to minimise or eliminate exposure to these wastes.
What do you mean by hazardous waste management?
Hazardous-waste management refers to the processing, treatment, and disposal of waste that, when handled improperly, can harm human health and safety as well as the environment. Hazardous wastes can be solids, liquids, sludges, or stored gases, and they are mainly generated by chemical, manufacturing, and other industrial processes. They can cause damage as a result of insufficient storage, transportation, care, or disposal. Improper hazardous-waste storage or disposal often pollutes surface water and groundwater sources, as well as being a source of dangerous hazardous wastes.
In Hazardous Waste Management
Safety and Occupation Hygiene
In the maintenance of hazardous waste treatment facilities, safety and occupational hygiene are key. The following safety equipment must be given at all strategic locations, and routine training and mock exercises must be performed. Employees’ welfare must be checked on a regular basis. First-aid training will be provided to selected employees by trained instructors.
List of Wastes That May Be Incompatible
When hazardous and toxic wastes are combined with other wastes or substances at a hazardous waste collection, treatment, or disposal facility, they may have negative health and environmental consequences:
- Pressure or heat
- A violent incident
- Smoke, mists, fumes, or gases
- Flammable gases or fumes
- An explosion or a fire
What are the 4 types of hazardous waste?
- Ignitability
- Corrosivity
- Reactivity
- Toxicity
What are the methods of hazardous waste disposal?
Chemical, thermal, biological, and physical processes can all be used to handle hazardous waste. Ion exchange, absorption, oxidation and reduction, and neutralisation are all chemical processes. High-temperature incineration is one of the thermal methods that can not only detoxify but also degrade certain organic wastes.
What are the 3 categories of hazardous waste?
The EPA divides hazardous waste into three categories: listed, characteristic, and mixed radiological waste. There are subcategories under each of these categories that can get very specific, but the basics are as follows.
Listed Wastes:
Listed wastes are those that come from manufacturing processes and identifiable sectors, or can be made from chemical waste from commercial products. F, K, P, and U waste are the four forms of waste mentioned.
- F-List Waste
The wastes on the F-list come from a variety of sources. They are generated as a result of manufacturing and industrial processes, which may take occur in a number of industries. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) divides F-list wastes into seven categories based on how they are created.
- Waste from the K-List
K-list wastes, unlike F-list wastes, have specific sources. derived from manufacturing and industrial methods, but they come from different sectors like wood preservation, petroleum refining, and explosives manufacturing.
- P- and U-List Waste
P- and U-listed wastes are wastes that contain only pure, unused chemicals and follow three criteria: the waste contains one of the chemicals on the P or U list, the chemical is unused in the waste, and the chemical is in the form of a commercial chemical product.
Wastes with Characteristics:
Ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity are all properties that identify characteristic wastes.
Radiological Wastes (Mixed)
Mixed radiological waste is the last form of hazardous waste, and it contains both a hazardous and a radioactive component.
Treatment, Storage, And Disposal In Hazardous Waste Management
Hazardous waste disposal can be done in a variety of ways. The most beneficial option is to reduce waste at the source or recycle the materials for another productive use. Despite the fact that waste reduction and recycling are attractive solutions, they are not considered the definitive solution to the issue of hazardous waste disposal. There will still be a need for hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal in some manner.
Treatment
Chemical, thermal, biological, and physical processes can all be used to handle hazardous waste. Ion exchange, absorption, oxidation and reduction, and neutralisation are all chemical processes. High-temperature incineration is one of the thermal methods that can not only detoxify but also burn some organic wastes. Thermal equipment is used to burn waste that is solid, liquid, or sludge. Fluidized-bed incinerators, multiple-hearth furnaces, rotary kilns, and liquid-injection incinerators are among them. The potential for air pollution is one issue that hazardous-waste incineration.
Certain organic wastes, such as those from the petroleum industry, may also be biologically treated. Landfarming is a biological treatment method for hazardous waste. This method involves carefully mixing waste with surface soil on a suitable patch of land. Microbes that can metabolise waste, as well as nutrients, can be added. In certain cases, a bacteria strain that has been genetically modified is used. food and forage Crops are not grown on the same farm. Microbes can also be used to stabilise hazardous waste on previously polluted sites, which is known as bioremediation.
Surface storage and land disposal
Hazardous waste that cannot be eliminated by incineration or other chemical methods must be properly disposed of. Land disposal is the final destination for most of these wastes, despite the fact that it is not an appealing activity due to the inherent environmental risks. Landfilling and underground injection are the two most common methods of land disposal. Surface storage or containment systems are often used as a temporary solution prior to land disposal.
Considerations
When it comes to locating hazardous waste management facilities, a variety of considerations must be taken into consideration. Some of these are governed by legislation: RCRA, for example, prohibits the disposal of flammable liquids in landfills. Siting is often influenced by socioeconomic factors. All related “-ologies” must be considered when choosing a location, including hydrology, climatology, geology, and ecology, as well as current land use, environmental health, and transportation.
Reference
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/hazardous-waste-management/pdf
https://cleanmanagement.com/blog/three-categories-hazardous-waste/
https://www.britannica.com/technology/waste-disposal-system
