1. Hazardous Waste means wastes {solid, liquid or containerized gas}which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may
cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness

2. Or
pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.

3. Considered “hazardous” if
waste is specifically listed by the EPA (includes those “known to be fatal”)
waste is toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic to any life forms
waste is tested and meets one of four characteristics established by the EPA: ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic
waste is declared hazardous by its generator based on their knowledge of it

4. Federal Regulations Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA)
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)

5. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
established 1976
federal management of hazardous waste
set up as a separate office within the EPA that was charged with identifying which wastes are hazardous and establishing a system for tracking waste

6. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Held generators responsible for the wastes they produced from the “cradle to the grave”
even if third party disposal was utilized the generator was still liable
Provided for “citizen suits” allowing the government to be sued for failure to comply with this act.

7. Hazardous waste management
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Hazardous waste management
Figure 13.14
13-9

8. Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA)
Congress perceived a lack of action by the EPA so they passed these amendments in 1984
far more detailed than most pieces of environmental legislation
specified several minimum technical requirements for landfills, disposal facilities, standards for permits …
Allowed EPA to require corrective action outside the boundaries of the plant or facility

9. HSWA
Prohibited the disposal of bulk non-containerized liquid hazardous waste in landfills or surface impoundments
Only allowed disposal of containerized liquid hazardous waste if
no reasonable alternative is available
it is environmentally acceptable

10. HSWA Minimum technical requirements for landfills double-liners
leachate collection systems
groundwater monitoring
leak detection systems

11. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
Passed in 1980 to deal with sites that were already contaminated
established a $1.6 billion dollar fund to implement a massive cleanup program over a five-year period
intent to identify hazardous waste sites and clean them, then establish liability and recover costs

12. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
CERCLA amended with SARA in 1986
“Superfund” refers to both laws and the clean-up program thus mandated
Complete rewrite of CERCLA
$8.5 billion dollars for cleanup of abandoned sites
$500 million for leaking petroleum tanks

13. Right-to-Know
provisions of SARA require industries to plan for emergencies and inform the public of hazardous substances being used.

14. Superfund Sites
there are over 36,000 “Superfund” sites in the United States
Not all sites have yet been identified

15. Liability Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
Present and past owners of the site
Operators of the facility at the time of disposal
Generators
Transporters
usually a joint responsibility - can take years to sort out

16. U.S. hazardous waste producers
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U.S. hazardous waste producers
Figure 13.13
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17. Hazardous Waste Management
Source Reduction
Recycling
Treatment
Disposal

18. Source Reduction
reduce, avoid, or eliminate the generation of hazardous waste
action that merely concentrates the content to reduce volume or dilutes it to disperse the hazard is not considered waste reduction

19. Product design - chemical use, ease of recycling, size, modularity
Raw materials - use of renewable resources
Manufacture/sale/distribution - pollution prevention and hazard management
Packaging - reduced packaging, vegetable dyes, concentration of material
Use - lower doseage, aerosol free, long life
Final disposal - recycling, treatable material

20. Secure landfill 13-11 Figure 13.18
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Secure landfill
Figure 13.18
13-11

21. Radioactive Waste

22. A Brief History About WIPP
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, is the world's first underground repository licensed to safely and permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste left from the research and production of nuclear weapons. After more than 20 years of scientific study, public input, and regulatory struggles, WIPP began operations on March 26,

23. Located in the remote Chihuahuan Desert of Southeastern New Mexico, project facilities include disposal rooms mined 2,150 feet underground in a 2,000-foot thick salt formation that has been stable for more than 200 million years. Transuranic waste is currently stored at 23 locations nationwide. Over a 35 year period, WIPP is expected to receive about 37,000 shipments.

26. Yucca Mountain
repository for high-level radioactive waste (spent fuel rods, and waste from the various bomb programs)

27. nuclear fuel consists of small, ceramic-like pellets of enriched uranium, slightly larger than pencil erasers. One pellet contains the energy equivalent to almost one ton of coal. The pellets are stacked end-to-end and sealed in strong metal tubes meters (12-15 feet) long.
The tubes containing the uranium pellets are bundled together in groups of about 200 to form nuclear fuel assemblies. These fuel assemblies are placed inside a nuclear reactor where the nuclear fission process takes place.

29. Waste disposal guide 13-10 Figure 13.16
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Waste disposal guide
Figure 13.16
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