CE 326 Principles of Environmental Engineering
Hazardous Waste Management
Extent of Hazardous Waste (HW) Problem
Office of Technology Assessment
255 - 275 mil. tons of HW (1989 data)
1999 EPA National Biennial
Hazardous Waste
Report
______ large quantity generators (> 1,000 kg/month) and 1,575 treatment,
storage or disposal facilities (__________)
Approx. 400 TSDFs have treatment capabilities.
Breakdown of the waste are as follows:
51%
Chemical Products
7%
Transportation Equipment
9%
Petroleum and Coal Products
9% Electronics
8% Primary Metals
10% All other industries
Largest Generators
States
__________________________________________
Account for 64% of HW
Companies
Du Pont de Nemours and Co (2.9 mil. tons)
Amoco Oil Company (2.4 mil. tons)
Solutia, Inc (2.3 mil. tons)
Rubicon, Inc. (1.7 mil. tons)
Over view
General definition of the term "hazardous"
• potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment
• capable of causing adverse physiological effects
• statues that primarily addressed the hazardous wastes issue are the
___________________________________ Subtitle C and the
______________________________________________.
________ is focused on _________________________________________ hazardous waste management
____________ is focused on _________________hazardous waste disposal sites
RCRA Introduction and History
• enacted in _________ as an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act to fill the regulatory pollution control
gap between the Clean Air Act (1970) and the Clean Water Act (1972)
• ___________ was given the task of defining what wastes are "hazardous" and how these wastes should be
regulated in order to prevent harm to human health or the environment
• In 1984, Congress amended RCRA through the ____________________________ Amendments were made in
response to EPA's inability over the previous eight years to promulgate effective and satisfactory regulations.
HSWA gave more specific guidelines for regulations, timetable for promulgation of regulations by installing
minimum regulatory controls to promote rapid promulgation of regulations.
• RCRA describes a program to manage hazardous waste from "_____________________" and a program for
identifying and listing HW.
• The cradle-to-grave concept regulates
________________________________________________________________________. It involves US EPA
as well as state regulatory agencies.
• Generator is an entity whose act or process produces a hazardous waste
• Transporters include an entity that provides shipment/transportation of hazardous waste by highway, railway,
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water and air.
Facilities classified as TSDFs include landfills, above ground tank systems, surface impoundments, waste piles,
land treatment, incinerators, other thermal treatment units, chemical, physical and biological treatment units and
underground injection wells.
The cradle-to-grave concept require generators, transporters and TSDFs
- to obtain an __________________________________
- use a _____________________________ that contains information on the generator, transporter, and
TSDFs to track and manage hazardous waste
- adopted ______________________ regulations for proper packaging and identification of hazardous
waste during shipment
- provides guidelines for the safe disposal of hazardous waste by TSDFs.
Identifying Hazardous Waste
RCRA defines a hazardous waste as:
.......a solid waste, or a combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,
chemical or infectious characteristics may (a) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an
increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness or (b) pose a substantial
present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported or
disposed of or otherwise managed.
By definition , all "hazardous waste" must first be a solid waste. (Therefore, hazardous waste is a subset of solid
wastes.)
Statutory definition of solid waste:
"..... garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control
facility and discarded materials including solid, liquid, semi-solids or contained gaseous materials resulting from
industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities but does not include solid
or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources,
special nuclear or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
A "solid waste" is a Discarded Material
• Under RCRA, a material must be discarded before it becomes a solid waste. RCRA was not intended to regulate
raw materials or products, regardless of their hazardous characteristics, unless they have been discarded.
When is a "Solid Waste" a "Hazardous Waste"
A waste may be classified as a hazardous waste if the waste meets the criteria of any of the following two
categories:
• _______________________
• _______________________
1. Listed Hazardous Wastes
US EPA identified specific solid wastes that are hazardous wastes because of known hazardous characteristics
(see Appendix C, page 883). These lists consists of:
__________ (40 CFR 261.32 - manufacturing wastes from _____________, eg., spent solvents, electroplating
wastes, wood preserving wastes (containing tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, acetone, etc.)
____________ (40 CFR 261.32) - manufacturing wastes from ____________ industrial processes, eg., wastes
from wood preserving and petroleum refining industries (distillation bottoms from production of acetaldehyde
from ethylene)
______________ (40 CFR 261.33(3) - discarded chemical products or intermediates that are ______________
waste
_________________ (40 CFR 261.33 (f) - discarded chemical products or intermediates that present risks of
_______________________________ from exposure
(P and U wastes contains specific chemicals such as organics, pesticides and acids (eg.,.kepone and creosote))
2. Characteristics Wastes
Waste may be regulated for exhibiting one of the following characteristics of a hazardous
waste as determined by the EPA:
_________________ • liquid other than aqueous solutions containing less than 24% alcohol, that has flash point
less than 60oC
• nonliquid capable, under normal conditions, of spontaneous and sustained combustion
• ignitable compressed gas under DOT regulations
• oxidizer under DOT regulations
________________ • aqueous material with pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5
• A liquid that corrodes steel at a rate greater than 1/4 inch per year at a temperature of
55o C
_______________
• normally unstable and readily undergoes violent change without detonating
• forms potentially explosive mixtures with water
• when mixed with water, it generates toxic gases, vapors, or fumes in a quantity sufficient
to present a danger to human health or the environment
• It is a cyanide or sulfide bearing waste which when exposed to pH conditions between 2
and 12.5 can generate toxic gases, vapors or fumes in a quantity sufficient to present a
danger to human health or the environment
• It is capable of detonation or explosive reaction if subjected to a strong initiating source
or if heated under confinement
• It is readily capable of detonation or explosive decomposition or reaction at standard
temperature and pressure
• It is a forbidden explosive as defined in DOT regulations
_____________
• Using an approved extraction method, __________________________________
(TCLP), the extract from the waste contains any of the contaminants listed in a
concentration equal to or greater than the values listed in the Table 9-10 (page 729).
Some Examples of Some Highly Toxic Wastes
__________ – over twenty different isomers of a basic chlorodioxin structure. The most common is TCDD (2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) which is considered to be one of the most poisonous of all synthetic
chemicals.
Source – byproducts of thermal reactions such as in the manufacture or burning of chlorophenols,
chlorinated pesticides and insecticides and burning of plastics.
Health effects – birth defects, cancer, disruption of immune and productive system.
__________ - Polychlorinated biphenyls – over 200 isomers, formed by chlorine substitutions of biphenyl molecule
- a very good heat transfer fluid, used as coolant/dielectric of transformers and capacitors, protective
coating for woods, in inks
- Largest manufacturer of PCBs – Monsanto Industrial Chemical Co – sold under the name of Aroclors.
- Monsanto stopped manufacturing PCBs when the hazards of the chemicals were highlighted.
- There are still large amounts of PCBs in use – transformers, etc.
- Health effects - carcinogen
General Description of CERCLA
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The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was enacted by
Congress on Dec 11, 1980.
CERCLA is commonly known as "______________". This law gives the Federal Government authority to
respond to:
(a) emergencies involving immediate and uncontrolled releases of HW whether on land or in navigable waters
(b) identify uncontrolled and abandoned HW sites and ensure clean-up of the worst
hazardous waste sites
(c) compel those responsible for the problem to clean-up the hazardous waste site at their own expense or to
recover the costs of Federal actions.
CERCLA created a "________________________________" from tax on the chemical and petroleum
industries that are used for the cleaning up of abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
CERCLA was amended in Oct 17, 1986 by ___________________________________________. SARA
significantly increased the size and scope of CERCLA program.
CERCLA established a priority list of abandoned or inactive hazardous waste sites for cleanup. The system
used is the ___________________________________________ which is risk based. When a site is found to
be a threat it is placed on the ___________________________________.
Example of site under CERCLA - Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York
• Area surrounding Niagara Falls - a highly industrialized area in the late 19th century and early
20th century due to the availability of hydroelectric power and water transportation system
• William T. Love developed a plan in 1892 to build a 7 mile long canal to connect the upper and
lower levels of the Niagara River
- construction began in 1893 but was abandoned leaving two unfinished sections of the canal,
each one-quarter mile long
• In the 1930s, Hooker Chemical and Plastic Corp., began to landfill chemicals (pesticides,
caustic, plasticizers) in one of the unfinished sections
- by 1947, many companies were using the canal as a chemical waste dump (approx. 23,000
tons were dumped)
- in 1952, the canal was closed and capped by Hooker Chemical
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In 1953, city officials ordered Hooker Chemical to sell the city the canal land for a new
school.
- Hooker files disclaimers citing possible dangers of building over the landfill
- after being threatened by eminent domain proceedings, Hooker sold the entire canal strip to
the city for $1.
An elementary school was constructed and families began to settle along land neighboring the
dump site
In 1968, Occidental Chemical purchased Hooker Chemical
Several incidents occurred which alerted the residents of the dangers:
- in 1974, a family found that their swimming pool has risen 2 feet out of the ground and when
the pool was removed, the cavity was immediately filled with yellow-, blue- and orchidcolored groundwater
- a family spent years battling with a black sludge that began to seep into their basement in
1959. When they made a hole to see what's on the other side, a large quantity of black liquid
poured into the basement
- high concentrations levels of chemicals were found in the groundwater
- by 1976, puddles of chemicals were starting to surface in the backyards of many residents,
complaints were made to the city but no actions were taken
By 1978, the state began to be involved
Aug. 2, 1978, state recommended that the school be closed and all pregnant women and infants
to be evacuated, 237 families were evacuated
In 1980, a study was released reporting of evidence of chromosome damage
President Carter ordered further evacuation from Love Canal
1979 - 1980 - US and New York file lawsuits against Oxychem.
Oxychem sues US, New York, Niagara Falls and its Board of Education
1988 - Federal court finds Oxychem liable for cleanup costs
March 1994 - Federal court rejects New York's claim for punitive damages against Oxychem
June 1994 - New York and Oxychem settle suit
Treatment Technologies For Hazardous Wastes
Treatment technologies for hazardous waste can be categorized into the following:
1.
_________________________ - use of microorganisms to breakdown the hazardous wastes to harmless
compounds such as carbon dioxide and water
2.
___________________________ – include various technologies. The more common technologies are
oxidation using strong oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide and ozone, neutralization using acid and
based; chemical precipitation; adsorption using granular activated carbon or ion exchange resin;
stabilization/solidification, Recovery
3.
_____________________________ - separation or concentration of waste using distillation, filtration,
membrane processes such as reverse osmosis
4.
____________________________ - destruction of waste by high temperature such as incineration
5.
___________________________ - such as deep well injection, landfills and surface impoundments
1999 Statistics (nonwastewater hazardous waste)
___________________ - 69%.
Land disposal methods include: Deepwell/Underground Injection, Landfill,
Surface Impoundment, Land Treatment/Application/Farming
__________________ - 11%
Thermal treatment units include: Energy Recovery (for Reuse as Fuel),
Incineration
__________________ - 8%.
Recovery operations include: Fuel Blending, Metals Recovery (for Reuse),
Solvents Recovery
__________________- 11% Disposal units such as stabilization , sludge treatment