The increase in garbage generation has shifted significantly as a result of industrialization, population growth, and urbanization. A section of the wastes produced has the potential to be detrimental to both humans and the environment. Hazardous wastes are defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as wastes which are capable of inflicting significant harm to human health or living organisms since they are non-biodegradable and can be amplified biologically. Because of the complexities of these wastes, their management is taken very seriously and is treated as a separate specialty. Mismanagement of hazardous waste can have disastrous and even lethal repercussions.
Hazardous wastes exhibit the following characteristics according to the United Nations listing:
- Corrosive wastes – they are wastes that rust or disintegrate goods exposed to them.
- Ignitability – these wastes are easily flammable. The flash point of these wastes’ liquids is around 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Solids, on the other hand, spontaneously ignite and burn.
- Reactivity-Reactive wastes can be extremely hazardous due to their instability. As there are too many variables and parameters to identify every type of reactive material, the EPA employs the following criteria to assist generators in identifying them:
- Unstable, frequently undergoing major shift without detonation
- When combined with water, an explosive combination or violent reaction is possible.
- Poisonous gasses are released when toxic gases are mixed with water.
- Toxicity- toxic waste causes delayed or chronic effects to people and the environment. These wastes are usually identified using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure test.
Other characteristics of hazardous wastes are oxidizing, poisonous or infectious, and radioactive.
The EPA produced four lists of hazardous wastes documented within 40 CFR 261 in sub section D in order to further identify hazardous wastes. These are the F, K, U, and P lists.
- The K listed wastes ( specific source wastes).
These wastes mainly include industrial wastes which are very particular to the industrial process.
- The F listed wastes ( Non specific source wastes).
These wastes mainly include used solvents and wastewater.
- The U and P listed wastes.
These lists include disposed commercial chemical products, residues in containers, and spillages. They are generally underutilized materials with only one active component. The primary distinction between the latter is that P-Listed wastes are barely poisonous. The empty containers containing P listed wastes must be washed thrice. The rinsate is then collected and transported as hazardous waste. When storing P-Listed wastes, manufacturers must adhere to stricter storage duration regulations.
The EPA focuses all of its efforts on regulation in order to reduce hazardous waste generation. Rather of dealing with waste disposal, the agency prefers to avoid it altogether. Hazardous waste is often disposed of in hazardous wastes landfills. Non-liquid hazardous waste are disposed of in the designed and excavated hazardous waste landfill. Unlike MSW landfills, which only feature a single liner and a single leachate collection system, hazardous waste landfills have two liners and two leachate collection and removal systems. Leak detection devices and wind dispersal controls are also installed in hazardous waste landfills.
The progress gained in hazardous waste management is a result of the superfund (CERCLA) legal power as well as the EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is empowered under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to identify parties responsible for hazardous waste generation and ensure that they are engaged in mitigation activities. Since the creation of the superfund, there has been a lot of progress in waste management.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performed or supervised 233 pollution cleanup actions in 2009 in order to remediate contamination that causes urgent and significant hazards to human health and the environment.This was done in line with the superfund goal of protecting communities threatened by hazardous wastes. By 2009, the EPA had conducted 96,781 remedial site assessments in preparation for future cleanups. This would aid them in determining if the sites need more EPA attention.
In Fiscal year 2020, Superfund found 34 additional sites that met the Site-wide Ready for Anticipated Use (SWRAU) criterion, meaning they had all long-term safeguards in place. SWRAU now has 969 locations. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created in communities as a consequence of redevelopment of Superfund sites, which can begin before the SWRAU designation. This year, the EPA is still developing and implementing its initiatives with the aid of the Superfund and other stakeholders. They also want to present the first comprehensive draft learning agenda in tandem with the creation of the EPA strategic plan for fiscal years 2022-2026.
REFERENCE
Akkoyunlu, A., Avşar, Y., & Erguven, G. O. (2017). Hazardous waste management in Turkey. Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste, 21(4), 04017018.
Fulton, S., Hyatt Jr, W. H., & Kropp, I. (2018). CERCLA Regulatory Challenges and Changes-What to Expect in 2018. Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis, 48, 10005.
Goel, S. (Ed.). (2017). Advances in solid and hazardous waste management. Springer.
Grasso, D. (2017). Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, And Liability Act (CERCLA). In Hazardous Waste Site Remediation (pp. 27-46). Routledge.
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