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Home , Chemical waste, Hazardous waste, Industrial waste, Litter, Municipal solid waste, Toxic waste

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Copyright 2006, The Johns Hopkins University and Jonathan M. Links. All rights reserved. Use of these materials permitted only in accordance with license rights granted. Materials provided “AS IS”; no representations or warranties provided. User assumes all responsibility for use, and all liability related thereto, and must independently review all materials for accuracy and efficacy. May contain materials owned by others. User is responsible for obtaining permissions for use from third parties as needed. Municipal, Industrial, and Hazardous

Jonathan M. Links, PhD Johns Hopkins University Section A

Types of Waste and Types of Waste

Waste

Municipal Medical Hazardous waste waste waste

Industrial waste

Manufacturing Spent fuel High-level Agriculture Low-level Coal combustion Uranium mill Oil and production

Source: Wagner, T. 4 The Universe of Waste

Hazardous waste 5% MSW 1.2% 93.7% Radioactive waste <0.1% Medical waste <0.1%

Source: Wagner, T. 5 Waste Categories and Generated Amounts (1990 Data)

Amount Source Per capita (lbs/day) ( x 106 tons/year)

Municipal 164 4.7 Industrial 13,000 285

Hazardous 196 4.3

Medical 0.5 1 oz

Other

Sewage 300 6.3

Dredged material 400

Animal waste 1,325*

*Nationwide, 130 times more animal waste than

Source: Wagner, T. 6

Source: Adapted by CTLT from Hill, M. K. 7 Sources and Examples of MSW

Sources Examples of products

Nondurable items (magazines, newspapers, Residential, including single- advertising flyers), and , aluminum and multiple-family houses and steel cans, packaging, food , yard wastes

Institutional, including Food wastes, paper (classrooms and offices), schools, , prisons, and disposable tableware, napkins, paper towels from nursing homes restrooms and yard trimmings

Source: Moore, G. S. 8 More Sources and Examples of MSW

Sources Examples of products

Commercial, including Food wastes, paper products from offices, restrooms restaurants, office buildings, and serving tables, disposable tableware, corrugated and stores and products, yard wastes

Wooden pallets, office paper, corrugated and Industrial packaging and paperboard products, plastic film and food wastes administrative wastes (from cafeterias)

9 Major Material Components of MSW by Weight, 1996

80 60

40

20

MSW (millions of tons) MSW (millions 0 r e d r d p r a Ya the oo P Food O lastics Glass P W

Source: EPA; Moore, G. S. 10 Sources of Household

„ Household hazardous waste: approximately 0.5% of refuse weight

Automotive

56%

Pesticides 1% 5% Cleaners 26% 12%

Paint products Misc.

Source: Johnson, B. L. 11 U.S. Material Consumption and Population Growth

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

Million metric tons/million people Million metric tons/million 0 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Materials Population

Source: McKinney, M. L. 12 Waste Generation Rates, 1960–2000 Per capitagene 240 5 tons)

n 4.5 4 180

(millio 3.5 n 3 ration (lbs/pe 120 2.5 2 1.5

60 r 1 son/day)

tal waste generatio 0.5

To 0 0 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Source: Hill, M. K. 13 Annual Municipal Waste Generation per Person

U.S. Australia Canada France U.K. Germany Italy Portugal

0 500 1000 1500 2000 Annual per capita waste generation (lbs)

Source: McKinney, M. L. 14 Causes for Increased Waste Generation

„ Demographic changes „ Degree of „ Consumer preference „ Demand for convenience ahead of the environment „ Little economic incentive for Americans to reduce waste

15 How MSW Is Managed in the U.S.

17%

Landfills 16% 67%

Source: Pepper, I. L. 16 Arrangement of Cells in a Sanitary

Source: Adapted by CTLT from Peirce, J. J. 17 Unlined and Contamination

„ Groundwater contamination as a result of unlined landfill disposal

Source: Adapted by CTLT from Nadavakukaren, A. 18 Diagram of a Sanitary Landfill

Source: Adapted by CTLT from Rogers, J. J. 19 Change in Waste Disposal Tipping Fees

40

30

20

10 Average fee in dollars/ton 0 1980 1984 1988 1992 Incinerator Landfill

Source: Blumberg, L. 20 The Land Filling Crisis

„ Changes in the number of municipal waste operating facilities (U.S.)

16,000

12,000

8,000 l waste operation facilities l waste operation a 4,000

Municip 0 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995

Source: EPA. 21 Sanitary Landfill: Federal Legislation Provisions

„ Landfills may not be sited on floodplains, wetlands, earthquake zones, unstable land, or ( at site are hazard to aircraft) „ Landfills must have liners „ Landfills must have a collection system „ Landfill operators must monitor groundwater for many specified toxic chemicals „ Landfill operators must meet financial assurance criteria that monitoring continues for 30 years after of the landfill

22 Why Are New Landfill Sites Not Being Established?

„ Public opposition − NIMBY: Not in my backyard − LULU: Locally unwanted land use − NIMEY: Not in my election year − NIMTOO: Not in my term of office − BANANA: Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone − NOPE: Not on planet earth „ Rising costs „ EPA regulations

23 Does MSW Degrade in a Landfill?

„ Minimal „ Designed to prevent generation of leachate − containing dissolved and toxics that results from precipitation percolating down through the waste and contaminating groundwater „ Oxygen, critical for degradation, has been eliminated by compaction „ “Biodegradable” advertised products

24 The Lasting Chart

Bottle 1,000,000 years Plastic 6-pack holder 450 years 200–400 years Tin can 80–100 years Plastic 20–30 years Disposable 10–20 years Woolen cap 12 months Cotton rag 1–5 months Banana/orange peel 3–6 weeks Paper 2–4 weeks

Source: Hill, M. K. 25 Typical Sanitary Landfill Leachate Composition

Component Value

BOD5 20,000 mg/L

Ammonia nitrogen 500 mg/L

Chlorine 2,000 mg/L

Total iron 500 mg/L

Zinc 50 mg/L

Lead 2 mg/L

PCBs 1.5 µg/L

pH 6.0

Source: Peirce, J. J. 26 Incineration

„ Reduces waste to solid residues, , and water „ Process reduces waste volume by 80–90% „ Solid residues need further disposal (landfilling) „ Emissions have to be closely monitored and controlled „ Economic considerations − Incineration costs about $125,000 per ton (cost is affected by plant capacity) − Typical plant capacity is about 1,000 tons per day

27 Waste-to-Energy Plant with Control System

„ Mass burn waste-to-energy plant with pollution control system

Source: Adapted by CTLT from League of Women Voters. 28 Why Recycle?

„ Resource conservation − Recycling reduces pressure on renewable and non- renewable resources „ Energy conservation − Recycling consumes 50–90% less energy than the same item from virgin material „ Pollution abatement − Reduces level of emissions

29 Benefits Derived from Using Secondary Materials

„ Environmental benefits derived from substituting secondary materials for virgin resources

Reduction of: Aluminum Steel Paper Glass

Energy use 90–97% 47–74% 23–74% 4–32%

Air pollution 95% 85% 74% 20%

Water pollution 97% 76% 35% —

Mining waste — 97% — 80%

Water use — 40% 58% 50%

Source: McKinney, M. L. 30 Reasons More MSW Isn’t Recycled: Attitudes

„ Attitudes − Convenience, conditioned by advertising; throwaway attitude toward waste; not valued as a resource; out of sight, out of mind − Some people just don’t care

31 Reasons More MSW Isn’t Recycled: Economic

„ Economic − hinders recycling effort − Expense of sorting, transportation − Plastic virgin material less expensive than producing recycled material

32 Reasons More MSW Isn’t Recycled: Market

„ Market − Environmental cost is not reflected in market price X We must internalize the environmental costs X We must include environmental cost in commodity pricing

33 Trends in Waste Generation, Recovery, and Disposal

240

180

120 Million tons 60

0 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Land Disposal Combustion Composting Recycling

Source: Hill, M. K. 34 Better Than Recycling

„ Source reduction − Minimize the amount of waste being generated − Use less material per product − Make products last longer − Abandon the planned obsolescence approach − Front-end approach to waste management „ − Repeated use of items prior to disposal − Repair the item

35 MSW Management Hierarchy

„ Municipal waste management hierarchy ranked in order of increasing impact on the environment − Source reduction − Reuse − Recycling − Incineration with − Incineration without energy recovery − Landfill

36 Section B

Hazardous Waste Hazardous Waste

„ Legal designation for certain wastes that require special handling because they present a serious threat to human health and the environment if mismanaged

Source: Wagner, T., 129. 38 Hazardous Waste

Source: Adapted by CTLT from Koren, H. 39 Hazardous Waste Characteristics

„ Ignitability − Substances that catch fire with a flash point of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or less „ Corrosivity − Substances that corrode storage tanks (pH <2 or >12.5) „ Reactivity − Substances that are chemically unstable and may explode or generate poisonous gases ( and sulfide) „ − Substances that are injurious to health when ingested or inhaled (e.g., , , , formaldehyde)

40 Hazardous Waste Sources in the U.S.

Chemicals

Transportation equipment, motor freight Petroleum refining, fabricated metals Machinery, electric machinery

Electrical: gas, sanitary services

0 1020304050607080 Percent

Source: Holmes, G. 41 The “Toxic Soup” of Hazardous Waste

What How much „ „ Between 300 and 700 „ million tons per year „ Organic chemicals „ 90% is wastewater „ Municipal waste (which is dilute but contains „ Inorganic waste enough regulated materials) „ Pesticides „ Paints and oil wastes „

Source: Wagner, T. 42 Potential Threats That Led to Listing on the NPL

„ Potential threats to the environment that led to listing on the (NPL)

Human health impacts 6.6

Animal life impacts 7.8

Flora impacts (vegetation) 10.5

Air impacts 26

Surface water impacts 50.4

Soil impacts 72.1

Drinking water impacts 73.1

Groundwater impacts 85.2

0 102030405060708090 Percent of sites Source: Holmes, G. 43 Livestock Production and Animal Waste Production

Production Solid manure Animal ( x 106 per year) ( x 106 tons per year) Broilers 7,600 14.4 Turkeys 300 5.4 Hogs 103 116.4 Cattle (non-dairy) 58 1,229.2

1,365.7

Nitrogen 29 lbs/year/hog Concerns: 18 lbs/year/hog (e.g., hogs) Pathogens ?

Source: USDA. 44 Number of Hog Farms/Number of Hogs per Farm: NC

„ Number of hog farms and average number of hogs per farm in North Carolina, 1983–1997

25000 1800

20000 1500 Hogs perfarm 1200 15000 900

Hog farms 10000 600 5000 300 0 0 1983 1985 1989 1993 1995

Hog Farms Hogs/Farm

45 Broiler Numbers and Production Farms, 1975–1995

40 35

35 Thousands offarms 30 30 25 25

20 20 15 15 Millions of pounds 10 5 10 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Farms Broilers

Source: USDA. 46 Environmental Impacts of Hog Farming

„ of , rivers, and shorelines − Nitrogen and phosphorus X Stimulate algal growth leading to low dissolved- oxygen levels „ − Nitrogen „ Contaminated groundwater and drinking wells „ Odor pollution − Ammonia

47 Potential Threats to

„ Lists of recognized toxicants „ Lists of suspected toxicants „ Pathogens „ Antibiotic resistance „ Heavy metals in waste lagoons „ Greenhouse gases

48 Comparison

„ Comparison between municipal and hog farm regulations − are subject to strict waste control technologies − Hog farms are not − Municipalities must monitor their environmental performance X Hog farms have no obligation to monitor or report runoff, discharges, or groundwater contamination X Instead, they are inspected by state officials only two times per year

49 The U.S. Generates How Much Hazardous Waste?

„ EPA estimates − 300–700 million tons per year „ ~ 90% (by weight) is wastewater − Used in and becomes contaminated − Often is fairly dilute but contains enough regulated constituents to render it hazardous

Source: Wagner, T., 133. 50 The U.S. Generates How Much Hazardous Waste?

„ ~ 10% − Inorganic solids (heavy metals, contaminated soil) − Organic (solvents) − Sludges (treatment residues) from air- and water- pollution control devices

51 Hazardous Waste Generators

„ 21,575 large-quantity generators „ 190,431 small-quantity generators „ 2,389 treatment, storage, and disposal facilities acting as waste generators

Source: Johnson, B. L., 9. 52 Uncontrolled Dumping of Hazardous Waste

„ Contamination from uncontrolled dumping of hazardous waste − stored in —either stocked on ground or buried—eventually corrode and leak, polluting surface water, soil, and groundwater − Liquid chemical waste dumped in an unlined lagoon from which contaminated water percolates though the solid and rock to the groundwater table − Liquid chemical waste illegally dumped in deserted fields or even along

53 “Top 20” Toxic Substances Found at NPL Sites

„ “Top 20” most prominent toxic substances found at NPL sites (total list = 275)

Lead DDT Arachlor 1254 Benzene Hexachlorobutadiene Vinyl chloride Arachlor 1260 DDE PCBs Arachlor 1242 Benzo(a)pyrene Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene Chloroform Hexavalent Benzo(b)fluoranthene Dieldrin

Source: Nadavakukaren, A., 670. 54 Health Effects of Selected Hazardous Substances

Chemical Source Health effect

Cancer; damages liver, embryo, DDT eggs

BHC Insecticide Cancer, embryo damage

Headaches, nausea, loss of muscle Solvents, pharmaceuticals, Benzene coordination, leukemia, bone detergent production marrow damage

Lung and liver cancer, depresses Vinyl chloride production CNS, suspected embryotoxin

Source: McKinney, M. L., 549. 55 Health Effects of More Selected Hazardous Substances

Chemical Source Health effect

Herbicides, waste Dioxin Cancer, birth defects, skin disease incineration

Electronics, hydraulic fluid, Skin damage, GI damage, possible PCBs fluorescent lights Neurotoxic; causes headaches, irritability, mental impairment in Lead Paint, children; damages brain, liver, and kidneys

Zinc processing, batteries, Cancer in animals, damage to liver Cadmium processing and kidneys

56 Persons at Potential Risk

„ EPA: − ~ 73 million live within a four-mile radius of an NPL site „ ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry): − ~ 11 million live within one mile of an NPL site − 1.3 million children under six years old live within one mile

Source: Johnson, B. L., 17. 57 Environmental Contamination and PH Assessment

„ Problems − Residence near HWS does not necessarily translate to actual exposure to substance released from site − In many cases, no clearly established exposure pathway from source to population − Often, a community assumes exposure and a subsequent health hazard where neither exposure nor risk exists − A complex issue that requires examination of each site for its own characteristics

58 Health Impacts

„ The NRC (1991) conducted a comprehensive review of the published literature on public health implications of hazardous waste sites „ The review concluded that “the overall impact of hazardous wastes in the U.S. environment is unknown because of limitations in identifying, assessing, or ranking hazardous waste exposures and their potential effects on human health.”

59 Cost of Cleanup

„ Cost ranges depend on who does the estimates: The EPA, GAO, Office of Technology, industrial sector, etc. „ Non-federal − Between $6 and $12 million per site − 1991 EPA estimate: $30 billion for all sites „ Federal sites − DOD: $30 billion − DOE: $240 billion „ All sites − ~ $750 billion, with $500 billion the lower estimate and $1 trillion the upper estimate − Will require approximately 50 years of sustained effort

60

„ Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) − Cleanup existing disposal sites X How clean is clean enough? − Liability: “The polluter pays” principle X ~ 30% of Superfund paid for legal fees − Cost X Attempt to find the “potentially responsible party” X Government (taxpayer) continues to bear much of the financial burden

61 Location of NPL HWS

Source: Adapted by CTLT from Bucholz, R. A. 62 Cleanup Status of NPL Sites

Site investigation Cleanup or emergency cleanup completed under way

326 sites 303 sites (25%) (22%) Cleanup remedy selected 82 sites (6%) 472 sites (34%) Design of cleanup Cleanup under way under way 169 sites (12%)

Source: EPA. (1997). 63 Question

„ Are accidental transportation accidents more of a public health threat than hazardous waste sites? „ School of thought − Probably more injuries are due to releases from these events than from waste sites proper

64 Transport of Hazardous Waste

„ Modes of transport − 337,000 flatbed trucks − 130,000 tanks − 115,000 railroad tank − 5,000 barges − 4,000 cargo loads for airplanes „ Moving about 10 million tons of hazardous waste per year − ~2,500 spills of 100 gallons or more per year

65 Hazardous Waste Management Options

Produce less waste Manipulate Recycle processes and to eliminate or reuse reduce waste

Convert to less hazardous or nonhazardous substances

Ocean/air Thermal Chemical Biological Physical assimilation

Put in perpetual storage Under- Surface Salt Land- Arid ground impound- Forma- fill regions injection ments tions

Source: Bucholz, R. A. 66 Treatment, Disposal Technologies for Hazardous Waste

General approach Specific technology

Neutralization Physical/chemical Precipitation/separation Detoxification (chemical) Aerobic reactor Biological Anaerobic reactor Soil culture High temperature Incineration Medium temperature Co-incineration

Source: Middleton, N., 238. 67 Treatment, Disposal Technologies for Hazardous Waste

General approach Specific technology Chemical fixation Encapsulation Immobilization Stabilization Solidification Landfill Dumping Deep underground Marine Gravity separation Filtration Recycling Distillation Chemical regeneration

68 Key Points: Types of Waste

„ “Waste” includes municipal solid waste, industrial waste, hazardous waste, medical waste, and radioactive waste − Industrial waste accounts for 94% of all waste „ Animal waste is an important emerging source „ Municipal waste production is increasing, and landfills are decreasing „ Alternate management strategies, including recycling, reuse, and mass-to-energy conversion, are becoming important

69 Key Points: Hazardous Waste

„ Hazardous wastes are classified by their ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity „ Hazardous waste sites are a potential threat mainly to groundwater and drinking water „ The main obstacles to progress include lack of money (e.g., Superfund), reluctance to accept responsibility, and incomplete science (e.g., epidemiologic studies)

70