A Part 14 Environment
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Transcript of A Part 14 Environment
Environmental Pollution
Classification of Wastes
Practical Waste Management
Waste Disposal
Legal Regimes Applicable
Environmental Pollution Accidental release of toxic wastes is usually result of
design or planning failure, bad engineering or incompetent management
Intended release may be unregulated (the cowboy option) or condoned by public authorities (best practicable means)
Environmental Pollution Hazardous wastes contaminate the atmosphere in
the form of solids, liquids or gases
Discharge in rivers, lakes or at sea can be widely dispersed by water currents
Land dumping can contaminate soils and groundwater
Buried wastes often react chemically to produce more mobile substances (e.g. landfill gas)
Leachate may seep into unexpected places
Environmental Pollution At the lowest level are small spillages in a
workplace;
Then we have disposal of unwanted by-products from some operation;
At higher levels there are the problems of storage, transportation and disposal of large quantities of waste produced by major plants and public utilities
Integrated Pollution Control Recognises the combined effects of air, land and water
pollution - based on a holistic approach
Established by Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990
Part I of EPA provides for certain processes or substances to be prescribed under regulations
About 5000 processes or substances which are considered to be most polluting in UK are prescribed in schedules to the Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991
Known as Part A processes, as they are on A list
Integrated Pollution Control Requires that discharges to all media (land, water and air)
are considered and that the Best Practicable Environment Option (BPEO) is chosen to minimise harm to the environment as a whole
An authorisation will require that Best Available Techniques Not Entailing Excessive Cost (BATNEEC) are used as a standard
BATNEEC guidance notes are produced by DETR and BATNEEC reviews must be undertaken every 4 years in order to keep the process up-to-date and seek continual improvement
Integrated Pollution Control Application to operate prescribed process must be
made to the enforcing authority and a fee paid
Once authorisation to operate the plant is given, it is the duty of operator to ensure that quality and quantity of discharges is kept within the limits
Integrated Pollution ControlDischarge of
contaminants to air
Acid rain from air
pollution
Land used for land-fill sites;
water affected by leachates from contaminated
land
Waste Classification
Waste
Controlled Non-Controlled
Household Industrial Commercial
Agriculture/Mines/Quarries/
Explosives/Radioactive
Inert Non-HazardousHazardous
(Special)
Special Waste
Controlled by Special Waste Regulations 1996
Defined in the EC Hazardous Waste List
Categories are mirrored in the CHIP and COSHH Regulations and broadly include:
Explosive, flammable and oxidising substances
Irritants and corrosives
Biohazards (infectious, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic)
Ecotoxics
Clinical Waste Should be segregated from general waste
Separate bins, signage and training should be provided
Sharps should go into special sharps containers
Duty of Care
Established by Regs and ACOP issued under EPA on anyone who may import, produce, transport, store, treat or dispose of waste - any such person becomes a waste holder
Duty requires that waste holder must keep waste safe, must act to prevent waste from deteriorating and escaping into the environment
Duty of Care The waste holder must:
Protect the waste while they have it;
Ensure that it reaches the next holder intact
Segregate incompatible wastes
Ensure security
Waste left for collection should be adequately secured and left for a minimum of time
Waste should be labelled where appropriate and in accordance with the CHIP Regulations
Waste Carriers Anyone who holds waste may transfer it to a waste
carrier who must be registered with a Waste Regulation Authority
However, it is part of the waste holder’s duty to ensure that carriers are suitable to handle and dispose of the waste
Thus the duty holder ultimately remains responsible for the fate of the waste
Waste Transfer Notes System operates by Controlled Waste Transfer Notes which
describe the parties to the transfer and the waste itself
Copies must be kept for minimum of 2 years
Under the Special Waste Regulations 1996 a Special Waste Transfer Note must be used for special waste, detailing the hazardous components and their concentrations, and the processes they originated from. These Regs also require: Pre-notification of any movements of such wastes (by consignment note
to EA)
Registers of movements of special waste consignments, and records of sites where such waste has finally been tipped
No mixing, by carriers and consignees, of special and non-special, and different categories of special wastes, unless it be for safe disposal
Regular inspections of special waste producers by regulators
Waste Transfer
Note
Waste Disposal Hierarchy of waste management:
a.) Waste reduction: Not making it in the first place, by process change and optimising efficiency
b.) Re-use: e.g. of glass bottles and other containers
c.) Recovery of waste. Options include:
- Recycling (e.g. glass, metal, paper)
- Incineration with energy recovery
- Composting
d.) Physical/chemical treatment to reduce bulk and make hazardous waste safe
e.) Disposal - generally to landfill
Currently about 70% of controlled waste goes to landfill and there is an increasing shortage of suitable landfill sites
Incineration Waste burnt at very high temperature and combustion
gas passes through series of filters to draw off toxic and particulate materials
Waste-to-energy plants produce steam used to heat buildings directly or to drive turbines to generate electricity
Landfill Site must be geologically suitable
Environmental Impact Assessment under EPA is needed before license is granted
Nuisances come from noise, odours, dust, litter and vermin
Leachate has to be tightly controlled and drained off to prevent contaminating water courses
Landfill gas is normally collected in pipes laid within the waste and is either flared off or collected and used as fuel
Composting Biodegradable fraction of waste can be broken down
by bacterial decomposition
Produces compost, a fibrous residue which is used as a soil conditioner, organic fertiliser, mulch and potting medium
In the UK home composting is encouraged with subsidised or even free issue of small household units
Environmental Protection Act 1990 Established:
Duty of care with respect to pollution
Code of practice for compliance
Requirement to complete transfer notes recording details of waste transfers
Proper documentation and provision of information to licensed carriers, enforcing agencies etc.
Principles established by the Act include: Application for consent to discharge waste
Polluter pays (consent fees, enforcement penalties, clean-up costs)
Use of BATNEEC and BPEO as control strategies for schedule substances and processes under IPC
Environmental Protection Act 1990
EPA also controls various statutory nuisances -emission of smoke, fumes, gases, dust, steam, smells, other effluvia and noise at a level which is judged to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance to the community or anyone living in it
This has implications for both industrial plant and waste disposal sites
Previous Exam Questions Explain, with the aid of diagrams where appropriate, the
concept of “integrated pollution control” (IPC).(10 marks)
Section 34 of the EPA places a duty of care on persons concerned with controlled waste:i.) explain the meaning of the term “controlled waste”ii.) Identify the categories of persons on whom the duty is placed, and those who are exempt from such a duty
(10 marks)