Hazardous Waste, Love Canal, and Some Environmental Laws
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Transcript of Hazardous Waste, Love Canal, and Some Environmental Laws
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Hazardous Waste, Love Canal, and Some Environmental Laws
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Introduction• Waste materials are a part of high
standard of living• Manufacture of products results in
waste generation• Some are persistent, toxic, flammable,
corrosive, or explosive
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Introduction
• Until 1800s, most materials used in homes and industries were natural products
• 1900s, petroleum were in used• 1930s to 1950s halogenation found to
improve properties, esp. nonflammability
• Halogenated pesticides were very effective
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Significant Points in Hazardous Waste History
• 1940s explosion in chemical production• 1962 Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”• 1967 Torrey Canyon oil spill in UK• 1968 National Oil and Hazardous Substances
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)• 1969 Stringfellow, CA, acid ponds overflee
into town of Glen Avon• 1970 US EPA created; EDF founded
• 1972 DDT banned; eeeee eeeeeeeeee• 1976 TSCA and RCRA
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• 1978 Love Canal• 1980 CERCLA (Superfund)• 1982 Times Beach, MO• 1984 Bhopal, India• 1984 HSWA (RCRA amendments)• 1986 EPCRA• 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster• 1986 SARA (Superfund amendme
)• 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill• 1990 Oil Pollution Act
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•1990s Continued public awareness of problems r
elated to hazardous waste and contamina ted sites
“ Erin Brokovich” Radioactive waste problems: Hanford, Ro
cky Flats, WIPP, Shattuck• 2000s
Endocrine disruptors Soil vapor intrusion emerging concern in
US Global hazardous waste concerns
E- waste; mining; etc. Life cycle and sustainability concerns
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Landmark Episodes- Love Canal• William T. Love built an industrial park
and a residential development in late 1800s
• The 8-mile canal drawn off Niagara river never completed
• Energy intensive industries were drawn• Hooker Chemical Co. (subsidiary of
Occidental Petroleum) purchased the canal and dug more
• It was used for disposal of hazardous wastes in 1930s
• Waste disposal ceased in 1953
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The United States of America
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The history of Love Canal began in 1892 when William T. Love proposed connecting the upper and lower Niagara River by digging a canal six to seven miles long. By doing this, Love hoped to harness the water of the upper Niagara River into a navigable channel, which would create a man-made waterfall with a 280-foot drop into the lower Niagara River, providing cheap power.
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1927
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• Hooker was pressured into selling the contaminated land to local school board
• Children were burnt on playground in 1958• In 1970s, chain of horrific environmental
disasters started• Chemicals permeated into basements of
school and residents• Studies showed cases of low-birth weight
infants, learning problems, seizures, etc. • It resulted in the passage of Superfund Act
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Effect from Love canal
Birth Defects
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Effect from Love canal
Nervous Breakdowns
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• DDT – became sinister agents in public eyes since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962. DDT can be found in deep-sea squid, Antarctic penguins, humans and land animals (fatty tissue).
• Mercury – has dramatically different toxicological properties depending one its chemical state. As a liquid state, it was used to cure constipation. Mercury salts, on the other hand, caused neurological disorders. Organic forms, such as methyl mercury, are most toxic, having caused paralysis and sensory loss (Minamata Bay, Japan). Inorganic mercury from industries was methylated in sediments and bioaccumulated in shellfish.
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• PCBs – had multiple uses such as transformer coolant and plasticizer. They are carcinogenic, but they can be toxic in higher concentrations.
• Bhopal, India 1984 – Union carbide plant leaked methyl isocyanate (MIC) causing 3,800 deaths and 3,000 disabilities. UCIL paid $470 M in full settlement. This incident brought about the enactment of Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.
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Site Remediation
• The investigation, cleanup, and containment of contaminants and/or hazardous wastes from the environment.
• Remediation vs. Emergency response?
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Hazardous Waste Site?• A site where hazardous waste had
entered the environment and contaminated any of these media:
SoilSurface waterGroundwaterAirSedimentsBuildings
• People, flora, and fauna can be exposed
• Discharge may have occurred through mismanagement or illegal activities
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Examples of hazardous waste definitions: USA
UNDER US EPA REGULATIONS (RCRA):
1 The waste is listed in EPA regulations
2 The waste is tested and meets one of the four characteristics established by EPA:
• Ignitable• Corrosive• Reactive• Toxic
3 The waste is declared hazardous by the generator
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Examples of hazardous waste definitions: European Waste Catalogue
•A core list of 850 types of waste
•Of these, around 420 are classified as hazardous wastes
•These are divided into 19 main categories
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The objective of definitions
Why define wastes?
To decide whether or not that waste should be controlled - this is important for the generator as well as the regulator
Why create a list?
•Clear and simple
•No need for testing
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Hazardous characteristics: Toxicity
Toxic wastes are harmful or fatal when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin
Examples:•Spent cyanide solutions•Waste pesticides
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Hazardous characteristics: Corrosivity
Acids or alkalis that are capable of dissolving human flesh and corroding metal such as storage tanks and drums
Examples:•acids from metals cleaning processes e.g. ferric chloride from printed circuit board manufacture
•liquor from steel manufacture
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Hazardous characteristics: Ignitability
Ignitable wastes:• can create fires under certain conditions• or are spontaneously combustible
Examples: •Waste oils•Used solvents•Organic cleaning materials•Paint wastes
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Hazardous characteristics: Reactivity
Reactive wastes are unstable under ‘normal conditions’
They can cause: • explosions • toxic fumes • gases or vapours
Examples:• Peroxide solutions• Hypochlorite solutions or solids
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Hazardous characteristics: Eco-toxicity
Eco-toxic wastes are harmful or fatal to other species or to the ecological integrity of their habitats
Examples:
• Heavy metals
• Detergents
• Oils
• Soluble salts
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Classification Systems
•DOT Classifications•NFPA Storage Labeling
•Waste Codes
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UN Hazard Code or US DOT Hazardous Materials Transportation
Classification• Wastes are categorized in terms of
their hazardous characteristics into 9 classesClass 1 ExplosivesClass 2 GassesClass 3 Flammable liquidsClass 4 Flammable solidsClass 5 Oxidizers and peroxidesClass 6 Toxic and infectiousClass 7 RadioactiveClass 8 CorrosivesClass 9 Other hazardous substances
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Regulations
• Hazardous wastes are those wastes that could be harmful to the health of human, other organisms, or the environment
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) 1980
• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) 1986
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Environmental Laws
• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)Title 40 (40CFR) Protection of the
EnvironmentChapter I (Parts 1-799) Environmental
Protection AgencyHazardous waste is a subcategory of
solid waste
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A New Direction for Corporations
Compliance
End-of-pipe
EH&S Isolation
Prevention
Life cycle
Multi-function integration
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RCRA
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 was passed in response to widespread environmental contamination
• It was an amendment to the SWDA (1965)
• “Cradle to Grave” control policy• Focuses on large companies
95% HW activities with large firmsDue to trained manpowerEasier to adapt to new regulation
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RCRA
• Applies to all industries generating HW except for specific exclusions (controversial)
• Individual state programs can be more restrictive in controlling smaller quantities and more diverse waste types
• Nuclear materials are not solid waste, thus exempted
• Small generators: 100-999 kg/mo.• Large generators: >1000 kg/mo.
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RCRA - Objectives• For any waste problem, it is essential
to use a management approach thatComplies with regulatory guidelinesIs cost effectiveIs environmentally compatible
• Elimination or reduction of HW at its source is more desirable than treatment on- or off-site
• Management of HW implies a hierarchy of approaches from most desirable to least
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Solid Waste Exemptions
• Nine categories are exempt from regulatory control under RCRA:Household wastesAgricultural waste returned to the groundMining overburden returned to the siteUtility waste from coal combustionOil and gas exploration drilling wasteWaste from the extraction and processing of
ores and mineralsCement kiln wastesArsenic-treated wood wastesCertain chromium-bearing wastes
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CERCLA - Goals• Bring innovative technologies (sense
of market certainty)• Implement and aggressive programs
of community involvement• Communicate progress to the public• Set up National Priority List (NPL) of
sites for priority cleanup
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HSWA
• Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 is considered a law by itself
• Goal to promote alternative technologies in HW management
• Land disposal restrictions• Unlined, leaking surface impoundments
taken out of service• Increase incineration, reuse/recycle due
to land disposal ban
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HSWA
• Technology development• Underground Storage Tank (UST)
management• Added toxicity characterization
procedures for HW identification• 99.99% DRE for most HW organics• 99.9999% DRE for P-list wastes
(acutely hazardous) e.g. dioxins
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SARA• Superfund Amendment
Reauthorization Act of 1986 was created to meet CERCLA deficienciesAdded $8.5 billionFocus on health of the publicRequires health and safety program and
training e.g. a CIH at Superfund site and OSHA trainings
Permanent remedies rather than cappingCollect data to determine most effective
methods
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Brownfields??!
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defined brownfields sites as “abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.”
• EPA established its Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic revitalization to work together to accomplish the redevelopment of such sites.
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Problems and Questions• Lack of quantitative data• The speculative number is 450,000
sites in the U.S.• These include former industrial sites,
abandoned gas stations, dry cleaners, and commercial operations.
• No one knows how many in each state.• How much brownfields make local
economies suffer?• How much their redevelopment would
boost those economies?
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Barriers to BF Reuse
• Environmental liability• Many environmental regulations – by
many agencies• Costly constructions
Treatment and containmentEmployees’ safety
• Costly construction delays• Public perception
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Achievements of EPA BFI
• Jobs for residents of disadvantaged communities
• Of thousands properties, several hundreds required no cleanup
• For every brownfield acre redeveloped, 21.4 acres of green space are protected
• Provided billions of dollars in grants from private and public sectors