
Hazardous waste are waste which has a potential negative effect on the health of the public or the environment.
Get more information on hazardous waste here.
Here we will be considering the hazardous waste disposal; how can we get rid if these toxic, harmful and and poisonous waste.
Hazardous waste disposal regulations
Hazardous waste disposal is govern by the following regulations:
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 USC 6903(3) and 42 USC 6924
- Landfill rules: 40 CFR 264.300 to 264.317 and 40 CFR 265.300 to 265.316 (interim status)
- Land treatment facility rules: 40 CFR 264.270 to 264.283 and 40 CFR 265.270 to 265.282 (interim status)
- Surface impoundment rules: 40 CFR 264.220 to 264.232 and 40 CFR 265.220 to 265.231 (interim status)
- Underground injection well rules: 40 CFR 144 to 148 and 40 CFR 270.60(b) (permits-by-rule)
- Incineration regulations: 40 CFR 264.340 to 264.351 and 40 CFR 265.340 to 265.352 (interim status)
- Hazardous waste burned in boilers and industrial furnaces: 40 CFR 266.100 to 266.112
This regulations serves as a guide in the disposal of hazardous waste of any type.
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5 Hazardous Waste Disposal Methods
There are major ways were hazardous waste disposal can be done, these ways include:
- Recycling:
Some hazardous wastes can be recycled into new products.
It is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be harmful and should be discarded and turning them into new products. Recycling can benefit both the community and the environment.
The recycling process involves mainly collection and processing of the hazardous waste and the manufacturing of non-hazardous waste from the hazardous waste.
2. Incineration:
This is a process where hazardous waste is destroyed by exposing it to high temperature using incinerators.
During the process of incineration, the waste material that is treated is converted in to IBM, gases, particles and heat. These products are later used for generation of electricity.
3. Landfill
In cases of hazardous waste, a landfill is defined as a disposal facility or part of a facility where hazardous waste is placed or on land and which is not a pile, a land treatment facility, a surface impoundment, an underground injection well, a salt dome formation, a salt bed formation, an underground mine, a cave, or a corrective action management unit (40 CFR 260.10)
Read Also: Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)
4. Pyrolysis
This is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere. In this treatment, material is exposed to high temperature, and in the absence of oxygen goes through chemical and physical separation into different molecules.
The process typically occurs at temperatures above 430°C (800°F) and under pressure. It simultaneously involves the change of physical phase and chemical composition, and is an irreversible process.
There are three (3) types of pyrolysis – Slow pyrolysis, Flash pyrolysis and Fast pyrolysis.
5. Underground injection:
This is an act of placing hazardous waste deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer. Though this process is not highly recommended because it could contaminate the soil water,thereby posing a negative effect on the plants.
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