What Is the Problem With Hazardous Waste?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States produces more than 40 million tons of hazardous waste each year. Locally, businesses that produce hazardous waste include hospitals, automotive repair shops, photo processors and dry cleaners. On a larger scale, hazardous waste is produced by petroleum refineries, exterminators, chemical manufacturers and large industrial facilities. The EPA, state and local authorities work together to ensure that hazardous wastes are treated and disposed of properly.

History

• In 1976 the EPA created a comprehensive information system called the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to collect and manage data. The RCRA was amended, and the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments were enacted in 1984 to enable tracking of data concerning the many types of hazardous waste generators and the type of waste they produce, handle, store, transport and dispose of. Transparency was introduced with programs such as the Right To Know Network (http://www.rtknet.org) and most recently, in March 2010, with the EPA's Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO), which provides access to the public for regulatory decisions related to hazardous waste and the environment.

Types of Hazardous Waste

• The EPA has determined a list of three waste categories identified as threats to human health and environmental safety. The F-list for non-specific wastes includes de-greasers and solvents. The K-list, for sources of specific wastes, includes wastes from specific industries such as pesticide or chemical manufacturing that generate sludge and waste waters. The P-list includes discarded commercial chemical products in unused forms. Some pharmaceuticals and pesticides become this form of waste when they are discarded.

  Characteristic wastes may not be specifically listed but still may be classified as hazardous waste by having one of four characteristics defined as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity and toxicity. Solvents and waste oils are ignitable, or combustible. Acids such as battery acid corrode metal storage drums and barrels. Lithium-sulfur batteries and explosives are examples of reactive wastes that can cause explosions, toxic fumes or gases when heated or mixed with water.

  Additional forms of hazardous waste include Universal and Mixed waste. Universal wastes are broadly generated wastes such as batteries, pesticides, thermostats and light bulbs. Mixed wastes are the combination of radioactive and hazardous wastes created by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from reactors and the development, research and production of nuclear weapons.

Contamination Risks

• Hazardous waste poses a threat to our health and to our ecological systems in every phase of its existence when managed improperly. Among the risks associated with hazardous waste are ground water contamination, air pollution and soil contamination.

Treatment and Disposal

• Treatment and disposal methods carry the tremendous responsibility of ensuring that the surrounding ecosystems are unaffected by their presence. Waste treatment methods such as incineration are used to reduce the environmental impact but still pose the threat of ash. Some treatment methods can negate the waste or, in the case of recycling, can recover energy from waste or make the waste safer for transport and storage until final disposition. Disposal involves permanently placing treated hazardous waste onto or into the land.

Compliance Issues

• Compliance in hazardous waste management is an issue that plagues the generator of the waste as well as the transporter. Compliance checks by EPA-licensed facilities show deficiencies such as open waste containers, container accumulation beyond the three-day window for storage, waste labels incorrectly completed, and spillage or leakage of waste. Non-compliance can result in corrective action from the EPA, state and local authorities, including fines and a major stake in the cost of cleanup of the contamination.