Announcements Nov 8

Nov. 13 (next Monday) - review

Nov. 15 (next Wednesday) - Exam 3

Nov. 17 (next Friday) - no class

Rocket fuel chemical found in water, produce

December 1, 2004
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government has
found traces of a rocket fuel chemical in
organic milk in Maryland, green leaf lettuce
grown in Arizona and bottled spring water
from Texas and California. Sufficient amounts of
perchlorate can affect the thyroid, potentially
causing delayed development and other problems.
But Environmental Protection Agency official Kevin
Mayer called for calm, saying in an interview
Tuesday: "Alarm is not warranted. That is clear."
Asked whether that level of chemical in milk was
worrisome, Mayer, the EPA's regional perchlorate
coordinator for Arizona, California, Hawaii and

BBC

10 September, 2004

UN warns of pesticide 'time-bomb

Stockpiles have built up as pesticide products

have been banned. The UN has warned that
huge stockpiles of toxic chemical waste
from obsolete pesticides are a "time
bomb" for East Europe and the
developing world. Its Food and Agriculture
Organization has urged assistance for the
disposal of the chemicals, which it says are
often stored at unmanaged sites. Such
stockpiles threaten the health of rural
communities, says the FAO.

Solid/Hazardous
Wastes
Lecture Objectives:

What do we do with our garbage?

What are the problems with hazardous waste?

What happened at Love Canal?

Introduction to Waste
Management
Solid Waste objects
or particles that
accumulate on the site
where they are
produced.

Municipal

Solid Waste
(Garbage) amounts to
230 million tons in
U.S. annually (equivalent
to 3 billion humans!!).

US Domestic Waste

Disposable Decades

Mid-1950s emphasis on a
disposable lifestyle

Wave of the future

Way to reduce household duties.

Convenience was sold to

prosperous post-war (WWII)
consumers.

Convenience quickly changed to

necessity.
TV dinners first marketed in 1953.

Nature of the Problem

U.S. volume of garbage has

increased more than 50%
since 1960 (although
stabilized since 1990) .

Countries with higher

standard of living produce
more waste.

Traditional Methods
(dumping and burning) are
no longer accepted.

Urban areas running out of

places to put garbage

Methods of Waste Disposal

Landfills
Incineration
Source

reduction
Composting
Recycling

Landfilling
Most

municipal solid waste

in US is deposited in
landfills
Source of groundwater
pollution
Number of municipal
landfills is declining.
Some

closed for violations,

other because full
New landfills costly and
often resisted - NIMBY

Sanitary Landfills

Reducing the Number of Landfills

Incineration
Prior

to 1940,
incineration was
common in North
America and western
Europe.

Many

incinerators were eliminated because of foul

odors and gritty smoke
Currently,

about 15% of U.S. municipal solid waste

is incinerated.

Incinerator Types
Refuse-Derived

Fuel - Refuse is sorted to

remove recyclable and unburnable materials.

Higher energy content than raw trash.

Mass

Burn - Everything smaller than major

furniture and appliances loaded into furnace.

Creates air pollution problems.

Reduces

disposal volume by 80-90%.

EPA has found alarmingly high toxin levels in

incinerator ash.

Incineration
Pros:
Reduce volume 90%, weight 75%
Heat from burning converted to electricity

Cons:
Create air pollution
Concentrates toxins in ash
More costly than landfills, as long as space
available

Composting
Harnessing

natural decomposition
to transform organic material into
compost

About

3800 composting facilities

currently in use in the United States.

Landscape

Recycling Center
1210 E. University Ave., Urbana
344-LEAF (5323)
www.city.urbana.il.us

Source Reduction
Most

fundamental method of reducing waste

is to prevent it from being produced (Waste
Prevention).

Reduce

and reuse Individuals and Industry

Saves natural resources.

Reduces waste toxicity
Reduces costs

Recycling
Recycling

initiatives have grown rapidly in US

By 2000, 9,000 U.S. cities had implemented

curbside recycling programs.
Urbanas curbside program began in 1986
http://www.ci.champaign.il.us/public_works/index.php

Bottle Bills (10 states)

Mandatory recycling laws

(15 states)

Recycling Benefits
Resource
Pollution

Conservation

Reduction

Crushed glass reduces energy required to

manufacture new glass by 50%.

One Sunday edition of N.Y. times consumes 62,000

trees.

Only 40% of North American paper is recycled.

Over 60% of aluminum cans recycled.

Recycling
Benefits

Saves money, raw materials, and land.

Encourages individual responsibility.
Reduces pressure on disposal systems.

Japan recycles about half of all household and

commercial wastes.

Lowers demand for raw resources.

Reduces energy consumption and air pollution.

US Recycling Rates

Recycling Concerns
Plastics

are recyclable, but technology

differs from plastic to plastic.

Industry is researching new technologies.

Economics

are of concern.

demand for products must keep pace with

growing supply

What Can You Do?

Buy durable items and repair them

Buy recycled goods and recycle them

Buy beverages in refillable containers

Rechargeable batteries

Reduce junk mail

Lobby for trash separation and recycling

Choose items with minimal packaging & reduce

number of bags used

Compost yard and food waste

http://www.city.champaign.il.us/public_works/pwrhp.html
http://www.city.urbana.il.us/

http://www.ci.urbana.il.us/
quick links
recycling

Hazardous Wastes
Hazardous

Wastes Dangerous byproducts of industrial, business, or

household activities for which there is no
immediate use.

Numerous

types and forms:

Heavy metals
Organic wastes
Old Computers
Batteries
Liquids, solids, sludge

1) Ignitable?
2) Corrosive?
3) Explosive?
4) Toxic?

Defining Hazardous Waste

U.S.

Resource Conservation and Recovery

Act (RCRA) 1976:

Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in

mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or
incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a
substantial present or potential hazard to human
health or the environment when improperly
treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or
otherwise managed.

Many chemical compounds have not been

tested adequately for adverse affects!!

Issues Involved in Setting Regulations

Identification

of Hazardous &Toxic Materials

Setting Exposure Limits

Nearly all substances are toxic in sufficient

quantities.
Species-Specific Thresholds.

Acute

vs. Chronic Toxicity

Effects

of massive doses (acute) and small doses over

time (chronic) differ.
Synergism
Assessing

effects of chemical mixtures.

Most toxicity studies done on a single compound .

Environmental Problems Caused

By Hazardous Wastes
Because

most hazardous wastes are disposed

on or in land, most serious effect is contaminated
groundwater.

100,000 industrial landfill sites

180,000 surface impoundments
Nearly 2% of North Americas underground aquifers
could be contaminated.
Once polluted, prohibitively costly to restore water to
original state; often not even physically possible

Health Risks

Each year, roughly 1,000 new chemicals are produced

and distributed.
70,000 already in daily use.

Main problem is often improper handling and disposal

IEPA household hazardous waste collection

(217) 782-6761

Mercury Thermostats/Thermometers, Antifreeze, Solvents, Metal

Polishes, Drain Cleaners, Cleaning Products, Paint Removers, Oil-Based
Paints (no water-based paints), Aerosol Paints, Paint Thinners,
Fluorescent Bulbs, Hobby Chemicals, Pool Chemicals, Fungicides,
Furniture Strippers, Used Oils, Insecticides, Herbicides, Pesticides,
Weed Killers, Lawn Chemicals, Old Gasoline, Used Motor Oil,
Household/Automotive Batteries, Propane Tanks (20 & 20 lb. cylinders),
and Fire Extinguishers

Hazardous Waste Dumps:

A Legacy of Abuse
Prior

to 1976, hazardous waste was

essentially unregulated.

Most

common disposal solution was to bury

or dump the wastes without concern for
environmental or health risks.

Hazardous Waste Dumps

When

sites became full or unnecessary, they

were simply abandoned.

In

North America alone,

currently over 25,000
sites containing
hazardous waste.
U.S.

has highest
number of dumps
needing immediate
attention.

Federal Legislation
Comprehensive

Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Modified

in 1984 by Superfund Amendments and

Reauthorization Act.

Aimed

at rapid containment, cleanup, or remediation

of abandoned toxic waste sites.

Toxic

Release Inventory - Requires 20,000

manufacturing facilities to report annually on
releases of more than 300 toxic materials.

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/

EPA Superfund Sites (Since 1980)

Sites contaminated by hazardous
waste and identified by the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) as a candidate for cleanup
because it poses a risk to human
health and/or the environment.
1,300 Superfund sites across the
country
In Illinois: 40 active, 5 proposed, 2
cleaned
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/il.htm

Superfund Sites
Total

costs for hazardous waste cleanup in the

US are estimated between $370 billion and $1.7
trillion.

For years, most of the funding has gone to legal fees,

but this situation has improved over past several
years.

Studies

of Superfund sites reveal minorities tend

to be over-represented in these neighborhoods.

http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/hazardous-waste/householdhaz-waste/index.html
Household Hazardous Waste Collections
The Illinois EPA coordinates one-day household hazardous
waste collections each year in the spring and fall.

Love Canal

1892 -- William T. Love

proposed a canal for
navigation and hydropower

Only one mile of the canal built,

used for swimming and
recreation

1920 land sold at public auction

became a municipal and chemical disposal site.

Hooker Chemical Company dumped over

20,000 tons of chemicals until 1953.

Including:
benzene -- causes
leukemia
dioxin causes cancer

1953 - Hooker covered the site with dirt and clay

and sold the land to the Niagara Falls Board of
Education for $1.00
1955 - the 99th Street elementary school opened
and homes were built on the 16-acre rectangular
site

1960s-1970s repeated
complaints to city

1976 -- Calspan Corporation hired as consultant

April, 1978 Report in newspaper about toxic chemicals
Aug. 2, 1978 - the NY State
Department of Health recommended
temporary relocation of pregnant
women and young children
Aug. 7, 1978, President Jimmy
Carter declared a federal
emergency at Love Canal

1980s -- Human Heath issues documented

Of 17 pregnancies in 1979 2 normal, 9
birth defects, 2 stillborn, 4 miscarriages
Broken chromosomes
Neurological Problems
1980 Superfund Site

1990s resettlement of area begins

Managing Hazardous Wastes

EPA pollution

prevention hierarchy:

1. Reduce amount of pollution at the source.

2. Recycle wastes whenever possible.
3. Treat wastes to reduce hazard and/or
volume.
4. Dispose of wastes on land or incinerate them
as last resort.

Points to Know Dec. 3

1)

2)
3)

4)

5)

Know the 5 methods of waste disposal. Which is the

most common method in the US, and what are two
problems with this method?
What are some recycling initiatives in the US?
What can you do to help reduce the amount of solid
waste generated?
What are the environmental problems and health risks
caused by hazardous wastes? What is the main source
of these problems?
Know the general story of the Love Canal.