ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

ASSIGNMENT NO. 9: HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

Name:

Prepare clean and clear solutions to the following problems.

1. Radon 222 is released from the earth and can become trapped in buildings. Suppose the concentration measured in a
college classroom building is 1500 pCi/m 3, which is significantly above the recommended remedial action level of 4 to 8
pCi/m3 if all leaks into the building are sealed (i.e., no more radon enters the building), how long will it take for the
concentration of radon to reach the recommended level?

Given:
Ao=1500 pCi/m3
A= 8 pCi/m3
(Rd-222) t1/2 = 3.8 days

Req’d: t
Sol’n:

−dA
=kA
dt

Integrating:
A
ln
[ ]
AO
=−kt

ln 2
t 1=
2
k

ln 2
3.8 days=
k

Solving for k:
0.1824
k=
days

Solving for time:

8 0.1824
ln [ ] (
1500
=−
days
(t) )
t=20.7−days

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2. Some old electrical transformers were stored in the basement of a university maintenance building and were
“forgotten.” One day a worker entered the basement and saw that some sticky, oily substance was oozing out of one of
the transformers, and into a floor drain. He notified the director of grounds, who immediately realized the severity of the
problem. They called in hazardous waste consulting engineers who first of all took out the transformers and eliminated
the source of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were leaking into the storm drain. Then they traced the drain to a
little stream and started taking water samples and soil samples in the stream. They discovered that the water was at 0.12
mg/L PCB, and the soil ranged from 32 mg PCB/kg (dry soil) to 0.5 mg/kg. The state environmental management required
that streams contaminated with PCBs be cleaned so that the stream is “free” of PCBs. Recall that PCBs are very toxic and
extremely stable in the environment and will biodegrade very slowly. If nothing was done, the contaminant in the soil
would remain for perhaps hundreds of years. The cleanup resulted in the PCB concentration in the water being at
0.000073 mg/L. Was the treatment sufficient?

Given:

Stack gas:
7.3x10-5 mg/L

PCB’s:
0.12 mg/L
32 mg PCB/kg
0.5 mg/kg

Solution:

PCB in:

mg 1 kg mg
PCB∈¿ 0.12 × × 0.5
L 32mg PCB kg

mg
PCB∈¿ 1.875 ×10−3
L

PCB out:

mg
PCB out =7.3 ×1 0−5
L

Treatment sufficient %:
0.001875−0.000073
%= ×100 %=96.1066 %
0.001875

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Ans: NO

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