Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Waste Disposal
Solid Wastes
In U.S. open dumps no longer tolerated Landfill design is important Barriers need to lock in toxins and chemicals; must reduce leakage into the environment Important to control the migration of leachate out of the landfill
Sanitary landfills
bathtub effect
Incineration
Partial solution to space problems faced by landfills Burning waste produces abundant carbon dioxide plus other toxic substances Recent technology have improved incinerators to burn hotter that breakdown complex toxic substances to less dangerous ones Expensive to operate and still produce a residual waste; often toxic and require proper storage The considerable heat generated by an incinerator can be recovered and used
Ocean Dumping
Ship board incineration, over the open ocean, and dumping residual waste into the ocean
Similar to land-based incineration but at sea Incineration not 100% effective, residual toxic materials and chemicals dumped into the ocean will still pollute the ocean
Ocean dumping without incineration still popular in many places around the world
Very disastrous to local oceans where practiced
A dumping site for one very high-volume waste product: dredge spoils
Less volume means less landfill space and slower filling of available sites Handling (Nontoxic) Organic Matter
Treated nontoxic organic waste can be fed to swine or composted
Recycling Symbols
Recycling
Another options
Recycle crushed pavement as new roadbed material Recycle steel into other useful objects Re-use bricks as footpaths Innovation has no limit here
Liquid-Waste Disposal
Sewage and by-products of industrial processes Strategies:
Placing liquid-waste into sealed drums, and covering with impermeable lining material; idea is to assure that the leachate will not migrate
Other Strategies
Incineration produces carbon dioxide Treatment by chemicals to breakdown or neutralized liquid waste is a possibility
Generate a less toxic liquid or residue Would still require proper storage
Sewage Treatment
Sewage Treatment
Radioactive Wastes
Radioactive Decay unstable nuclei decay and produce energy Radioisotopes each have their own rate of decay measured in a half-life Half-lives of different radioisotopes vary from microseconds to billions of years The decay of a radioisotope can not be accelerated or delayed Energetic radioisotopes must be contained out of the environment for ever
Effects of Radiation
Alpha, beta, and gamma rays are types of ionized radiation given off by the decay of various radioisotopes Cancer, tumors, tissue burns, and genetic mutation can result due to exposure of high doses of radiation Large doses result in death Accidents have occurred:
Radioisotopes with half-lives of a few years to hundreds of years present the most risk
Radioactive enough to cause harm Persistent in the environment long enough to require management Some are toxic chemical poisons
Yucca Mountain
Established by Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 establish a high-level disposal site in the west Yucca Mountain Attractive Characteristics:
Rhyolitic tuff host rock Arid climate Low population density (but Las Vegas is 60 miles to the southeast) Low regional water table Apparent geologic stability