19-3 Hazardous Waste What do you think this means?

What Hazardous Waste have we talked about????

Hazardous Wastes- Are toxic, highly corrosive, or easily explode Can be solid, liquid, or gas. Ex. Cleansers, sealants, pesticides, radioactive wastes, or heavy metals like lead and mercury.

Famous Toxic waste site Love Canal, New York ~ families had to evacuate. 792 families later moved at taxpayers expense. They are now letting people back in

We have new Laws- Producers of hazardous waste (manufacturers) Need to keep records from time wastes are made until storage Are legally responsible for cleaning up any spill Their treatment plant standards must prevent pollution.

Superfund Act-what is it? It’s a fund of lots of $$ to pay for cleanup of abandoned sites- of 1200 sites, only 75 have been cleaned up so far. Clean-up is very expensive. EPA can sue hazardous waste producers to clean up site. Charles river landfill Fort Devins Sudbury site Hanscom Natick lab army research

How can we manage hazardous wastes? Produce less waste- likely need to redesign manufacturing methods Reuse the waste Convert to a non-hazardous substance- ex. treat them (lime neutralizes acids)’

If you can’t reduce, reuse or recycle it all then … Incinerate it = burn it- expensive- need pollution control devices (Expensive) or…….

Land disposal- 3 types 1. Deep well injection- wastes are pumped deep into the ground- below ground water EX. Exhausted oil field

2. Surface impoundment- like a pond with a sealed bottom. Paradise Montana

3. Put in drums and buried These drums were found on an illegal storage site

This is not disposal of wastes, it’s really storage. It can be there for hundreds of years. Leakage is a problem. Radioactive waste needs to sit for thousands of years

Hazardous waste AT HOME- paint, batteries, pesticides. Pour it down the drain, it ends up as sewage sludge in a landfill. Where is away? There is no away

Hazardous Waste Day Twice a year in Marlborough you can bring your hazardous waste to the East end of the city, spring and fall The public needs to be aware that “normal” things are hazardous, ex. Mercury thermometers.

Need to sort hazardous waste, some gets sent for recycling, other stuff is put into a drum and stored. Can blend paint to reuse, city may use it for parks. (nice) Batteries and oil are recycled. Don’t put it on the ground.

Low-level radioactive waste is material used in medical practices, scientific research, industrial processes, and nuclear power plants. A significant portion of the waste consists of contaminated tools, clothing, and process waste. It does not include spent fuel from nuclear energy reactors. Containers are placed in trenches typically 150 feet wide, 45 feet deep and 850 feet long, and covered with at least eight feet of soil. Permanent monuments placed over the trenches describe the contents, boundaries, date of use, and other information Washington State

Mercury ( from E.P.A. ) is an element in the earth's crust Is released when coal is burned from air it settles into water or onto land where it can be washed into water microorganisms can change it into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish.

Babies High levels of mercury in the bloodstream of unborn babies and young children may harm the developing nervous system impaired neurological development - Impacts on cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills have been seen in children exposed to methylmercury in the womb (learning and behavioral disorders)

Adults, methylmercury- impairment of the peripheral vision; disturbances in sensations ("pins and needles" feelings, usually in the hands, feet, and around the mouth); lack of coordination of movements; impairment of speech, hearing, walking; and muscle weakness.

Adults-elemental mercury vapors tremors; emotional changes (e.g., mood swings, irritability, nervousness, excessive shyness); insomnia; neuromuscular changes (such as weakness, muscle atrophy, twitching); headaches; disturbances in sensations; changes in nerve responses; performance deficits on tests of cognitive function. At higher exposures there may be kidney effects, respiratory failure and death. (mad hatter’s disease)