Hazardous Waste, Love Canal, and Some Environmental Laws

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Hazardous Waste, Love Canal, and Some
Environmental Laws
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Introduction

• Waste materials are a part of high standard of
  living
• Manufacture of products results in waste
  generation
• Some are persistent, toxic, flammable, corrosive,
  or explosive

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Introduction

• Until 1800s, most materials used in homes and
  industries were natural products
• 1900s, petroleum were in used
• 1930s to 1950s halogenation found to improve
  properties, esp. nonflammability
• Halogenated pesticides were very effective

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Significant Points in HazardousWaste History

• 1940s explosion in chemical production
• 1962 Rachel Carsons Silent Spring
• 1967 Torrey Canyon oil spill in UK
• 1968 National Oil and Hazardous Substances
  Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)
• 1969 Stringfellow, CA, acid ponds overflew
• into town of Glen Avon
• 1970 US EPA created EDF founded
• 1972 DDT banned FIFRA regulation
• 1976 TSCA and RCRA

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• 1978 Love Canal
• 1980 CERCLA (Superfund)
• 1982 Times Beach, MO
• 1984 Bhopal, India
• 1984 HSWA (RCRA amendments)
• 1986 EPCRA
• 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster
• 1986 SARA (Superfund amendments)
• 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
• 1990 Oil Pollution Act

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• 1990s
• Continued public awareness of problems related to
  hazardous waste and contaminated sites
• Erin Brokovich
• Radioactive waste problems Hanford, Rocky Flats,
  WIPP, Shattuck
• 2000s
• Endocrine disruptors
• Soil vapor intrusion emerging concern in US
• Global hazardous waste concerns
• E-waste mining etc.
• Life cycle and sustainability concerns

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Landmark Episodes- Love Canal

• William T. Love built an industrial park and a
  residential development in late 1800s
• The 8-mile canal drawn off Niagara river never
  completed
• Energy intensive industries were drawn
• Hooker Chemical Co. (subsidiary of Occidental
  Petroleum) purchased the canal and dug more
• It was used for disposal of hazardous wastes in
  1930s
• Waste disposal ceased in 1953

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The United States of America
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• The history of Love Canal began in 1892 when
  William T. Love proposed connecting the upper and
  lower Niagara River by digging a canal six to
  seven miles long. By doing this, Love hoped to
  harness the water of the upper Niagara River into
  a navigable channel, which would create a
  man-made waterfall with a 280-foot drop into the
  lower Niagara River, providing cheap power.

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1927
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• Hooker was pressured into selling the
  contaminated land to local school board
• Children were burnt on playground in 1958
• In 1970s, chain of horrific environmental
  disasters started
• Chemicals permeated into basements of school and
  residents
• Studies showed cases of low-birth weight infants,
  learning problems, seizures, etc.
• It resulted in the passage of Superfund Act

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Effect from Love canal

• Birth Defects

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Effect from Love canal

• Nervous Breakdowns

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• DDT became sinister agents in public eyes since
  Rachel Carsons Silent Spring in 1962. DDT can be
  found in deep-sea squid, Antarctic penguins,
  humans and land animals (fatty tissue).

• Mercury has dramatically different
  toxicological properties depending one its
  chemical state. As a liquid state, it was used to
  cure constipation. Mercury salts, on the other
  hand, caused neurological disorders. Organic
  forms, such as methyl mercury, are most toxic,
  having caused paralysis and sensory loss
  (Minamata Bay, Japan). Inorganic mercury from
  industries was methylated in sediments and
  bioaccumulated in shellfish.

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• PCBs had multiple uses such as transformer
  coolant and plasticizer. They are carcinogenic,
  but they can be toxic in higher concentrations.

• Bhopal, India 1984 Union carbide plant leaked
  methyl isocyanate (MIC) causing 3,800 deaths and
  3,000 disabilities. UCIL paid 470 M in full
  settlement. This incident brought about the
  enactment of Emergency Planning and Community
  Right to Know Act.

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Site Remediation

• The investigation, cleanup, and containment of
  contaminants and/or hazardous wastes from the
  environment.
• Remediation vs. Emergency response?

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Hazardous Waste Site?

• A site where hazardous waste had entered the
  environment and contaminated any of these media
• Soil
• Surface water
• Groundwater
• Air
• Sediments
• Buildings
• People, flora, and fauna can be exposed
• Discharge may have occurred through mismanagement
  or illegal activities

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Examples of hazardous waste definitions USA

• UNDER US EPA REGULATIONS (RCRA)
• 1 The waste is listed in EPA regulations
• 2 The waste is tested and meets one of the four
  characteristics established by EPA
• Ignitable
• Corrosive
• Reactive
• Toxic
• 3 The waste is declared hazardous by the generator

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Examples of hazardous waste definitions
European Waste Catalogue

• A core list of 850 types of waste
• Of these, around 420 are classified as hazardous
  wastes
• These are divided into 19 main categories

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The objective of definitions

• Why define wastes?
• To decide whether or not that waste should be
  controlled - this is important for the generator
  as well as the regulator
• Why create a list?
• Clear and simple
• No need for testing

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Hazardous characteristics Toxicity

• Toxic wastes are harmful or fatal when ingested,
  inhaled or absorbed through the skin

• Examples
• Spent cyanide solutions
• Waste pesticides

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Hazardous characteristics Corrosivity

• Acids or alkalis that are capable of dissolving
  human flesh and corroding metal such as storage
  tanks and drums

• Examples
• acids from metals cleaning processes e.g. ferric
  chloride from printed circuit board manufacture
• liquor from steel manufacture

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Hazardous characteristics Ignitability

• Ignitable wastes
• can create fires under certain conditions
• or are spontaneously combustible

• Examples
• Waste oils
• Used solvents
• Organic cleaning materials
• Paint wastes

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Hazardous characteristics Reactivity

• Reactive wastes are unstable under normal
  conditions
• They can cause
• explosions
• toxic fumes
• gases or vapours

• Examples
• Peroxide solutions
• Hypochlorite solutions or solids

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Hazardous characteristics Eco-toxicity
Eco-toxic wastes are harmful or fatal to other
species or to the ecological integrity of their
habitats

• Examples
• Heavy metals
• Detergents
• Oils
• Soluble salts

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Classification Systems

• DOT Classifications
• NFPA Storage Labeling
• Waste Codes

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UN Hazard Code or US DOT Hazardous Materials
Transportation Classification

• Wastes are categorized in terms of their
  hazardous characteristics into 9 classes
• Class 1 Explosives
• Class 2 Gasses
• Class 3 Flammable liquids
• Class 4 Flammable solids
• Class 5 Oxidizers and peroxides
• Class 6 Toxic and infectious
• Class 7 Radioactive
• Class 8 Corrosives
• Class 9 Other hazardous substances

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Regulations

• Hazardous wastes are those wastes that could be
  harmful to the health of human, other organisms,
  or the environment

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976

• Comprehensive Environmental Response,
  Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) 1980

• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
  (SARA) 1986

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Environmental Laws

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
• Title 40 (40CFR) Protection of the Environment
• Chapter I (Parts 1-799) Environmental Protection
  Agency
• Hazardous waste is a subcategory of solid waste

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A New Direction for Corporations
Compliance
Prevention
End-of-pipe
Life cycle
EHS Isolation
Multi-function integration
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RCRA

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
  was passed in response to widespread
  environmental contamination
• It was an amendment to the SWDA (1965)
• Cradle to Grave control policy
• Focuses on large companies
• 95 HW activities with large firms
• Due to trained manpower
• Easier to adapt to new regulation

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RCRA

• Applies to all industries generating HW except
  for specific exclusions (controversial)
• Individual state programs can be more restrictive
  in controlling smaller quantities and more
  diverse waste types
• Nuclear materials are not solid waste, thus
  exempted
• Small generators 100-999 kg/mo.
• Large generators gt1000 kg/mo.

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RCRA - Objectives

• For any waste problem, it is essential to use a
  management approach that
• Complies with regulatory guidelines
• Is cost effective
• Is environmentally compatible
• Elimination or reduction of HW at its source is
  more desirable than treatment on- or off-site
• Management of HW implies a hierarchy of
  approaches from most desirable to least

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Solid Waste Exemptions

• Nine categories are exempt from regulatory
  control under RCRA
• Household wastes
• Agricultural waste returned to the ground
• Mining overburden returned to the site
• Utility waste from coal combustion
• Oil and gas exploration drilling waste
• Waste from the extraction and processing of ores
  and minerals
• Cement kiln wastes
• Arsenic-treated wood wastes
• Certain chromium-bearing wastes

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CERCLA - Goals

• Bring innovative technologies (sense of market
  certainty)
• Implement and aggressive programs of community
  involvement
• Communicate progress to the public
• Set up National Priority List (NPL) of sites for
  priority cleanup

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HSWA

• Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 is
  considered a law by itself
• Goal to promote alternative technologies in HW
  management
• Land disposal restrictions
• Unlined, leaking surface impoundments taken out
  of service
• Increase incineration, reuse/recycle due to land
  disposal ban

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HSWA

• Technology development
• Underground Storage Tank (UST) management
• Added toxicity characterization procedures for HW
  identification
• 99.99 DRE for most HW organics
• 99.9999 DRE for P-list wastes (acutely
  hazardous) e.g. dioxins

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SARA

• Superfund Amendment Reauthorization Act of 1986
  was created to meet CERCLA deficiencies
• Added 8.5 billion
• Focus on health of the public
• Requires health and safety program and training
  e.g. a CIH at Superfund site and OSHA trainings
• Permanent remedies rather than capping
• Collect data to determine most effective methods

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Brownfields??!

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  has defined brownfields sites as abandoned,
  idled, or under-used industrial and commercial
  facilities where expansion or redevelopment is
  complicated by real or perceived environmental
  contamination.
• EPA established its Brownfields Economic
  Redevelopment Initiative to empower states,
  communities, and other stakeholders in economic
  revitalization to work together to accomplish the
  redevelopment of such sites.

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Problems and Questions

• Lack of quantitative data
• The speculative number is 450,000 sites in the
  U.S.
• These include former industrial sites, abandoned
  gas stations, dry cleaners, and commercial
  operations.
• No one knows how many in each state.
• How much brownfields make local economies suffer?
• How much their redevelopment would boost those
  economies?

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Barriers to BF Reuse

• Environmental liability
• Many environmental regulations by many agencies
• Costly constructions
• Treatment and containment
• Employees safety
• Costly construction delays
• Public perception

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Achievements of EPA BFI

• Jobs for residents of disadvantaged communities
• Of thousands properties, several hundreds
  required no cleanup
• For every brownfield acre redeveloped, 21.4 acres
  of green space are protected
• Provided billions of dollars in grants from
  private and public sectors