Disposal methods contaminated equipment

Table 13.16 sets out the major waste disposal methods, and potential hazards from toxic waste deposition are indicated in Table 13.17. The range of precautions required at land tips depends upon the risk, e.g. the nature and degree of contamination and the work to be undertaken. It will, however, encompass personal protective equipment a high standard of personal hygiene enclosure, possibly pressurization, and regular cleaning of vehicle cabs vehicle washing facilities site security, and control of designated dirty areas. Air monitoring and medical surveillance may be required.

The technology involves raising the temperature of the contaminated equipment or material to 500°F for a specihed period of time. The gas effluent from the material is treated in an afterburner system to destroy all volatilized contaminants. The method is designed to eliminate stockpiled waste that would otherwise require disposal as a hazardous material. The HGD system can be built in a permanent position for use at a single location, or it can be built and used as a mobile unit. 

Waste may be stabilized or solidified by either thermal or non thermal treatments. Thermal treatments are ideal for destmction of organic contaminants. They reduce the volume of the waste and, hence, disposal costs. They are, however, energy intensive and more expensive than nonthermal methods, and release volatile elements that need to be contained. If the waste stream contains inorganic contaminants, the residue left after the thermal treatment is often more concentrated in these contaminants because they cannot be destroyed by such treatment. They also contaminate equipment such as furnaces and filters used during the treatment, which also ultimately need proper disposal. Thus, there is... 

At all stages of medical care, the treatment of highly contaminated individuals will require special facilities or isolated facilities with the specif procedures that limit the spread of contamination and disposal of contaminated waste. For the deteetion of radioaetive eontam-ination, radiation equipment should be available, such as specialized radiation monitoring instruments, whole body counter, and iodine thyroid counter. Usually a radiation protection officer or health physicist performs the measurements. For the purpose of dose reeonstraction, different instruments and methods can be used, such as electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry and cytogenetic dosimetry. Because of this, collection of various tissues (blood, hair, and teeth) and clothes of exposed persons should be organized. Provisions (plastic bags, labels, etc.) should be made in advance. 

The disadvantage of this system is that filtered water must be stored and then pumped through the filter. The resulting backwash fluid must then be directed to another storage medium. A method and equipment for disposing of the backwash fluid, which can be contaminated with oil or acid used in the backwash cycle, must also be provided. 

This chapter covers the design of facilities to handle equipment drainage and contaminated aqueous effluents that are sent for appropriate disposal blowdown drum systems to receive closed safety valve discharges, emergency vapor blowdowns, etc. and facilities for process stream diversion and slop storage. Also covered are criteria for selecting the appropriate method of disposal. Design of flares is covered in a subsequent chapter. 

We need to keep in mind the disposal costs in all of the mechanisms for solidification. With the first method, keep in mind that free liquids are typically not allowed in most disposal scenarios. And adding too much adsorbent can substantially add to disposal costs. Make this point clear to your field people. As far as using polymerization catalysts and chemical reagents, keep in mind disposal costs. Ensure that you are cognizant of disposal costs of spent catalyst prior to using this scenario. As far as freezing is concerned, consider the cost to keep the contaminants frozen and what the downsides are. The downsides besides cost include measures in case of power failure and use of freezing equipment after wastes have been disposed. 

Design, operation and maintenance of buildings and equipment, with attention to housekeeping, sanitation, pest control, prevention of contamination of product, cleaning of equipment, a calibration program for all instruments and gauges, and environmentally satisfactory methods of waste disposal. 

Disposal. To avoid chemical vapors, clothing and equipment removed from contaminated casualties requires proper disposal. Several methods may be utilized for this purpose, such as... 

DISPOSAL AND STORAGE METHODS add contaminated amine to layer of sodium bisulfate, spray with water, neutralize, and route to sewage plant dissolve in flammable solvent and bum in incinerator equipped with afterburner and scrubber absorb in dry earth, sand or vermiculite and place in a secured sanitary landfill store in a cool, dry location with adequate ventilation separate from oxidizing materials, acids, noncombustibles, and sources of halogens. 

DISPOSAL AND STORAGE METHODS absorb in noncombustible material and place in a sanitary landfill dissolve in a more flammable solvent and atomize in a suitable combustion chamber equipped with afterburner and scrubber can be burned under control can blow air through contaminated water and bum exit gases store in a cool, dry place separate from oxidizing materials, peroxides, and metal salts keep containers tightly closed, away from heat, sparks, and open flame. 

Decontamination equipment (such as tents, pumps, heaters, soap, towels, disposable clothing) is usually stored in a decon fraUer so that, when needed, everything is ready and available and can be taken directly to the scene of the exposure (Figme 2.3). It can take an hour or more for this equipment to arrive and be set up, so first responders may have to use expedient methods until this is done. This can involve initial dry decontamination or the use of hoses or showers that may be available near the scene. For this initial emergency decontamination to take place, the first responders must wear PPE of at least Level C or they will become cross-contaminated by the victims. Unfortunately most responders don t carry PPE in their vehicles. Hopefiilly this will change as more receive homeland security training. 

From a GC equipped with a suitable sample inlet and detector, more sophisticated, dedicated analytical systems can be constructed to tackle a variety of tasks. In essence, an extraction/ concentration device can be interfaced (hyphenated) to the analytical system so that once the required method or sequence is set up, a solid sample is loaded into an extraction cell and from then on analysis can proceed unattended and the end product wUl be an analytical report ready to be used by the spill responder. Since the extracted analytes are transferred to the GC without any dilution, improved sensitivity is an immediate benefit. Significant savings in time and reduced contamination can result since extraction and analysis are undertaken in one system without any further intervention. Direct analysis can also mean lessening the use of disposable glassware. Some of the following are simple hyphenated techniques requiring no major modification of the GC, while others require modification to the gas lines of the inlet system and careful consideration of the flow/pressure of the two systems. 

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