Finishing hazardous wastes

Overview. Humans living in areas surrounding hazardous waste sites may be exposed to endosulfan primarily via dermal contact with or ingestion of contaminated soils since this compound is found bound to soil particles. Although endosulfan can be found in water as colloidal suspensions adsorbed to particles, ingestion of contaminated finished drinking water is not expected to be a major route of exposure since endosulfan is not very water soluble. Likewise, inhalation exposure to endosulfan via volatilization from contaminated media is not a major route of exposure since endosulfan is not very... 

All metal finishing facilities have one thing in common—the generation of metal-containing hazardous waste from the production processes. Reducing the volume of waste generated can save money and at the same time decreases future liabilities. Typical wastes generated are as follows ... 

Source U.S. EPA, Meeting Hazardous Waste Requirements for Metal Finishers, Report EPA/625/4-87/018, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 1987. 

PRC Environmental Management, Hazardous Waste Reduction in the Metal Finishing Industry, Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge, NJ, 1989. 

Because wholesale bans of this type will not occur, then another approach to achieving safety, at least for pollutants, might be suggested. Why not seek the goal of no detectable chemicals in the media of human exposure If automobiles emit various nitrogen oxides, simply ensure that emission rates are sufficiently low so that these noxious chemicals cannot be found in air. If PCBs are migrating from a hazardous waste site, impose limits on that migration so that no detectable PCBs are found in the off-site environment. Control afla-toxin contamination of raw food commodities to ensure none can be found in finished foods. Why not apply this approach to all pollutants (it obviously is not applicable to products) ... 

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers. Information on the relative importance of different routes of exposure to PBDEs is limited. Data on the concentrations of PBDEs in foods, collected using a market-basket approach, are needed to determine concentrations of PBDEs in foods consumed by the general population. Data on the PBDE concentrations in foods grown in contaminated areas, particularly in the vicinity of hazardous waste sites, are also needed. Data on congener-specific PBDE analysis of food, especially plant products, would be useful. More monitoring data on the concentrations of total PBDEs as well as conquers in air in remote, rural, urban, and areas near hazardous waste sites and incinerators are needed. Data on PBDE concentrations in finished drinking water nationwide would be helpful. 

Dichloromethane has been detected in surface water, groundwater and finished drinking-water throughout the United States. It was detected in 30% of 8917 surface water samples recorded in the STORET database of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, at a median concentration of 0.1 pg/L. In a New Jersey survey, dichloromethane was found in 45% of 605 surface water samples, with a maximum concentration of 743 pg/L. Dichloromethane has also been identified in surface waters in Maryland, in Lakes Erie and Michigan, and at hazardous waste sites (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1993 WHO, 1996). 

Pardus, MJ. and Regan, R. W. April 1989. "Hazardous Waste Minimization in a Brass Wire Mill." Plating and Surface Finishing. Vol. 76, No. 4. Pp. 52-56. 

The restrictions on the land disposal of many wastes have increased the cost of hazardous waste disposal. The land disposal restrictions that affect metal fabricators have been in effect for several years. For example, the restrictions on the land disposal of liquid wastes containing toxic metals and/or acids began on January 1,1984 (Section 66905 CCR). These restrictions have caused increases in disposal costs since these wastes now require some form of treatment prior to land disposal. These increased waste disposal costs are viewed as a driving force for the metal finishing industry to implement waste reduction technologies. 

Electronic parts makers, platers and other metal finishers require clean water rinses to remove plating chemicals from parts prior to the next process. The rinse water is sometimes expensive or in short supply. Furthermore, if the water is of poor quality, it must be pre-treated prior to use. The water is discarded after one use with conventional waste treatment, precipitation and clarification and a hazardous mixed metal sludge is generated which must be shipped to a hazardous waste landfill. 

HAZARDOUS WASTE REDUCTION IN THE METAL FINISHING INDUSTRY... 

Environmental Impact. Most petroleum and oxygenate removers are photochemically reactive and classed as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Disposal of this type of remover is difficult because the dissolved finish cannot be separated from the spent remover and the whole mixture must be disposed as a liquid hazardous waste. Distillation to recover 1195... 

The liquid from spent caustic soda baths must be disposed of or treated as a hazardous waste. The finish residue may contain heavy metals as well as caustic thus requiring treatment as a hazardous waste,... 

---