Hazardous substances, destruction

The primary objective is to develop an appropriate range of waste management options to be analyzed more fully in the detailed analysis phase of the FS.12 Appropriate waste management ensures the protection of human health and the environment. It may involve, depending on site-specific circumstances, complete elimination or destruction of hazardous substances at the site, significant reduction of concentrations of hazardous substances to acceptable health-based levels, and prevention of exposure to hazardous substances via engineering or institutional controls, or some combination of the above. 

The next set of problems connected with monitoring hazardous substances in regions of the storage, destruction and former production of chemical weapons refers to analytical support. The state of the current situation is so, that now the controlling... 

Value of the transported cargo (Vyf—carrier s pecuniary loss caused by the destruction of the transported hazardous substance. 

The SPT uses steam (water vapour) as the main plasma forming gas. The high reactivity of the hydroxyl ions produced by the ionization of steam allows for the destruction of highly stable hazardous substances such as chlorofluorocarbons and brominated hydrocarbons. Other applications of steam plasma include steam reforming, coal gasification, steam arc cutting, and rapid decontamination of large surfaces. 

Ammonia causes intense irritation of eyes, nose and respiratory tract which can lead to tears, respiratory distress, chest pain, and pulmonary edema. A few minutes exposure to 3,000 ppm can cause severe blistering of skin, lung edema, and asphyxia which can lead to death (Patnaik, P. 1992. A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical Substances, p. 304. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold). Contact with liquid ammonia can cause serious blistering and destruction of skin tissues. LC50 inhalation (mouse) 4,200 ppm/hr. 

To start, one must decide whether the substance itself is benign or whether it poses a hazard in the form of toxicity, accident potential, ecosystem destruction, or other form. Hazard can be evaluated in terms for which there is extensive data on properties ranging from dose response to flammability to ozone-depleting potential. In the absence of empirical data, there is a wide range of structure-activity relationship models which can give reasonable approximations for the properties in question. 

See also P. Patnaik, A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical Substances, 2nd ed. (New York Wiley, 1999) G. Lunn and E. B. Sansone, Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory (New York Wiley, 1994) and M. A. Armour, Hazardous Laboratory Chemical Disposal Guide (Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 1991). 

Waste that is hazardous because it exhibits the toxicity characteristic also must be treated to remove this characteristic prior to disposal. Techniques to remove the toxicity characteristic include, for example, destruction of organic compounds by incineration or incorporation of the waste in an immobilizing waste form (e.g., grout). However, in contrast to ignitable, corrosive, or reactive waste, a properly treated toxic waste may still be considered hazardous in some cases, even if it is not characteristically hazardous after treatment and does not contain any listed substances. For example, a waste that is toxic because it contains high levels of heavy metals could be treated to reduce the leachability of the metals to acceptable levels by incorporation in an appropriate waste form, but the treated waste may still be considered hazardous when the toxic substances of concern are not destroyed by treatment and the possibility exists that their leachability from the waste form could increase substantially after disposal. 

Flammability is the susceptibility of a substance to fire or burning. This is not a property commonly used for identification purposes, but there are a few materials where the bum test is traditional. Amber, plastics, and other substances that emit a distinctive smell when heated are commonly tested with a hot needle or candle flame. This is not recommended, as it is destructive to the object and may be hazardous to the person doing the testing (the smell can only be detected from very near the object). 

OEHHA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment OSHA Occnpational Safety and Health Administration Osteogenic sarcoma Cancer associated with bone structures Oxidation Chemical addition of oxygen to break down pollutants or organic waste, for example, destruction of chemical substances such as cyanides, phenols, and organic sulfur compounds in sewage by bacterial and chemical means Oxidative stress Process whereby the metabolic balance of a cell is disrupted by exposure to environmental substances, resulting in accumulation of free radicals, which can damage the cell... 

A terrorist release of weapons of mass destruction damage to chemical and industrial plants, sewer lines, and water distribution systems and secondary hazards such as fires will result in toxic environmental and public health hazards to the surviving population and response personnel, including exposure to hazardous chemicals, biological substances, radiological substances, and contaminated water supplies, crops, livestock, and food products. 

Like supercritical carbon dioxide, supercritical water is a very interesting substance that has strikingly different properties from those of liquid water. For example, recent experiments have shown that supercritical (superfluid) water can behave simultaneously as both a polar and a nonpolar solvent. While the reasons for this unusual behavior remain unclear, the practical value of this behavior is very clear It makes superfluid water a very useful reaction medium for a wide variety of substances. One extremely important application of this idea involves the environmentally sound destruction of industrial wastes. Most hazardous organic (nonpolar) substances can be dissolved in supercritical water and oxidized by dissolved 02 in a matter of minutes. The products of these reactions are water, carbon dioxide, and possibly simple acids (which result when halogen-containing compounds are reacted). Therefore, the aqueous mixture that results from the reaction often can be disposed of with little further treatment. In contrast to the incinerators used to destroy organic waste products, a supercritical water reactor is a closed system (has no emissions). 

Thermal destruction systems have become recognized over the past decade as an increasingly desirable alternative to the more traditional methods of disposing of hazardous wastes in landfills and injection wells. What are some of the problems in the combustion of substances such as methylene chloride, chloroform, trichloroethylene, waste oil, phenol, aniline, and hexachloroethane ... 

C. Possible Threats. The sources of environmental and industrial hazards may be quite extensive if the operation is in an industrialized area. Any site that stores or uses toxic material may pose a threat to US service members even if the site is operating under normal conditions. Industrial sabotages, such as, destruction of a large industrial complex could release potentially toxic substances. Possible sites prone to threat include hospitals, mines, and manufacturing facilities. Table 1-A summarizes the typical industrial and environmental threats that a deployed U S. Force may encounter with respect to site characteristics. 

---