Hazardous waste pretreatment

Table 28-2 lists some of the currently used pretreatments and ultimate disposal methods for hazardous wastes (6). Pretreatment refers almost entirely to thickening or dewatering processes for liquids or sludges. This process not only reduces the volume of the waste but also allows easier handling and transport. 

Table 16.5 Examples of hazardous gases generation from waste pretreatment processes ...

Production operations are subject to a number of regulations, including those imposed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),6 7 the Clean Water Act (CWA),8 and the Clean Air Act (CAA).9 A number of RCRA-listed hazardous wastes are produced during primary refining operations that require the heating of ores to remove impurities. Specific pretreatment standards under the CWA apply to the processes associated with copper and aluminum. Lastly, large amounts... 

Under indirect discharges, the wastewater is first sent to a publicly owned treatment works (POTW), and then, after treatment by the POTW, discharged pursuant to an NPDES permit. Under these requirements, the generator of the wastes cannot simply transfer the waste materials to a POTW. Rather, the wastes must satisfy applicable treatment and toxic control requirements known as pretreatment standards, where they exist. POTWs that receive hazardous wastes for treatment are also subject to certain RCRA permit-by-rule requirements, and remain subject to RCRA corrective action. 

NIOSH. 1980b. Technical assistance report TA 80-33, Omaha Waste Pretreatment Plant, Omaha, Nebraska. Cincinnati, OH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch. NIOSH-HE/TA-80-33. NTIS publication no. PB81-111148. 

In contrast to the reduction of tremors by DFMO, pretreatment of rats with diphenylhydantoin results in exacerbation of chlordecone-induced tremors (Hong et al. 1986 Tilson et al. 1985, 1986b). The mechanism for the exacerbation of the tremors is unknown. Therefore, if persons receiving diphenylhydantoin treatment for epilepsy were exposed to sufficiently high concentrations of chlordecone at a hazardous waste site, increased tremor severity would be likely to occur. 

The generator must meet the concentration limits of the local sewer authority if discharging the waste to a sewer system is intended, or obtain a groundwater discharge permit from the State Division of Water Pollution Control if the generator discharges to a septic system or other groundwater disposal. If the waste or its pretreated effluent meets silver concentration limits of less than 5 mg/L of silver, the waste or the effluent is not classified as a hazardous waste. 

The transportation of the pretreated wastewater from the company to the city, which was only 6 miles away, had to comply with all government rules and regulations because the pretreated wastewater was legally considered to be a hazardous waste, although technically it was not. The company faced a transportation problem because of its high cost. 

The pesticide industry generates many concentrated wastes that are considered hazardous wastes. These wastes must be detoxified, pretreated, or disposed of safely in approved facilities. Incineration is a common waste destruction method. Deep well injection is a common disposal method. Other technologies such as wet air oxidation, solvent extraction, molten-salt combustion, and microwave plasma destmction have been investigated for pesticide waste applications. 

Pretreatment standards for discharge Hazardous waste Thermal treatment Solid waste collection Solid waste storage and collection Fugitive dust... 

The technology is not applicable to metals or other inorganic materials. Pretreatment to reduce the quantity of inert material mixed with hazardous waste will reduce the cost of this technology. Excess water in sohd wastes to be treated is undesirable. 

Various sources estimate vitrification costs as ranging from under 100/ton to over 1000/ton for units treating hazardous waste. These estimates are assumed to be for treatment only, not including pretreatment and disposal costs. The extreme variability of the costs may be attributable to differences in feed type and water content of the waste (D18248T, p. 55). 

PACE. January 1986. Final Report Reduction of Hazardous Waste From Electroplating Pretreatment Facilities. Hazardous Waste Reduction Grant Program. PACE Laboratories, Inc. Minneapolis, MN. and on Behalf of Truth, Inc., Owatonna, MN. Prepared for Minnesota Waste Management Board. 

The program consisted of an indepth monitoring and site assessment of firms known to be using cadmium. Site assessment included a review of process operations which used cadmium, pretreatment capabilities, wastewater discharge analysis, and hazardous waste management techniques. 

Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry can provide rapid screening of complex mixtures for specific compounds and can be used to analyze for compounds that cannot routinely be analyzed by GC/MS. In addition, structural information can be obtained for certain types of compounds since in collision-induced dissociations the fragments are likely to show the structual differences of the parent compounds. Complex mixtures have been analyzed by this technique by introducing the sample directly into the heated sample port of the instrument with little or no sample pretreatment. Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry promises to be a useful, cost-effective, and practical advanced technique for environmental analysis, particularly when applied to hazardous waste problems. 

Rules and regulations for air quality control and/or solid waste disposal have been establ1sed for explosive In general regylatlons vary from state to state Pretreatment standards for discharge Hazardous waste thermal treatment Solid waste collection Solid waste storage and collection Fugitive dust... 

Neutralent wastes from the EDS are expected to be classified as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (U.S. Army, 2001g). The Army s current plan is to send them to a permitted hazardous waste incinerator for final disposal. Rinsates and cleaning solution from the EDS generally have much lower concentrations of hazardous chemicals and are more likely to be classified as nonhazardous wastes. Assuming rinsates and cleaning solution meet the pretreatment standards specified by the Clean Water Act, these waste streams may be eligible for... 

Unless alternative uses can be found (for example as road/construction fill or soil amendment) the solid waste residues require a final disposal route. Ultimately this is through landfilling. The pretreatment methods above serve an important role in stabilizing and reducing the volumes required for landfill. Currently, landfilling is the most economic (and consequently most used) form of disposal in the U.K., U.S.A. and Europe. In the U.S.A. and U.K. this route takes approximately 90% of controlled and 80% of hazardous wastes ". ... 

---