Health considerations closure

Which environmental, health and safety considerations affect closure and audits ... 

Requirements on treatment and disposal of hazardous chemical waste under RCRA, especially the intention to limit contamination of groundwater, are based to some extent on considerations of risks to public health and the environment posed by waste. However, requirements on waste treatment and the siting, design, operation, and closure of disposal facilities are not based on long-term projections of the ability of disposal systems to limit releases of hazardous substances to the environment, nor is any consideration given to... 

Essentially all solidified hazardous chemical waste is intended for disposal in near-surface facilities, with prescribed actions to prevent unacceptable releases of hazardous material (e.g., leachate collection and treatment). However, these facilities have been developed and operated essentially without consideration of the potential long-term risks posed by the waste in the absence of active monitoring and maintenance, including potential risks to future inadvertent intruders, or the requirements on site closure and release from institutional control that would ensure long-term protection of public health and the environment. 

In all states, the EDS neutralents could be considered characteristic hazardous wastes under RCRA. With some exceptions, a hazardous waste may only be treated, stored, or disposed of in a RCRA-permitted TSDF. In addition, any treatment technology must meet RCRA requirements, such as the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs) (40 CFR 268). In accordance with the LDRs, wastes must meet certain treatment standards prior to land disposal. These restrictions provide for additional protection of human health and the environment, but they add considerably to the cost and time required to treat and dispose of the waste stream. Other standards must also be met, such as those associated with treatment facihty operation and closure. 

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP), which is responsible for establishing legally recognized product standards from drugs and other health-related articles, has considerable Influence worldwide. In the 1960s, methodology and requirements were established for plastics used for pharmaceutical containers and closures and these were subsequently adopted by manufacturers of medical devices. USP tests measure the biological reactivity of plastics in contact with mammaiian cell cultures (in vitro) and via implantation and injection of extractables into laboratory animals (in vivo). 

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