Chemical waste disposal

By working in areas associated with waste-chemical disposals containing large quantities of arsenic and improper management... 

What is the process for authorizing a chemical to be used on the site What pollution prevention practices are conducted at the site Is there a list of restricted chemicals How is chemical storage and use policed How are excess or waste chemicals disposed of What processes are in place to assure chemicals are not abandoned when work on a project ceases ... 

Treatment Mnd Disposal Methodsfor Waste Chemicals, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 1985. 

Applications Deep-well injection has been used principally for liquid wastes that are difficult to treat and dispose of by more conventional methods and for hazardous wastes. Chemical, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical wastes are those most commonly disposed of with this method. The waste may be liquid, gases, or solids. The gases and solids are either dissolved in the liquid or are carried along with the liquid. 

EPA. 1987f Measurement of hydrolysis rate constants for evaluation of hazardous waste land disposal. Volume 1. Data on 32 chemicals. Environmental Research Laboratory. Office of Research and Development. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA. PB87-104349. 

B Transports E Disposal, waste B Disposal, chemical rsfuse... 

Ellington, J.J., Measurement of Hydrolysis Rate Constants for Evaluation of Hazardous Waste Land Disposal, Vol 1 Data on 32 Chemicals, EPA/600/3-86/043, NTIS PB87-140349, U.S. EPA, Washington,... 

Production, Import/Export, Use, Release, and Disposal. Hexachloroethane is not manufactured for commercial distribution in the United States (Gordon et al. 1991 IARC 1979 Santodonato et al. 1985). However, current production as a by-product and import information are not available. Current uses of this chemical and the amounts consumed by each use, including militaiy uses, were not located. This information would be helpful in assessing potential exposure to workers and the general population. The amount of the chemical disposed of by industrial facilities was reported to EPA (TRI93 1995), but information on quantities of hexachloroethane-containing wastes disposed of by military facilities was not located. Rotary kiln or fluidized bed incineration are acceptable methods for disposal of waste containing hexachloroethane (HSDB 1995). 

In addition to being harmful to the individual, many chemicals are hazardous to the environment, so waste chemicals must not be put down the sink or into the rubbish bins unless this is stated to be safe. Waste solvent and reagents must be put into appropriate waste bottles. Chlorinated and nonchlorinated solvents are usually kept separately and then sent for disposal by external contractors. Broken glass or needles and scalpels are to be disposed of in sharps containers. 

Dispose of all waste chemicals from the experiments according to your instructor s directions. 

Endrin and endrin aldehyde are listed as hazardous wastes and disposal of wastes is controlled by a number of federal regulations. Past disposal methods have included landfills (EPA 1987c). Chemical treatment (reductive dechlorination) and incineration are possible disposal methods (HSDB 1995 IRPTC 1985). Existing information on disposal appears adequate. No information was found on disposal of endrin ketone however, because endrin is no longer used in the United States, current levels of endrin ketone in wastes should be minimal and additional information on disposal is not needed. 

IRPTC. 1985. Treatment and disposal methods for waste chemicals. International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva, Switzerland. December 1985. 

Finally, toxicity (defined in terms of a standard extraction procedure followed by chemical analysis for specific substances) is a characteristic of all chemicals, whether petroleum or nonpetroleum in origin. Toxic wastes are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed, and when such wastes are disposed of on land, the chemicals may drain (leach) from the waste and pollute groundwater. Leaching of such chemicals from contaminated soil may be particularly evident when the area is exposed to acid rain. The acidic nature of the water may impart mobility to the waste by changing the chemical character of the waste or the character of the minerals to which the waste species are adsorbed. 

Ellington, J.J. and Stancil, F.E., Jr. Octanol/water partition coefficients for evalnation of hazardons waste land disposal selected chemicals. Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA Report 600/M-88/010, 1988. 

The basic results from the individual units are processed and then combined to form the final result which is produced on the report printer. Results that deviate from an expected value by more than a preset tolerance may be marked or commented on. Additional information, such as sample identification and origin, is also made available. To ensure complete control by the analyst, the basic raw results may also be recorded in analogue form. Sample identification is provided so that the data can be re-analysed. Fully automatic systems require careful monitoring of the supply of reagents and the disposal of waste chemicals. To achieve this, fluid levels are monitored, and if they are low, an alarm signal is issued to the operator. 

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requires the EPA to "clean up" chemical disposal sites. The cleanup funds are raised through a combination of tort suits against companies that have had some connection with either the disposal site or the chemicals (joint-and-several strict liability) and taxes on petroleum production, hazardous-waste facilities, and chemical products. When judgments go against landowners, trucking firms, container corporations, or other firms less directly connected with the site, the defendants ask their insurance companies to pay these judgments. Courts, then, must decide whether liability insurance contracts cover such claims. 

Recycling and resource recovery includes technologies that either directly use waste from one process as raw material for another process or recover valuable materials from a waste stream before the waste is disposed of. Some of the spent chemical process baths and much of the rinsewater can be reused for other plant processes. Also, process chemicals can be recovered from rinsewaters and sold or returned to the process baths. This section describes some of the recycling and resource recovery technologies available to the metal finishing industry. 

Most laboratory-generated waste is disposed of in lab packs. Lab packs are steel drums containing small containers of compatible hazardous wastes. The small containers in the drum are packaged in chemical adsorbent. The drum is then sealed and sent to a hazardous waste landfill. As of July 8, 1989 certain waste chemicals in lab packs are restricted from landfills. Most of these are listed in Table E-2. 

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