Waste generation/management importance

Finally, source reduction should not be taken as any more than an important component in a wel1-conceived waste management plan. Field experience and the literature show clearly that source reduction, while ripe for exploitation as a preferred method of waste management by the electroplating industry, cannot eliminate waste generation. 

A typical nuclear industry may consist of mining and milling of uranium ore, thorium extraction, fuel fabrication, nuclear reactor operation, and production and application of radioactive isotopes for various industrial medical and research purposes. Almost, in all these steps, waste is generated that needs proper management. Radioactive wastes differ from other industrial wastes due to its radiation exposure and its radiological toxicity to human beings and their environment. Management of radioactive wastes is an important step in a nuclear industry and the objective is to effectively isolate radionuclides from the... 

The disposal of radioactive wastes is in fact the most tightly regulated of all types of waste disposal. Therefore, evaluations of the effectiveness of chemical containment in relation to these types of waste have certain important implications for the management of other types of waste. For example, the overall objective of radioactive waste disposal is highlighted by Frank as the requirement to protect the public health and environment effectively and reliably and to minimize any burden on future generations . This objective should also be applied to all types of waste disposal in the geosphere. 

Anotlier act that lias Iiad a major impact on tlie general area of healtli, safety and accident management is tlie Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. The major tlieme of the act was to provide an importance to reduce tlie generation of wastes/pollutants/cheniicals tliat can create healtli, safety and accident management problems. Details of the act are provided later. 

Because generators are the first step in the RCRA system, it is important that they properly classify and identify their waste to ensure proper handling later in the hazardous waste management process. 

As a generator, an industrial plant always retains responsibility for hazardous waste. If the plant s waste is dumped or disposed of improperly, the plant manager and the owner wiU be held responsible. It is therefore important that the plant manager or the owner knows where the plant s waste is going and whether or not it is handled properly and safely [73]. 

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