Waste handling facilities

Waste handling facilities have become an essential function for operation of many process systems. Historically, waste handling facilities are often overlooked and should be included in a fire hazard analysis. If the waste han-dling/treatment system cannot operate, then a plant or unit shutdown may be required. 

I will outline very briefly for you the guidelines, process and procedures used at Shell for risk assessment and risk response (30, (2 ). I will focus my comments on how we are beginning to deal, for example, with decisions concerning the acceptability of operating existing hazardous waste disposal facilities or when considering new waste handling facilities. 

Currently, the nitric acid used in plutonium stabilization operations at a particular facility is evaporated to remove dissolved solids, assayed for radioactive content and then sent via underground pipe to a low-level waste handling facility. The acid stream is then neutralized with caustic to remove radioactivity and the resulting solids are immobilized in cement as a TRU (trans-uranic waste). The filtrate is then sent for... 

Allermann, L. Poulsen, O.M. 2000. Inflammatory potential of dust from waste handling facilities measured as IL-8 Secretion from lung epithelial cells in vitro. Annals of Occupational Hygiene 44(4) 259-269. Berndt, A., Derksen, F.J. Robinson, N.E. 2010. Endotoxin concentrations within the breathing zone of horses are higher in stables than on pasture. The Veterinary Journal 183 54-57. 

In waste handling facilities, activated carbon adsorption units can be overheated to ignition temperatures. These systems should be protected by detonation arresters and high bed temperature shutdowns. 

Residents are asked by the local authority to place material cleared from their property to the curbside (either in a pile or in bins or bags provided) for collection. The waste material can be mixed or separated into recyclables. A contractor or contractors are engaged to collect the waste and take it to a designated waste handling facility. Generally, this service is free for residents. 

Does the facility evaluate (for example, audit) the off-site waste management facilities used to manage hazardous wastes If yes, do the evaluations ensure that wastes will be handled safely, without causing harm to waste handlers, the public, or the environment Flave the reviews been documented ... 

Disposal involves the use of postprocess activities that can handle waste, such as deep-well injection and off-site shipment of hazardous materials to waste-management facilities. 

The Pollution Prevention Act of 199027 requires facilities to report information about the management of Toxic Relief Inventory (TRI) chemicals in waste and efforts made to eliminate or reduce those quantities. The data summarized in Table 3.38 cover a four-year period and is meant to provide a basic understanding of the quantities of waste handled by the industry, the methods typically used to manage this waste, and recent trends in these methods.1 TRI waste management data can be used to assess trends in source reduction within individual industries and facilities, and for specific TRI chemicals. This information could then be used as a tool in identifying opportunities for pollution prevention compliance assistance activities. 

According to the 1993 TRI, the amount of chloroform released to land is only a small fraction (less than 1%) of the total amount of chloroform released to the enviromnent by facilities that produce and process the chemical (see Section 5.2.3) (TRI93 1995). TRI also documents 2,386,285 pounds (1,073,828 kg) transferred to off-site waste handling sites in 1993, a level amounting to around 17% the total releases to environmental media and larger than any releases to environmental media other than air (TRI93 1995). The TRI data should be used with caution since only certain types of facilities are required to report. This is not an exhaustive list. 

X The 3X decontamination level refers to solids decontaminated to the point that the agent concentration in the headspace above the encapsnlated solid does not exceed the health-based, 8-honr, time-weighted average limit for worker exposure. The limit for HD is 3.0 jg per cubic meter of air. Materials classified as 3X may be handled by qualified plant workers using appropriate procedures but cannot be released to the environment or sold for general public reuse. In specific cases in which approval has been granted, a 3X material may be shipped to an approved hazardous waste treatment facility for disposal in a landfill or for further treatment. 

These include, but are not limited to, cGMP and regulatory compliance issues such as the need to provide proper segregation of pre- and post-viral clearance steps, ensure uni-directional flow of material and personnel, cleaning of the facility, waste handling, and environmental monitoring of the facility (37,57). In order to scale-up and transfer a process successfully from laboratory scale to pilot scale and multiple commercial manufacturing scales. 

Wastewater from sumps in each toxic cubicle is treated with caustic and then handled as hydrolysate. The 9,540 lbs/ day of bottom deposits from the hydrolysate clarifier is a slurry of solids that is hauled to an off-site hazardous waste treatment facility. The 581,000 lbs/day of effluent from the... 

The USEPA estimates that over 6000 facilities are currently operated as treatment, storage, or disposal facilities (TSDFs) regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which assigns the responsibility of corrective action to facility owners and operators and authorizes the USEPA to oversee corrective actions. Unlike the Superfund, RCRA responsibility is delegated to states. The USEPA and authorized states have completed initial assessment of potential environmental contamination at over 70% of RCRA facilities, as required by statute to address corrective action. Environmental contamination at many RCRA facilities is expected to be less severe than at Superfund sites however, the total number of RCRA facilities exceeds the number of Superfund sites. The USEPA developed a computer-based system known as the RCRA National Corrective Action Prioritization System (NCAPS) to help establish priorities for corrective action activities. Among the factors considered in NCAPS are the history of hazardous waste releases, the likelihood of human and environmental exposure, and the type and quantity of waste handle at the facility. 

Other related regulations on the management of pesticides are the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the Food Act 1983 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Sufian Yek, 2005). The primary objective of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 is to control the discharge of chemical and industrial wastes including pesticides into the environment, so that there will be no adverse effects on human health and the environment. The disposal of pesticides has not been a significant problem in Malaysia as it is an offence to discharge any toxic waste into the environment. There is a chemical waste treatment facility, which is able to handle all the chemical wastes produced in the country. The Food Act 1983 (under Schedule 16 of its Food Regulation 1985) prescribes the maximum residue levels of certain pesticides in food. The Occupational... 

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