Ecology Essay Sample: Hazardous Waste Management

The reactivity is a characteristic which is used to identify waste which can readily explode or react with air/other substances violently. A waste product is theoretically evaluated to possess reactivity characteristics where the following criterion is normally used. A waste is considered reactive if: it can violently react with water or explode under normal physical and chemical handling conditions; it can react with water under normal handling conditions to produce toxic gases or fumes; it is capable of producing substances with toxic levels equivalent to those of sulfide and cyanide gases when exposed to PH ranges of 2 through 12.5 (RCRA Characteristic Waste [APA], n.d.).

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Waste products possess toxicity if they can leach into the ground and cause contamination to the underground drinking water exposing users to hazardous chemicals and other chemical constituents. EPA modified a Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) for laboratory evaluation of waste leachates before having them rendered as toxic wastes (RCRA Characteristic Waste [APA], n.d.).

The problems associated with hazardous waste management leakages into the surrounding groundwater. Considering water as the main source of drinking water worldwide contamination would result in more expensive procedures some of which would be difficult, to remove pollutants from the water (Braun, & Deena [APA], n.d.). To a certain degree, it is impossible to remove pollutants from contaminated underground water. Another problem is associated with leakage of radiations from radioactive wastes during disposal. Another problem associated with hazardous waste management is very expensive costs incurred when carrying out conversion procedures of some wastes into environmental friendly safe substances. Hazardous waste management, especially through incineration, can result in mercury or dioxin air pollution which is as well a significant problem associated with waste management (Braun, & Deena [APA], n.d.). In scenarios of bioremediations to convert in situ or ex situ hazardous waste to non-toxic by-products biodegrading procedures are normally applied. Biodegradation involves lengthy treatment procedures over a long period which makes it difficult to control and therefore the hazardous waste can end up contaminating the environment (Braun, & Deena [APA], n.d.).

Regulations for Hazardous Waste generated at academic laboratories recommend professionals to determine hazardous waste as opposed to the students. Laboratories should clean out the hazardous waste within every six months (Regulations for Hazardous Waste Generated at Academic Laboratories, 2016). The eligible academic entities should be allowed by the laboratory management to make decisions about when and where on-site academic hazardous should be determined. The regulations require the laboratories to remove in time old and expired chemical substances to reduce risks. The regulations require development of laboratory plans for every laboratory where entities are required to specify best waste management practices (Regulations for Hazardous Waste Generated at Academic Laboratories, 2016).

Household hazardous wastes require one to follow instructions carefully for storage and use recorded on the label to prevent any accidents at home. An individual should read through the disposal directives on the product label to prevent any risks of explosion, ignition, leaking or mixing of the product with other chemicals during disposal procedures. The regulations require all hazardous products be stored in their original containers. Left overs should never be mixed with other products (Household Hazardous Waste, 2016).

There are various treatment techniques for hazardous waste products which include landfilling, incineration, injection wells as well as bioremediation (Hazardous Waste Management [APA], n.d.). Landfilling is the most common form of land disposal which normally involves the use of clay barriers, wells monitoring as well as creation of ground water barriers. Landfilling and injection wells are treatment techniques deployed in disposal sites for hazardous solid wastes. Injection wells involve deep deposition (injection) of hazardous waste into the earth. On the other hand, clay liners and ground water barriers are used to prevent environment pollution for effective waste disposal (Hazardous Waste Management [APA], n.d.).

An incineration is a form of waste treatment which involves the use of heat to convert hazardous waste into non-hazardous products while simultaneously reducing the waste bulk (Hazardous Waste Management [APA], n.d.). Under incineration treatment, the waste is converted into carbon (IV), water and other in-organic by-products through combustion. Sometime the inorganic ash by-products may contain hazardous constituents. Bioremediation is another hazardous waste treatment technique which involves the use of micro-organisms or natural degradation to facilitate the conversion of hazardous waste into non-toxic by-products (Braun, & Deena [APA], n.d.). Under bioremediation, phytoremediation may be deployed in hazardous waste treatment where plants absorb and in more effective scenarios they can degrade hazardous waste substances eliminating potential health threat from the environment. Hazardous radioactive waste substances can be treated using high-temperature plasma to convert them into environmental safe substance normally regarded as safe glass (Braun, & Deena [APA], n.d.).

Among the best course of actions for managing hazardous waste includes all regulations procedures that enforce prevention of excessive hazardous waste generation. Prevention projects aimed at reducing the generation of hazardous waste is a great deal in waste management. Waste minimization and recycling are the best ways to prevent generation of hazardous waste (Braun, & Deena [APA], n.d.). Waste minimization involves waste volume reduction procedures whereas recycling involves methods to employ vast amounts of waste for other commercial purposes and disposing of fewer quantities. The viable techniques with effective waste minimization include audits, improved inventory management, modification of production techniques and procedures as well as routine operational maintenance procedures.

Employing raw materials with mild hazardous by-products, reducing the volume of raw materials input for intensive conversion into the desired products, substitutions of hazardous substances with non-hazardous substances, reuse of by-products as well as recovery of unused raw materials from waste products reduces the level of hazardous wastes released into the environment. Prevention and reduction of some raw materials released into the environment provide the best options to deal with waste management. An attempt to lower the levels of hazardous waste substances does not only reduce the standard of potential harm to humans and the environment but also opens room for further investigation to improve the techniques for waste reduction and prevention.

References

Braun, M. V., & D. L. (n.d.). Pollution Issues. Retrieved February 10, 2017, from http://www.pollutionissues.com/Fo-Hi/Hazardous-Waste.html

Hazardous Waste Management. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from http://www.epa.ie/waste/hazardous/

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW). (2016, December 28). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/hw/household-hazardous-waste-hhwRCRA Characteristic Waste. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/waste/characteristic-waste.phpRegulations for Hazardous Waste Generated at Academic Laboratories. (2016, October 31). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/regulations-hazardous-waste-generated-academic-laboratories