Hazardous Waste, Love Canal, and Some Environmental Laws

Introduction• Waste materials are a part of high

standard of living• Manufacture of products results in

waste generation• Some are persistent, toxic, flammable,

corrosive, or explosive

Introduction

• Until 1800s, most materials used in homes and industries were natural products

• 1900s, petroleum were in used• 1930s to 1950s halogenation found to

improve properties, esp. nonflammability

• Halogenated pesticides were very effective

Significant Points in Hazardous Waste History

• 1940s explosion in chemical production• 1962 Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”• 1967 Torrey Canyon oil spill in UK• 1968 National Oil and Hazardous Substances

Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)• 1969 Stringfellow, CA, acid ponds overflee

into town of Glen Avon• 1970 US EPA created; EDF founded

• 1972 DDT banned; eeeee eeeeeeeeee• 1976 TSCA and RCRA

• 1978 Love Canal• 1980 CERCLA (Superfund)• 1982 Times Beach, MO• 1984 Bhopal, India• 1984 HSWA (RCRA amendments)• 1986 EPCRA• 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster• 1986 SARA (Superfund amendme

)• 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill• 1990 Oil Pollution Act

•1990s Continued public awareness of problems r

elated to hazardous waste and contamina ted sites

“ Erin Brokovich” Radioactive waste problems: Hanford, Ro

cky Flats, WIPP, Shattuck• 2000s

Endocrine disruptors Soil vapor intrusion emerging concern in

US Global hazardous waste concerns

E- waste; mining; etc. Life cycle and sustainability concerns

Landmark Episodes- Love Canal• William T. Love built an industrial park

and a residential development in late 1800s

• The 8-mile canal drawn off Niagara river never completed

• Energy intensive industries were drawn• Hooker Chemical Co. (subsidiary of

Occidental Petroleum) purchased the canal and dug more

• It was used for disposal of hazardous wastes in 1930s

• Waste disposal ceased in 1953

The United States of America

The history of Love Canal began in 1892 when William T. Love proposed connecting the upper and lower Niagara River by digging a canal six to seven miles long. By doing this, Love hoped to harness the water of the upper Niagara River into a navigable channel, which would create a man-made waterfall with a 280-foot drop into the lower Niagara River, providing cheap power.

1927

• Hooker was pressured into selling the contaminated land to local school board

• Children were burnt on playground in 1958• In 1970s, chain of horrific environmental

disasters started• Chemicals permeated into basements of

school and residents• Studies showed cases of low-birth weight

infants, learning problems, seizures, etc. • It resulted in the passage of Superfund Act

Effect from Love canal

Birth Defects

Effect from Love canal

Nervous Breakdowns

• DDT – became sinister agents in public eyes since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962. DDT can be found in deep-sea squid, Antarctic penguins, humans and land animals (fatty tissue).

• Mercury – has dramatically different toxicological properties depending one its chemical state. As a liquid state, it was used to cure constipation. Mercury salts, on the other hand, caused neurological disorders. Organic forms, such as methyl mercury, are most toxic, having caused paralysis and sensory loss (Minamata Bay, Japan). Inorganic mercury from industries was methylated in sediments and bioaccumulated in shellfish.

• PCBs – had multiple uses such as transformer coolant and plasticizer. They are carcinogenic, but they can be toxic in higher concentrations.

• Bhopal, India 1984 – Union carbide plant leaked methyl isocyanate (MIC) causing 3,800 deaths and 3,000 disabilities. UCIL paid $470 M in full settlement. This incident brought about the enactment of Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.

Site Remediation

• The investigation, cleanup, and containment of contaminants and/or hazardous wastes from the environment.

• Remediation vs. Emergency response?

Hazardous Waste Site?• A site where hazardous waste had

entered the environment and contaminated any of these media:

SoilSurface waterGroundwaterAirSedimentsBuildings

• People, flora, and fauna can be exposed

• Discharge may have occurred through mismanagement or illegal activities

Examples of hazardous waste definitions: USA

UNDER US EPA REGULATIONS (RCRA):

1 The waste is listed in EPA regulations

2 The waste is tested and meets one of the four characteristics established by EPA:

• Ignitable• Corrosive• Reactive• Toxic

3 The waste is declared hazardous by the generator

Examples of hazardous waste definitions: European Waste Catalogue

•A core list of 850 types of waste

•Of these, around 420 are classified as hazardous wastes

•These are divided into 19 main categories

The objective of definitions

Why define wastes?

To decide whether or not that waste should be controlled - this is important for the generator as well as the regulator

Why create a list?

•Clear and simple

•No need for testing

Hazardous characteristics: Toxicity

Toxic wastes are harmful or fatal when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin

Examples:•Spent cyanide solutions•Waste pesticides

Hazardous characteristics: Corrosivity

Acids or alkalis that are capable of dissolving human flesh and corroding metal such as storage tanks and drums

Examples:•acids from metals cleaning processes e.g. ferric chloride from printed circuit board manufacture

•liquor from steel manufacture

Hazardous characteristics: Ignitability

Ignitable wastes:• can create fires under certain conditions• or are spontaneously combustible

Examples: •Waste oils•Used solvents•Organic cleaning materials•Paint wastes

Hazardous characteristics: Reactivity

Reactive wastes are unstable under ‘normal conditions’

They can cause: • explosions • toxic fumes • gases or vapours

Examples:• Peroxide solutions• Hypochlorite solutions or solids

Hazardous characteristics: Eco-toxicity

Eco-toxic wastes are harmful or fatal to other species or to the ecological integrity of their habitats

Examples:

• Heavy metals

• Detergents

• Oils

• Soluble salts

Classification Systems

•DOT Classifications•NFPA Storage Labeling

•Waste Codes

UN Hazard Code or US DOT Hazardous Materials Transportation

Classification• Wastes are categorized in terms of

their hazardous characteristics into 9 classesClass 1 ExplosivesClass 2 GassesClass 3 Flammable liquidsClass 4 Flammable solidsClass 5 Oxidizers and peroxidesClass 6 Toxic and infectiousClass 7 RadioactiveClass 8 CorrosivesClass 9 Other hazardous substances

Regulations

• Hazardous wastes are those wastes that could be harmful to the health of human, other organisms, or the environment

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) 1980

• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) 1986

Environmental Laws

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)Title 40 (40CFR) Protection of the

EnvironmentChapter I (Parts 1-799) Environmental

Protection AgencyHazardous waste is a subcategory of

solid waste

A New Direction for Corporations

Compliance

End-of-pipe

EH&S Isolation

Prevention

Life cycle

Multi-function integration

RCRA

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 was passed in response to widespread environmental contamination

• It was an amendment to the SWDA (1965)

• “Cradle to Grave” control policy• Focuses on large companies

95% HW activities with large firmsDue to trained manpowerEasier to adapt to new regulation

RCRA

• Applies to all industries generating HW except for specific exclusions (controversial)

• Individual state programs can be more restrictive in controlling smaller quantities and more diverse waste types

• Nuclear materials are not solid waste, thus exempted

• Small generators: 100-999 kg/mo.• Large generators: >1000 kg/mo.

RCRA - Objectives• For any waste problem, it is essential

to use a management approach thatComplies with regulatory guidelinesIs cost effectiveIs environmentally compatible

• Elimination or reduction of HW at its source is more desirable than treatment on- or off-site

• Management of HW implies a hierarchy of approaches from most desirable to least

Solid Waste Exemptions

• Nine categories are exempt from regulatory control under RCRA:Household wastesAgricultural waste returned to the groundMining overburden returned to the siteUtility waste from coal combustionOil and gas exploration drilling wasteWaste from the extraction and processing of

ores and mineralsCement kiln wastesArsenic-treated wood wastesCertain chromium-bearing wastes

CERCLA - Goals• Bring innovative technologies (sense

of market certainty)• Implement and aggressive programs

of community involvement• Communicate progress to the public• Set up National Priority List (NPL) of

sites for priority cleanup

HSWA

• Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 is considered a law by itself

• Goal to promote alternative technologies in HW management

• Land disposal restrictions• Unlined, leaking surface impoundments

taken out of service• Increase incineration, reuse/recycle due

to land disposal ban

HSWA

• Technology development• Underground Storage Tank (UST)

management• Added toxicity characterization

procedures for HW identification• 99.99% DRE for most HW organics• 99.9999% DRE for P-list wastes

(acutely hazardous) e.g. dioxins

SARA• Superfund Amendment

Reauthorization Act of 1986 was created to meet CERCLA deficienciesAdded $8.5 billionFocus on health of the publicRequires health and safety program and

training e.g. a CIH at Superfund site and OSHA trainings

Permanent remedies rather than cappingCollect data to determine most effective

methods

Brownfields??!

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defined brownfields sites as “abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.”

• EPA established its Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic revitalization to work together to accomplish the redevelopment of such sites.

Problems and Questions• Lack of quantitative data• The speculative number is 450,000

sites in the U.S.• These include former industrial sites,

abandoned gas stations, dry cleaners, and commercial operations.

• No one knows how many in each state.• How much brownfields make local

economies suffer?• How much their redevelopment would

boost those economies?

Barriers to BF Reuse

• Environmental liability• Many environmental regulations – by

many agencies• Costly constructions

Treatment and containmentEmployees’ safety

• Costly construction delays• Public perception

Achievements of EPA BFI

• Jobs for residents of disadvantaged communities

• Of thousands properties, several hundreds required no cleanup

• For every brownfield acre redeveloped, 21.4 acres of green space are protected

• Provided billions of dollars in grants from private and public sectors