Environmental Management of Quarries as Waste Disposal Facilities

Problems associated with the disposal of municipal solid waste have become a source of public concern worldwide as awareness of potential adverse environmental impacts and health threats from solid waste has increased. Communities are concerned about the generation and management of solid waste to the extent of refusing to allow new disposal facilities near their homes, often after witnessing the legacy of existing facilities. Under these conditions, the development of national policies for the management of solid waste becomes highly political, all while requiring appropriate technical solutions that ensure environmental protection and proper management plans that support an acceptable solution for the disposal of municipal solid waste. In some locations, the conversion of old quarries into well-engineered and controlled landfills appears as a promising solution to a continuously increasing problem, at least for many decades to come. This paper describes the environmental impacts associated with solid waste disposal in a converted quarry site and the mitigation measures that can be adopted to alleviate potential adverse impacts. Environmental management and monitoring plans are also discussed in the context of ensuring adequate environmental protection during and after the conversion process.     

Public concerns and the public role in siting nuclear and chemical waste facilities

Nuclear and chemical waste facilities can be successfully sited, despitenimby responses, if siting programs account for the sources of public concern. Irrational fear is not the main source; instead, waste managers must deal with perceived inequities in the distribution of benefits and costs, and concern about facility safety. Benefit-cost inequities may be dealt with in part by keeping wastes where they are generated, through political restrictions, or by providing economic compensation and political incentives (for example, a local veto). Assuring people of facility safety includes allowing local control (monitoring, health assessment, regulation), and enhancing trust of facility managers through such means as rectifying past mistakes, individual-oriented education campaigns, and negotiation of compensation packages with local residents. These means should reduce —without eliminating—public opposition to local siting of nuclear and chemical waste facilities.     

Who are our informal recyclers? An inquiry to uncover crisis and potential in Victoria,Canada

What is considered garbage embodies a recoverable economic value, and environmental cost if not recycled. Throughout the world, the often marginalised and impoverished population earns a living through informal recycling. This is also true for Victoria, British Columbia, one of the most affluent cities in Canada. This paper discusses results of a participatory socio-economic survey involving informal recyclers in Victoria, BC to determine their livelihood determinants. The findings reveal that “binning” is an important survival strategy to generate income. A new waste-management model that considers the social and environmental context is needed. Inclusive public policies can respond to the livelihood concerns outlined in this paper by facilitating access to recyclable materials, devising occupational safety improvements and educating about alternative strategies for resource recovery. This model can contribute to the overall sustainability of the community by reducing the waste of resources and people, empowering marginalised populations and reducing the environmental impacts of natural resource use and waste disposal.     

Public opinion and solid waste in Bangkok

The problems encountered when seeking suitable locations for landfill sites often include public concern over the potential visual, health and environmental impacts. There have been many attempts to predict the response of residents in an area to a proposed landfill site and suggestions of ways to adequately consult and include the local population in the decision-making process. An alternative approach is described in this article where the residents living in the vicinity of a landfill site in Bangkok were asked how much they would be willing to pay for the landfill site to be closed and the waste taken out of the city. The method used, the contingent valuation method, can provide information on how much people value environmental goods and services. The use of the technique in this instance provided an estimate of the costs of the disamenity effects of the landfill site to the local residents.     

Canadian Innovations in Siting Hazardous Waste Management Facilities

/ Siting hazardous waste facilities is an extremely complex and difficult endeavor. Public aversion to the construction of these facilities in or near their community often results in concerted opposition, referred to as the NIMBY syndrome. For the most part, siting processes do not fail because of inadequate environmental or technical considerations, but because of the adversarial decision-making strategies employed by the proponents. Innovative siting processes used in the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba offer tangible evidence of the successful application of an innovative siting approach based on the principles of decentralization of decision-making authority and full and meaningful public involvement. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate four Canadian siting processes from the perspective of public participation and access to decision-making authority. Examples of siting processes related to hazardous waste management facilities are provided from the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Ontario. Siting has evolved from approaches dominated by top-down decision making to increasing decentralized and pluralistic approaches. Focusing on social and political concerns of potentially affected communities and on the process of decision making itself are fundamental to achieving siting success. In Alberta initially, and later in Manitoba, this new "open approach" to siting has resulted in the construction of the first two comprehensive hazardous waste treatment facilities in Canada.KEY WORDS: Hazardous waste facilities; Siting methodologies; Public participation     

How much do people who live near major nuclear facilities worry about those facilities? Analysis of national and site-specific data

Large nuclear waste management, laboratory and electric power generating complexes are a daunting challenge for state, regional and local planners. A survey of 2101 residents who lived near 11 nuclear power plants and US Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear waste management sites and laboratories was conducted to determine how much nearby residents worried about accidents and chronic emissions at the nuclear sites, how much they trusted the sites’ responsible parties, and actions that they wanted responsible parties to take to reduce public concern. Six hundred other people who lived elsewhere in the US were a comparison group. Nuclear site-related issues were a greater concern among the 2101 who lived near the sites than the comparison group. Yet many were more concerned about global warming, traffic congestion, and loss of open space than nuclear technologies. Monitoring the environment and people were the actions deemed most likely to reduce public concern. The results pose a challenge to owner-operators of nuclear facilities, government entities and especially to locally based environmental planners and managers to establish partnerships with each other and diverse communities that will allow them to manage some of these risks for decades and in some cases into perpetuity.     

Willingness to Pay for Improving the Residential Waste Disposal System in Korea: A Choice Experiment Study

This study attempts to apply choice experiments with regard to the residential waste disposal system (RWDS) in Korea by considering various attributes that are related to RWDS. Using data from a survey conducted on 492 households, the empirical analysis yields estimates of the willingness to pay for a clean food-waste collection facility, the collection of small items (such as obsolete mobile phones and add-ons for personal computers), and a more convenient large waste disposal system. The estimation results of multinomial logit models are quite similar to those of nested logit models. The results reveal that residents have preferences for the cleanliness of facilities and the collection of small items. In Korea, residents are required to purchase and attach stickers for the disposal of large items; they want to be able to obtain stickers at not only village offices but also supermarkets. On the other hand, the frequency of waste collection is not a significant factor in the choice of the improved waste management program.

Conflicting views on opposition to LULUs: distributive justice in three Japanese cases of waste disposal facility siting

Local residents often oppose some types of facilities because of their negative side effects, even though they are claimed to be necessary for the public good. These facilities are known as locally unwanted-land-uses, and local opposition to them is often referred to as not-in-my-backyard, usually with a pejorative connotation. However, some studies have challenged this conventional view of local opposition. Given these conflicting views, the present article explores how local mobilisation should be evaluated, focusing particularly on distributive justice. First, the study illuminates how different interpretations of distributive justice lead to difference in views on local opposition. Then, by comparing three waste disposal facility cases in Japan, a distinction between cost sharing and cost overlapping cases is illuminated. The study further develops discussions by pointing out the limits of using this distinction to evaluate local opposition movements and provides insights that can contribute to a fuller understanding of siting conflicts.     

Visitor-induced changes in the chemical composition of soils in backcountry areas of Mt Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

Balancing recreation and conservation is an important issue in Canada's parks and protected areas. Increased levels of visitation to parks, especially to backcountry areas, create undue pressure on natural resources, resulting in a variety of ecological impacts. This paper illustrates the issue of visitor-induced changes on the chemical composition of soils in Mt Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. Soil samples were collected from dish wash stations and fire pits (disturbed sites) at seven campgrounds located along two popular backcountry trails, and were compared to samples obtained from adjacent undisturbed control sites. Analysis of soil samples suggest that the lower amounts of aluminum, potassium, magnesium and sodium in many of the 'disturbed' samples can be related to intense leaching in dish wash stations, and can be attributed to frequent disposal of waste water from washing and cooking activities. Soils in wash stations generally had higher phosphorus, copper and zinc contents as compared to controls. Soils in fire pits were elevated in copper, relative to controls. Results of this study support park regulations that waste water disposal and camp fires be restricted to designated areas. Informing the public of scientific studies helps them understand the consequences of their activities; this may help persuade them to observe park rules and regulations.     

低中放废物处置FEPs清单的构建——以飞凤山处置场为例

识别所有影响其长期安全的有关因素,即特征(Features)、事件(Events)和过程(Processes)(FEPs),是放射性废物处置场安全全过程系统分析的关键过程之一。我国目前低中放固体废物处置环境影响评价中未开展FEPs识别和景象开发。拟以飞凤山处置场为例,选择自下而上方法的构建方法,对如何建立我国的低中放废物处置FEPs清单进行了探讨。并以最新发布的NEA国际FEPs清单(3.0版)中提出的基于外部因素和处置组成(废物包、处置场、岩石圈和生物圈)的分类方案为基础,结合飞凤山处置场的近地表处置及其环境特征,建立了该处置场的FEPs清单。     

DBO模式在医疗废物集中处置设施中的应用探讨

我国医疗废物集中处置行业呈现多种投资来源和多种运营模式并存的格局,医疗废物集中处置设施建设和运营主要采用以BOT为主的特许经营模式,部分设施由于模式选择不当,导致产权边界不清、稳定运行困难等问题,一定程度限制了行业的可持续发展。近年来开始应用于我国污水处理设施的DBO模式具有责任主体一致、建设运营效率较高等特点,在环境污染治理领域的应用前景较为广阔。本文通过对DBO模式和BOT模式的所有权归属、责任主体、实施期限等方面进行对比,分析得出DBO模式较BOT模式在设施的运营阶段具有突出优势,应用于医疗废物集中处置设施可以更有效地保证运营效率、节约财政支出、强化政府监管。同时,预期在医疗废物集中处置项目中推行DBO模式可能存在的阻碍,包括政府积极性不高、招商面临一定难度、实施过程的不确定因素较多等,并有针对性提出了在中小城市开展试点、发放环境基础设施建设债券、邻近区域多个项目捆绑招商等建议,以促进DBO模式在医疗废物集中处置设施中的应用。     

Does municipal solid waste composting make economic sense?

Currently there is widespread interest on the part of local Governments in incorporating municipal solid waste (MSW) composting into their integrated solid waste management systems. However, there is little information on the costs of MSW composting and how those costs compare with the costs of alternative forms of waste disposal (especially traditional land disposal). This article begins to fill this information gap by reporting the results of a survey of 19 MSW composting facilities around the United States. Results indicate that MSW composting generally costs around $50 per ton, and that very few facilities receive any revenues from the sale of compost to offset operating costs. Additional economic analysis indicates that, at present, MSW composting cannot be justified on financial grounds in most parts of the US, but may be competitive with land disposal where the cost of landfilling is high (such as the north-east).1998 Academic Press     

Vegetation Cover and Long-Term Conservation of Radioactive Waste Packages: The Case Study of the CSM Waste Disposal Facility (Manche District,France)

The CSM is the first French waste disposal facility for radioactive waste. Waste material is buried several meters deep and protected by a multi-layer cover, and equipped with a drainage system. On the surface, the plant cover is a grassland vegetation type. A scientific assessment has been carried out by the Géophen laboratory, University of Caen, in order to better characterize the plant cover (ecological groups and associated soils) and to observe its medium and long term evolution. Field assessments made on 10 plots were complemented by laboratory analyses carried out over a period of 1 year. The results indicate scenarios and alternative solutions which could arise, in order to passively ensure the long-term safety of the waste disposal system. Several proposals for a blanket solution are currently being studied and discussed, under the auspices of international research institutions in order to determine the most appropriate materials for the storage conditions. One proposal is an increased thickness of these materials associated with a geotechnical barrier since it is well adapted to the forest plants which are likely to colonize the site. The current experiments that are carried out will allow to select the best option and could provide feedback for other waste disposal facility sites already being operated in France (CSFMA waste disposal facility, Aube district) or in other countries.     

Ramifications of solid waste disposal site relocation in urban areas of developing countries: a case study in Tanzania

Sanitary landfilling is considered to be the most appropriate means of final disposal of solid wastes. Currently in Tanzania, the cheapest method of developing a landfill is by making use of natural depressions or former borrow pits and mine pits. This paper examines the impacts associated with the relocation of a waste disposal site from a crude disposal site at Vingunguti to a new landfill site at New MECCO quarry in Kunduchi area, both in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The paper focuses on the fate of scavenging and solid waste recycling which are currently taking place at Vingunguti site and mining as well as food vending activities at the proposed new landfill site. Scavenging and waste recycling were found to be important sources of income for some individuals in the city. Various items collected for recycling were found to be an important source of raw materials for some industries in Dar es Salaam. A total of 94% of all the miners were entirely dependent on stone mining and crushing as a sole means of income generation, and 68% of the miners had practised this activity for between 1 and 9 years. Finally the paper recommends that, selection of a waste disposal site should favour abandoned mines or borrow pits rather than operational ones. It also recommends that, waste recycling and scavenging be accommodated in other stages of the waste stream since they can not be practised at a sanitary landfill.     

医疗废物集中焚烧处置技术的研究与应用

通过分析各种医疗废物处理技术的特点,指出医疗废物集中焚烧处置技术能够有效处理医疗废物、满足国家对医疗废物处理的要求,适宜在医疗废物集中处置项目中广泛应用。但该技术在实际工程应用中,还存在如处理成本高、设备使用寿命短和二英排放不易控制等问题,尚需进一步研究加以克服。     

Designing effective community relations programs

• Cleanup of a contaminated site is halted as community residents launch a legal challenge against the method that those responsible for the site have selected for remediation.
• Parents and teachers at a public school call for an investigation to determine if substances in the building are making students and staff sick. Midway into the investigation, they also become concerned as to whether the right tests are being performed to detect contamination that may be present, and how they will know what the test results mean.
• Industrial neighbors of a facility oppose its air permit application out of concern for the effects the facility's emissions might have on their own workers.

Virtually no business enterprise or government entity is immune from the potential for public interest in or concern about environmental issues. Within the public arena, environmental issues are rarely viewed only in terms of their scientific, technical, or regulatory merits. Instead, they are invariably intertwined with other issues and perceptions regarding health and safety, property values, social justice, and overall quality of life. As such, environmental issues have the potential to create significant controversy, concern, and opposition among community residents. Fortunately, in many cases, much, if not all, of the anger and fear that community residents feel can be relieved through a substantive dialogue that either corrects misinformation or provides a platform for discussing actions that could, should, or are taking place to remedy a situation. Promoting and sustaining such dialogues is the goal of community relations. This article covers the process of designing and implementing a community relations program plan to address serious or long-term environmental issues surrounding facilities, sites, or projects.     

Failing to Site Hazardous Waste Facilities Voluntarily: Implications for the Production of Sustainable Goods

A current approach to the process of siting hazardous waste facilities is to seek 'willing host' communities that will not oppose but rather voluntarily accept risky facilities. Voluntary siting strategies have been put forward as the solution to hazardous waste location problems, and there have indeed been a small number of siting successes achieved voluntarily. This paper argues that, despite claims about voluntary processes, there are indications that few 'willing host' sites will be found in response to the many that are proposed. Instead, it suggests that the limited success of siting attempts, voluntary or otherwise, signals a new phase in hazardous waste management, a shift in focus from where to site a facility to whether a good is worth producing at all if its wastes are not siteable. A characteristic of this phase is the growing influence that the disposal potential of the generated waste can have on future management decisions to produce a good. In practice, siting failure may be one of the critical turning points on the road to sustainable production. It can accomplish what technology and environmental assessments have generally been unable to do: foresee the sustainability of a good. In this way, siteability can be seen as one indicator of sustainable production. A good can be considered sustainable if the wastes associated with its production are siteable.     

油田生产设施环境安全距离理论与案例分析

为保护油田生产设施周围环境及居民人身财产安全,在油田设施和周围不同环境功能区之间设置科学的环境安全距离,是一种经济、有效的环境保护与安全管理措施。文章提出油田生产设施环境安全距离的概念,以及有毒气体井喷泄漏、噪声污染、管线泄漏和火灾爆炸的环境安全距离估算模式,将油田生产设施分为井场、站库和管线三类,提出环境安全距离估算方法。最后以重庆开县"12.23"特大井喷事故为例,对硫化氢毒气井喷泄漏的环境安全距离进行估算,与实际情况相对比后证明估算结果可靠。     

Social Approval of the Community Assessment Model for Odor Dispersal: Results from a Citizen Survey

Odors emitted from US Midwest hog production facilities present farmers, residents, and state regulatory agencies with a set of complex challenges. To predict odor exposure from multiple swine production sources simultaneously, and to determine siting recommendations for proposed new or enlarged hog facilities, researchers at Iowa State University designed the community assessment model for odor dispersion (CAM). A three-county citizen survey conducted in Iowa examined the level of hypothetical social acceptance of the modeling process, and level of trust in CAM results. While 69 % of respondents approved of modeling as a way to determine the most socially appropriate location for production sites, only 35 % would trust the results if potential odor exposure from a new facility were proposed to be built near their home. We analyzed approval of the CAM model, and level of trust, across a number of demographic, attitudinal, and belief factors regarding environmental quality and the hog industry. Overall, trust in CAM was uneven and varied across respondents. Those residents who would not trust CAM tended to be more concerned with environmental quality and less inclined to believe that the hog industry is critically important economically. Those who would not trust CAM results also had significantly more direct experience with odors. Findings point to predominantly positive, yet equivocal acceptance of CAM results among the citizenry, which is not unexpected given conflict typical of siting decisions in industry and waste disposal arenas. Recommendations are offered regarding the interaction of trust, beliefs and attitudes and the utility of CAM.