A Discussion of Regulatory Requirements and Air Dispersion Modeling Approaches Applicable to U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Facilities

ABSTRACT

Owners of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, and certain major air pollution sources, must conduct several separate ambient air dispersion modeling analyses before beginning construction of new facilities or modifying existing facilities. These analyses are critical components of the environmental permitting and facility certification processes and must be completed to the satisfaction of federal, state, and local regulatory authorities.

The U.S. Army has conducted air dispersion modeling for its proposed chemical agent disposal facilities to fulfill the following environmental regulatory and risk management requirements: (1) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act human health and ecological risk assessment analysis for the hazardous waste treatment and storage permit applications, (2) Quantitative Risk Assessment to support the site-specific risk management programs, and (3) Prevention of Significant Deterioration ambient air impact analysis for the air permit applications. The purpose of these air dispersion modeling studies is to show that the potential impacts on human health and the environment, due to operation of the chemical agent disposal facilities, are acceptable. This paper describes and compares the types of air dispersion models, modeling input data requirements, modeling algorithms, and approaches used to satisfy the three environmental regulatory and risk management requirements listed above. Although this paper discusses only one industry (i.e., chemical demilitarization), the information it contains could help those in other industries who need to communicate to the public the purpose and objectives of each modeling analysis. It may also be useful in integrating the results of each analysis into an overarching summary of compliance and potential risks.     

Siting a Fully Integrated Waste Management Facility in Alberta

The development of a special (hazardous) waste management system is well under way in Alberta, Canada, and completion of an integrated treatment and disposal facility near Swan Hills is expected in 1988. The facility will handle both inorganic and organic waste streams in a physical/chemical treatment plant and high temperature incinerator. Treated liquid residues will be disposed of in a deep well, and treated solid residues in a secure landfill. The chosen treatment technology and the established hydrogeological conditions of the site ensure the maintenance of environmental quality. An intensive site selection and public participation program provided that only locations which were environmentally and socially suitable for this development were considered. Through awareness of the problems of waste and the solutions for its management, and full citizen involvement in the site selection process, the siting and public participation programs accomplished the difficult task of selecting a location for North America’s first fully integrated special waste treatment and disposal facility.     

Public policy impacts on the generation and disposal of hazardous waste in New York State

A number of policies adopted by the federal government and the state have been designed to promote waste reduction or influence the choice of waste disposal technologies employed by generators of hazardous waste. Graphic analysis of smoothed time series data for hazardous wastes manifested in New York State for the period between June 1982 and February 1987 suggests that some of these policies have had the intended effects. Significant shifts in manifested waste volumes are evident that coincide with the following policy interventions: (1) increased state waste-end tax rates; (2) state and federal landfill bans; (3) federal restrictions on burning hazardous wastes and waste oils for energy recovery; and (4) changes in the federal regulatory definition of hazardous waste. Other changes in waste generation and management appear to be attributable to such factors as state and regional economic conditions and changes in instate treatment and disposal facility capacity. Analysis of the management of specific waste types supports evidence from the graphic analysis that waste generators changed from land disposal to "higher" waste handling technologies in response to several policy interventions.     

A Comparison of Organic Emissions from Hazardous Waste Incinerators Versus the 1990 Toxics Release Inventory Air Releases

Incineration is often the preferred technology for disposing of hazardous waste and remediating Superfund sites. The effective implementation of this technology is frequently impeded by strong public opposition to hazardous waste incineration (HWI). One of the reasons cited for this opposition is the perception that the emission of organics pose an unreasonable threat to human health. While numerous risk assessments for these facilities have demonstrated that the risks from the inhalation of HWI emissions are very low, this has not totally allayed some of the concerns. In order to put organic emissions in perspective, the mass of these emissions from the incineration of hazardous waste on a national scale has been estimated using “reasonable worst-case” assumptions and compared to the 1990 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) air releases. Comparisons were made for 15 carcinogenic organic compounds and 17 non-carcinogenic organic compounds. Ratios for all but one of these compound-specific HWI emissions to their corresponding TRI air releases ranged from 0.0003 to 0.678 percent. The total mass emissions (110.5 tons) of all 32 specific organics from HWIs was less than 0.03 percent of the corresponding 1990 TRI air releases (431,586 tons).     

Present State,of Industrial Waste Management in Japan

Systematic management for industrial waste in Japan has been carried out based on the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law which was enacted in 1970. The law and its ordinances designate 19 kinds of waste materials discharged from business activities as industrial waste and prescribe the generator's responsibility, requirements for treatment contractors, standards for consignment, specific personnel, etc. from the view of proper management. And they also, prescribe disposal standards, structure, and maintenance standards for treatment facilities, including final disposal sites, from the view of proper treatment and disposal. The Standard for Verification provides criteria to categorize as hazardous or nonhazardous industrial waste which is subjected to treatment and disposal in conformity with each standard. The fundamental policies to cope with industrial waste focus on reduction of generation, promotion of recycling, establishment of a comprehensive information management system and participation of the public which can contribute well to prevent environmental pollution caused by inappropriate management of industrial waste.     

An Evaluation of Commercial Hazardous Waste Thermal Destruction Capacity

Thermal destruction capacity for commercial hazardous waste in the United States is examined to determine current and future capacity requirements. This study focuses on commercial incinerators and cement kilns burning conventional hazardous wastes. Aggregate maximum and available capacity estimates are derived using the most recent information. On a national basis, available capacity far exceeds present demand. On a regional basis, capacity appears sufficient with the exception of the California area. However, this shortfall appears insignificant given the overall capacity situation. While incineration demand may increase for solids and sludges as a consequence of Land Ban disposal restrictions and other reasons, capacity for these wastes again appears sufficient to meet current and projected demands. Thus, arguments that additional commercial incineration capacity will be needed to accommodate an expected increase in incinerable hazardous waste cannot be supported by the available information. The analysis raises concerns about the determination of realistic capacity estimates, and the lack of interaction between the capacity assurance process that documents the need for capacity and state siting processes for new waste management facilities. The excess incineration capacity shown in this paper will contribute to the successful implementation of EPA’s goal to reduce national capacity.     

Microphysical Effects on Cloud Water Acidity: A Case Study in a Nonprecipitating Cloud Event Observed at Mt. Mitchell,North Carolina

A workshop on solid waste facility siting was sponsored by the University of Tennessee's Waste Management Research and Education Institute on June 11, 1993, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Eighteen experts from around the country gathered at the workshop to engage in frank discussions of the current status of structured approaches to facility siting. Attendees represented federal and state government, academia, consulting firms, and private waste industry. The goals of the workshop were to: (1) identify trends in state approaches to solid waste disposal; (2) describe a few “model“ state frameworks for solid waste facility siting; and (3) assess what sort of local forum can most effectively respond to solid waste siting issues. This synthesis of topics discussed at the workshop reflects the views of the authors and not necessarily the group as a whole.     

Cofiring Hazardous Waste Fuels in Industrial Processes

Although energy-intensive industrial processes have the potential to incinerate hazardous wastes while effecting fuel cost savings, increased government regulation and heightened public interest require that the financial aspects of a hazardous waste fuel (HWF) program be considered fully. Apparent fuel savings are offset by the capital requirements for institutional factors such as permitting and public relations. This paper provides cost information for initiating and operating a HWF program, and outlines the steps required to perform a thorough financial analysis. Falling fuel prices lessen the appeal of HWF programs, and unless the facility is paid to accept the HWF, only very large users (more than 80 × 10⁹ Btu/yr) of energy can consider them. The paper includes a figure from which the reader can estimate the return on investment for HWF programs over a range of program sizes (80 × 1200 × 10⁹ Btu/yr).     

What Price Air Quality the Cost of New Jersey’s Inspection/Maintenance Program

Selection of acceptable sites for industrial facilities, especially hazardous waste management facilities, can be made using a relatively new technique referred to as “fuzzy set analysis.” The methodology presented is applicable to multiple alternative decision making, when criteria are of unequal importance, and is based on the concept of establishing a subjective value for each alternative according to each criterion, and then raising the subjective value to a power commensurate with the relative importance of the criterion. This exponential weight is calculated on the basis of a preferential analysis of criteria comparisons. Apart from the ranking of the alternatives, fuzzy set analysis provides a quantitative representation of the community opinion of the order of importance of the criteria, regardless of the sites being considered. Based on the importance factors averaged from a cross section of the community, public concern could also be ranked.     

Environmental monitoring for PCB and heavy metals in the vicinity of a chemical waste disposal facility - I

As part of a long-term environmental monitoring programme, PCBs and heavy metals have been determined on a monthly basis in soil and foliage samples collected from 13 sites, generally located within a 2 km radius of a hazardous and toxic waste disposal facility that has been operating for over ten years. Data are presented for a seven month period, from June 1984 to December 1984, and the results compared with normal worldwide background values given in the literature, and with some isolated U.K. samples. The comparison showed that no elevations indicative of industrial pollution had occurred. A statistical evaluation of the data indicated that there was no correlation suggestive of an airborne mode of transportation from a point source, with respect to distance from the plant or to the predominant wind vectors. The results confirm that the waste disposal facility has had no detrimental effect on the environment.     

Avoiding Land Disposal of Hazardous Waste

In response to a growing societal mandate, land disposal of hazardous wastes is gradually being replaced by treatment technologies. This shift to "alternative technologies" is the result of the impacts of past land disposal practices on other environmental media (groundwater, surface water, and air). A prime motivation for adopting alternatives to land disposal is to eliminate these cross-media impacts. Alternative technologies, however, can themselves have cross-media environmental impacts which must be recognized and addressed before such technologies are extensively applied. This paper discusses hazardous waste constituents, common disposal practices, alternative technologies currently being applied, possible cross-media environmental impacts of the alternative technologies, and proposed methods of mitigating these environmental impacts. Case studies from uncontrolled hazardous waste sites and industrial operations are used to illustrate the application of alternative technologies. Case studies include the application of waste treatment technologies as well as the adoption of waste minimization techniques.     

Public Policy impacts on the Generation and Disposal of Hazardous Waste in New York State

A number of policies adopted by the federal government and the states have been designed to promote waste reduction or influence the choice of waste disposal technologies employed by generators of hazardous waste. Graphic analysis of smoothed time series data for hazardous wastes manifested in New York State for the period between June 1982 and February 1987 suggests that some of these policies have had the intended effects.

Significant shifts in manifested waste volumes are evident that coincide with the following policy interventions: (1) increased state waste-end tax rates; (2) state and federal landfill bans; (3) federal restrictions on burning hazardous wastes and waste oils for energy recovery; and (4) changes in the federal regulatory definition of hazardous waste. Other changes in waste generation and management appear to be attributable to such factors as state and regional economic conditions and changes in instate treatment and disposal facility capacity. Analysis of the management of specific waste types supports evidence from the graphic analysis that waste generators changed from land disposal to “higher” waste handling technologies in response to several policy interventions.     

Development implications of hazardous waste in urban environments: a problem that cannot be buried

Although the problem of hazardous waste has always been with us, relatively little is known about its effects on human health and the environment in many localities throughout the world. Nevertheless, as industrial economies and mass production systems emerge in the global periphery, hazardous waste has become an increasingly serious ecological, social, economic and political problem. As attempts to bury toxic waste have clear limitations, the need to educate the public, industry, and government is apparent. With the use of practical examples from African cities, this paper attempts to further awareness about the implications of hazardous waste in urban environments. We argue that adverse impacts of hazardous waste threaten to disrupt socioeconomic development strategies, and thus derail sustainable development initiatives.     

Real-time wastewater monitoring as tool to detect clandestine waste discharges into the sewage system

The entry of illegally discharged waste into the sewage system can cause serious damage to sewage pipes and harm the public domain. Besides industrial and communal sources, discharges from clandestine laboratories are of special forensic interest. Aim of this study is to investigate the possibility to detect clandestine discharges of possibly hazardous waste directly at the point of discharge. Tests were performed at a facility where real wastewater was pumped in a controlled way through an open sewage pipe above ground. Chloride, ammonia, pH and conductivity electrodes were investigated for their ability to detect discharges of different types of waste. Waste samples were diluted up to 50 times in a static wastewater environment and pH, conductivity and chloride electrodes were able to distinguish all waste dilutions from blank wastewater. These three electrodes were then used for dynamic tests by placing them inside flowing sewage water and discharging different types of liquid waste ten meters upstream of them. Parameters of the waste discharges like volume, time interval and speed of discharge were varied and the responses of the electrodes were collected. The dynamic tests showed that these three electrodes were able to pick up different waste discharges in a real wastewater environment. It was found that a high sampling rate of the sensors would be required to connect a certain discharge to a specific household connection. These findings highlight the possibility to locate illegal discharges, coming from a variety of sources, using the waste discharge itself.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part X The Waste Minimization Assessment: A Useful Tool for the Reduction of Industrial Hazardous Wastes

This article describes the “nuts and bolts” of implementing a waste minimization program at an industrial facility which has made a commitment to carry out such a program for waste reduction and/or elimination. Under EPA sponsorship, a waste minimization assessment methodology has been developed and applied in a total often such assessments at industrial and DOD facilities. The article reviews the eleven distinct steps that represent the preferred procedure for carrying out a waste minimization assessment at an industrial site. This procedure is presented in detail in the recently published “The EPA Manual for Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessments.” Two case studies are presented which have employed this methodology to develop waste reduction options in the areas of source reduction and recycle/reuse. Lessons learned during the development and application of this methodology are also presented.     

Flow rates and compositions of incinerated waste streams in the United States.

The quantity and composition of RCRA hazardous wastes incinerated during 1986 were examined using the National Hazardous Waste Survey. This Survey, collected for U.S. EPA by the Research Triangle Institute, is the most extensive examination of hazardous waste generation and management available. The survey data show that although a wide variety of hazardous wastes were treated by incineration, more than 75 percent of incinerated waste streams were from chemical manufacturing. The survey data also show that more than 90 percent of the incinerated wastes were treated by incinerators located at the facility generating the waste. Despite the predominance of a single industrial sector in generating incinerated hazardous wastes, the compositional profile of the wastes is far from uniform. To illustrate this variability, the metals and chlorine content of the wastes are reported along with the sources of the metal and chlorine loadings.     

Contaminants in waste foundry sand and its leachate

The environmental characteristics of Waste Foundry Sands (WFS), including chemicals in WFS and its leachate, are essential in understanding the environmental impact, rational disposal and potential development of beneficial applications of this solid industrial waste. This paper presents an assessment of broad-spectrum chemicals (metallic, non-metallic and organic chemicals) in aspects of their statistics (mean, median and the 95th percentile) in dry-weight WFS and WFS leachates based on laboratory measurements of 594 WFS samples from 123 foundry facilities in the USA. Results indicate that WFS is basically not hazardous except a risk associated with WFS from copper-based foundry facilities. Leachability of metallic chemicals varies among investigated WFS. A clear delineation between different leaching protocols is implicated.     

Burning Chemical Wastes as Fuels in Cement Kilns

Hazardous wastes in the environment represent one of our most serious problems. Ever increasing quantities of toxic wastes have contaminated our land, air, and water. Lack of adequate hazardous waste disposal facilities is a critical problem. Landfilling toxic wastes is no longer considered safe. The tragedy of the Love Canal has demonstrated the need for proper hazardous waste disposal facilities. The best organic chemical waste disposal method is process incineration. Cement kilns have been used for burning toxic chemical industrial wastes in Canada, Michigan, New York, Sweden, etc. Existing cement kilns, when properly operated, can destroy most organic chemical wastes. Even the most complex chlorinated hydrocarbons, including PCB can be completely destroyed during normal cement kiln operations, with minimal emissions to the environment. Burning toxic chemical wastes in cement kilns, and other mineral industries, is mutually beneficial to both industry, who generates such wastes, and to society and government, who want to dispose properly of such wastes in a safe, environmentally acceptable manner. The added benefit of energy conservation is important, since large quantities of valuable fuel can be saved in the manufacture of cement when such techniques are employed.