Long-Term Trends in Ambient Lead Levels at Five Locations in New Jersey

The authors conducted a survey based on conjoint choice experiments in Milan, Italy, about mortality risk reductions delivered by hypothetical private behaviors and public programs, and used it to estimate the value of a prevented fatality (VPF) when the cause of death is cancer. Their estimate of the VPF is €4.2 million. The VPF is about €1 million larger when the risk reduction is delivered by a public program, but further analyses reveal that it is so only when the respondent believes that public programs are effective at reducing this particular type of mortality risk. This estimate of the VPF is higher than generic European Union–wide figures recommended by the European Commission Directorate-General for Environment (DG Environment) for environmental policy analyses, and is comparable to other VPFs that are appropriate for Italy, hazardous waste regulations, and enforcement-based cleanup programs. The authors use their VPF to compute the benefits of addressing leaking landfills, illegal disposal of hazardous wastes, and poor hazardous waste management practices in the provinces of Naples and Caserta in southern Italy. The authors also examine the importance of the discount rates, since the mortality benefits of remediation begin in 20 yr and are assumed to continue over 30 yr.

Implications: Cost-benefit analysis that includes monetized nonmarket goods and services such as adverse health and premature mortality effects has become a standard tool in project appraisal and policy decision-making. The authors' estimates of the mortality benefits of cleaning up hazardous waste sites in a region of southern Italy are much larger than previous calculations that relied on the guidelines by DG Environment, raising concerns that using one VPF for all member countries of the European Union, and/or VPF figures estimated in a private risk reduction setting, might considerably underestimate the benefits of cleanup policies.     

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).     

Risk Communication at the Community Level: European Lessons from the Seveso Directive

After the devastating accident at Seveso, Italy on July 10,1976 and the resulting confusion between the local authorities and the company’s representatives, the European Community issued a General Directive in 1982 that requires every chemical company to provide full information on hazardous sites, emergency plans, storage of dangerous substances, accidental release scenarios, and similar issues to the host community. In addition, the public has to be informed about the potential risks of the facilities and the protective actions necessary to undertake in an emergency. The Directive resulted in an increased effort to communicate the risks of hazardous facilities to community officials and to local residents. This article explores the strategies of and the experiences with the risk communication efforts in different European countries and describes the responses to these efforts by stakeholder groups and the general public. The political adoption of risk communication programs are strongly influenced by the regulatory style of each country. Adversarial and consensual systems appear to cope better with public disclosure of information than bureaucratic, corporatist, or authoritarian systems. Because of differences in regulatory style, only few elements of the European experiences with risk communication can be transferred to the U.S.-context.     

Chemical Manufacturers Association 1984 Hazardous Waste Survey

This paper discusses the Chemical Manufacturers Association's 1984 survey of the chemical industry's hazardous waste management practices. The survey data include a breakdown of how the industry's hazardous wastes are managed, detailing generation, treatment and disposal, and cover 725 plants in 81 companies. The 1984 survey is the third CM A hazardous waste survey, and the paper discusses resultant waste treatment trends from 1981- 1984, the period covered by previous surveys. A total of 278.5 million tons of hazardous waste was treated and disposed by survey respondents. Of this, 276.8 million tons was hazardous wastewater and 1.7 million tons was solid hazardous waste. The survey solid hazardous waste total was projected to the entire industry (Standard Industrial Code 2800) and is estimated at 6.9 million tons. The survey showed continued decreasing trends in hazardous waste generation in the chemical industry. It demonstrated changes in hazardous waste management practices, with decreased use of landfills and increased incineration of the solid wastes that are generated.     

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.     

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.     

Hazardous wastes and economic risk reduction: case study, Poland

A concise summary balance of industrial and hazardous waste is given, reflecting the situation in Poland. Nearly 130 million tonnes of waste were generated annually in the past in more than 1300 larger industrial plants. Approximately 1800 million tonnes of industrial waste is already stockpiled. The amount of hazardous waste generated per year was 0.3 and 1.0 million tonnes of the first and second class of toxicity, respectively. Seventeen existing on-site incinerators cannot treat the whole amount of solid and hazardous waste generated. Therefore, landfilling is still the most widely used method of waste disposal. Decontamination of the abandoned areas left by the Soviet Army, and reclamation of some hundreds of storage sites filled with outdated pesticides are now added to the national plan of waste management. Its implementation, including introduction of the best available and best managed technologies of hazardous waste treatment and disposal, will take at least 20 to 30 years.     

Addressing Public Fears Related to the Siting of Hazardous Waste Facilities

Recent catastrophic industrial accidents have left the public wary of most industrial facilities. Fearing illness and death from toxic releases, the public has opposed siting hazardous waste facilities in their locale. Associated with these concerns are fears of declining property values and a perceived reduction in the quality of life for a community. Recent political actions stemming from these fears have made siting these facilities an extremely unpopular and expensive process.

This paper presents a systematic, phased approach for performing a reliability and hazards analysis of a hazardous waste facility design. It also demonstrates how the results of a risk analysis can present an accurate "risk picture" of the facility for use in alleviating public fears. A typical analysis is outlined and methods that can be used to convey to the public the results of this type of risk analysis are explored.     

Innovative technologies for contaminated site remediation: focus on bioremediation.

Bioremediation, the process by which hazardous substances are degraded by microorganisms, is at the forefront of a larger group of innovative remediation technologies being applied at hazardous waste sites worldwide. Although the process of bioremediation has been utilized for decades in the field of wastewater engineering, its application to soils and groundwater at hazardous waste sites is fairly new and still undergoing intensive development. This article is intended to provide both an overview of the state of practice of bioremediation in hazardous waste remediation operations, and an inventory of issues to consider when evaluating the use of this technology for a contaminated site. These topics will be the subject matter of a unique Bioremediation Satellite seminar to be broadcast on January 9, 1992. The seminar, a joint venture between the Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA) and the Hazardous Waste Action Coalition (HWAC), is the first in a series of satellite seminars that will deal with innovative hazardous waste remediation technologies. The intent of these seminars is to design programs which will make hazardous waste practitioners more familiar with innovative remediation technologies so that they will consider using the technologies in future clean-up operations.     

Innovative Technologies for Contaminated Site Remediation: Focus on Bioremediation

Bioremediation, the process by which hazardous substances are degraded by microorganisms, is at the forefront of a larger group of innovative remediation technologies being applied at hazardous waste sites worldwide. Although the process of bioremediation has been utilized for decades in the field of wastewater engineering, its application to soils and groundwater at hazardous waste sites is fairly new and still undergoing intensive development.

This article is intended to provide both an overview of the state of practice of bioremediation in hazardous waste remediation operations, and an inventory of issues to consider when evaluating the use of this technology for a contaminated site.

These topics will be the subject matter of a unique Bioremediation Satellite seminar to be broadcast on January 9, 1992. The seminar, a joint venture between the Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA) and the Hazardous Waste Action Coalition (HWAC), is the first in a series of satellite seminars that will deal with innovative hazardous waste remediation technologies. The intent of these seminars is to design programs which will make hazardous waste practitioners more familiar with innovative remediation technologies so that they will consider using the technologies in future clean-up operations.     

Evaluating landfill disposal of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood and potential effects on groundwater: evidence from Florida

Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood has been used for more than 50 years. Recent attention has been focused on appropriate disposal of CCA-treated wood when its service life ends. Groups in the US and Europe concerned with the possibility of arsenic migration to groundwater from disposed CCA-treated wood have proposed that consumers be required to dispose of the wood as a hazardous waste, in the most protective of landfills. We examined available data for evidence of arsenic migration from unlined construction and demolition (C&D) debris landfills in Florida, where CCA-treated wood is disposed. Florida was chosen because soil, groundwater, landfill design, weather, and levels of CCA-treated wood use make the state a uniquely sensitive indicator for observing arsenic migration from CCA-treated wood disposal sites, should it occur. We developed and quality-checked a CCA-treated wood disposal model to estimate the amount of wood and associated arsenic disposed. By 2000, an estimated 13 million kg of arsenic in CCA-treated wood was disposed in Florida; however, groundwater monitoring data do not indicate that arsenic is migrating from unlined C&D landfills. Our results provide evidence that highly stringent regulation of CCA-treated wood disposal, such as treatment as a hazardous waste, is unnecessary.     

Using expectations of gain to bound the benefits from contaminated land remediation

Current risk-based decision-making techniques for prioritising contaminated land for clean-up have been criticized within Hungary for their failure to consider remediation benefits. A cost-benefit or risk-benefit approach is required to ensure that scarce resources for remediation are used efficiently. Problems arise because the credibility of non-market valuation information in Hungary is low, yet estimates of the value of non-market goods are required if cost-benefit approaches to decision-making are to be used effectively. This paper suggests using multiple techniques to bound 'true' values of non-market goods in order to enhance the potential use of environmental valuation information. A dichotomous-choice contingent valuation survey and a property-owner valuation survey were carried out in the vicinity of a hazardous waste site on the edge of Debrecen, Hungary. The aim of the study was to explore the potential for using these techniques to measure the benefits from contaminated site remediation in Hungary. The two surveys provide lower and upper bounds on expected benefits from clean-up aggregated results indicate that remediation benefits range from US$2.59 million to US$12.4 million.     

Environmental epidemiology forward

Environmental epidemiology is the specialized aspect of public health science that studies human health risk from environmental hazards. It is rises largely upon a foundation of public health surveillance, and relies heavily upon analyses of data for small areas and sparse population groups. To a degree, environmental epidemiology is assigned the role of discerning very subtle human health impacts, or discerning early evidence of a tragic sequence. In that context, environmental epidemiology has a substantial public education and risk communication role. Environmental epidemiology will be greatly advanced as effective biological markers of exposure and precursor health effects are developed. At this point in time, statistical methods are in place to monitor population-level disease rates in high-risk populations for early risk identification and sentinel event recognition. Advances in geographic methods have provided a boon to the discipline by advantaging spatial studies. These advances in the discipline still need further refinement and pilot experiences. The inclusion of environmental epidemiological considerations with instances of proposed industrial expansion, hazardous waste management, and contamination remediation is heartily recommended.     

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.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part I Waste Reduction in the Chemical Industry

Recognizing the need for minimizing the generation of hazardous waste, the chemical industry is experiencing a surge in the initiation of programs for reducing such waste. With a new realization that the cost of handling waste may be many times higher than the value of the materials lost in it, the industry needs to examine a new end-point for optimizing its processes; one that includes the total cost of waste management as well as the conventional cost elements such as raw materials, power and the like. The authors discuss some of the problems that industry is encountering; then describe Du Pont’s approach to waste reduction in terms of administrative and technical activities. They emphasize that, in addition to meeting environmental needs, waste reduction often makes good sense solely from an economic point of view.     

Fundamentals of successful monitoring, reporting, and verification under a cap-and-trade program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed and implemented the Acid Rain Program (ARP), and NO(x) Budget Trading Programs (NBTP) using several fundamental monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) elements: (1) compliance assurance through incentives and automatic penalties; (2) strong quality assurance (QA); (3) collaborative approach with a petition process; (4) standardized electronic reporting; (5) compliance flexibility for low-emitting sources; (6) complete emissions data record required; (7) centralized administration; (8) level playing field; (9) publicly available data; (10) performance-based approach; and (11) reducing conflicts of interest. Each of these elements is discussed in the context of the authors' experience under two U.S. cap-and-trade programs and their potential application to other cap- and-trade programs. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget found that the Acid Rain Program has accounted for the largest quantified human health benefits of any federal regulatory program implemented in the last 10 yr, with annual benefits exceeding costs by > 40 to 1. The authors believe that the elements described in this paper greatly contributed to this success. EPA has used the ARP fundamental elements as a model for other cap-and-trade programs, including the NBTP, which went into effect in 2003, and the recently published Clean Air Interstate Rule and Clean Air Mercury Rule. The authors believe that using these fundamental elements to develop and implement the MRV portion of their cap-and-trade programs has resulted in public confidence in the programs, highly accurate and complete emissions data, and a high compliance rate (> 99% overall).     

Emission projections for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Section 812 second prospective Clean Air Act cost/benefit analysis

Section 812 of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to perform periodic, comprehensive analyses of the total costs and total benefits of programs implemented pursuant to the CAAA. The first prospective analysis was completed in 1999. The second prospective analysis was initiated during 2005. The first step in the second prospective analysis was the development of base and projection year emission estimates that will be used to generate benefit estimates of CAAA programs. This paper describes the analysis, methods, and results of the recently completed emission projections. There are several unique features of this analysis. One is the use of consistent economic assumptions from the Department of Energy's Annual Energy Outlook 2005 (AEO 2005) projections as the basis for estimating 2010 and 2020 emissions for all sectors. Another is the analysis of the different emissions paths for both with and without CAAA scenarios. Other features of this analysis include being the first EPA analysis that uses the 2002 National Emission Inventory files as the basis for making 48-state emission projections, incorporating control factor files from the Regional Planning Organizations (RPOs) that had completed emission projections at the time the analysis was performed, and modeling the emission benefits of the expected adoption of measures to meet the 8-hr ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the Clean Air Visibility Rule, and the PM2.5 NAAQS. This analysis shows that the 1990 CAAA have produced significant reductions in criteria pollutant emissions since 1990 and that these emission reductions are expected to continue through 2020. CAAA provisions have reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by approximately 7 million t/yr by 2000, and are estimated to produce associated VOC emission reductions of 16.7 million t by 2020. Total oxides of nitrogen (NO(x)) emission reductions attributable to the CAAA are 5, 12, and 17 million t in 2000, 2010, and 2020, respectively. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission benefits during the study period are dominated by electricity-generating unit (EGU) SO2 emission reductions. These EGU emission benefits go from 7.5 million t reduced in 2000 to 15 million t reduced in 2020.     

Designing a low-cost pollution prevention plan to pay off at the University of Houston

The University of Houston is located just south of downtown Houston, TX. Many different chemical substances are used in scientific research and teaching activities throughout the campus. These activities generate a significant amount of waste materials that must be discarded as regulated hazardous waste per U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the state regulatory agency that has enforcement authority for EPA hazardous waste rules in Texas. Currently, the University is classified as a large quantity generator and generates >1000 kg per month of hazardous waste. In addition, the University has experienced a major surge in research activities during the past several years, and overall the quantity of the hazardous waste generated has increased. The TCEQ requires large quantity generators to prepare a 5-yr Pollution Prevention (P2) Plan, which describes efforts to eliminate or minimize the amount of hazardous waste generated. This paper addresses the design and development of a low-cost P2 plan with minimal implementation obstacles and strong payoff potentials for the University. The projects identified can be implemented with existing University staff resources. This benefits the University by enhancing its environmental compliance efforts, and the disposal cost savings can be used for other purposes. Other educational institutions may benefit by undertaking a similar process.     

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).