Comparative analysis of hazardous household waste in two Mexican regions

Household hazardous waste (HHW) generation in two Mexican regions was examined, a northern region (bordering with the USA) and a central region. The aim of this work was to determine the dynamics of solid waste generation and to be able to compare the results of both regions, regarding consumption patterns and solid waste generation rates. In the northern region, household solid waste was analysed quantitatively. In order to perform this analysis, the population was categorized into three socioeconomic strata (lower, middle, upper). Waste characterization revealed the presence of products that give origin to household hazardous waste. In the northern region (Mexicali city), household hazardous waste comprised 3.7% of municipal solid waste, the largest categories in this fraction were home care products (29.2%), cleaning products (19.5%) and batteries and electronic equipment (15.7%). In the central region, HHW comprised 1.03% of municipal solid waste; the main categories in this fraction were represented by cleaning products (39%), self care products (27.3%), and insecticides (14.4%). In Mexicali, the socioeconomic study demonstrated that the production of HHW is independent of the income level. Furthermore, the composition of the solid waste stream in both regions suggested the influence of another set of variables such as local climate, migration patterns and marketing coverage. Further research is needed in order to establish the effect of low quantities of HHW upon the environment and public health.     

Superfund site remediation by landfilling—overview of landfill design,operation, closure,and postclosure issues

This article discusses the appropriateness of using landfills as part of remediating hazardous chemical and Superfund sites, with particular emphasis on providing for true long‐term public health and environmental protection from the wastes and contaminated soils that are placed in the landfills. On‐site landfilling or capping of existing wastes is typically the least expensive approach for gaining some remediation of existing hazardous chemical/Superfund sites. The issues of the deficiencies in US EPA and state landfilling approaches discussed herein are also applicable to the landfilling of municipal and industrial solid “nonhazardous” wastes. These deficiencies were presented in part as “Problems with Landfills for Superfund Site Remediation” at the US EPA National Superfund Technical Assistance Grant Workshop held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 2003. They are based on the author's experience in investigating the properties of landfill liners and the characteristics of today's landfills, relative to their ability to prevent groundwater pollution and to cause other environmental impacts. Discussed are issues related to both solid and hazardous waste landfills and approaches for improving the ability of landfills to contain wastes and monitor for leachate escape from the landfill for as long as the wastes in the landfill will be a threat. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Hazardous and solid waste issues in Europe and related who activities

The overall goal of WHO is to co-operate with its Member States, and provide them with assistance on demand or as needed. Towards this end, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has implemented, over many years, programme activities related to the management of municipal and industrial solid waste, sewage sludge, hazardous waste, waste from hospitals and other health care facilities, and radioactive waste. The published results of the various activities include conclusions and recommendations addressed to national public and environmental health authorities and to the scientific and professional community, as a whole.In more specific terms, work has been completed in recent years on the impact on health from microbes and chemicals in sewage sludge applied to land, and from emissions of dioxin, furan, PAH and heavy metal compounds from municipal waste incinerators. Policy guidelines and a code of practice for the management of hazardous waste, prepared together with the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP, were published in six languages, including Chinese. At present, the emphasis is shifting to hazardous waste, and a study is under way on the health impact of hazardous waste containing certain identified “priority chemicals”. A code of practice is currently being used in work for the site selection for hazardous waste facilities, including landfills. There is also a plan for the training of national trainees in the sound management of hazardous waste. WHO/HQ, together with UNEP and the World Bank, are completing a text on the management of hazardous waste in developing countries. The first two volumes are expected to be published in 1988. A third volume with a number of national case studies is also being prepared. To assist WHO in its tasks, increase the effectiveness of results, and avoid duplication of activities, co-operation is being maintained with various individual experts, national institutes and authorities, and other international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Co-ordination of work and exchange of information is a matter of routine by means of periodic interagency consultations, participation in meetings of other organizations and country visits.     

生活垃圾焚烧发电厂二恶英对人体健康的风险评价

介绍了生活垃圾焚烧过程中二恶英的产生机理、对人体的危害及控制措施,以某生活垃圾焚烧发电厂环境影响评价为例,提出了二恶英对人体健康风险评价方法,同类项目环境影响评价提供借鉴。     

Process and technological aspects of municipal solid waste gasification. A review

The paper proposes a critical assessment of municipal solid waste gasification today, starting from basic aspects of the process (process types and steps, operating and performance parameters) and arriving to a comparative analysis of the reactors (fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained bed, vertical shaft, moving grate furnace, rotary kiln, plasma reactor) as well as of the possible plant configurations (heat gasifier and power gasifier) and the environmental performances of the main commercially available gasifiers for municipal solid wastes. The analysis indicates that gasification is a technically viable option for the solid waste conversion, including residual waste from separate collection of municipal solid waste. It is able to meet existing emission limits and can have a remarkable effect on reduction of landfill disposal option.     

Environmental and economic analyses of waste disposal options for traditional markets in Indonesia

Waste from traditional markets in Indonesia is the second largest stream of municipal solid waste after household waste. It has a higher organic fraction and may have greater potential to be managed on a business scale compared to household wastes. The attributed reason is that in general the wastes generated from traditional markets are more uniform, more concentrated and less hazardous than waste from other sources. This paper presents the results of environmental and economic assessments to compare the options available for traditional market waste disposal in Indonesia. The options compared were composting in labour intensive plants, composting in a centralised plant that utilised a simple wheel loader, centralised biogas production and landfill for electricity production. The current open dumping practice was included as the baseline case. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was used for environmental analysis. All options compared have lower environmental impacts than the current practice of open dumping. The biogas production option has the lowest environmental impacts. A cost-benefit analysis, which considered greenhouse gas savings, was used for the economic assessment. It was found that composting at a centralised plant is the most economically feasible option under the present Indonesian conditions. The approach reported in this study could be applied for 'a pre-feasibility first cut comparison' that includes environmental aspects in a decision-making framework for developing countries even though European emission factors were used.     

Application of the WAMED model to landfilling

A cost methodology is proposed for evaluating the ecological-economic efficiency of a municipal solid waste management scheme based on the recommendations of cost-benefit analysis and the full-cost accounting methodology for municipal solid waste management. The methodology employs the previously introduced waste managements’ efficient decision (WAMED) model and the company statistical business tool for environmental recovery (COSTBUSTER) indicator. A case study presents the practical application of the proposed cost-benefit analysis-based theory to the landfilling concept currently applied in Kalmar, Sweden. It is concluded that the presented provisions for evaluation of the ecological-economic efficiency of a municipal solid waste management scheme reflect a novel integrated approach to solving the problem of simultaneously decreasing the negative impacts of municipal solid waste on the environment and the health of the population while providing an information support tool for decision making in municipal solid waste management at regional and municipal levels to improve small-and medium-sized company competitiveness in particular.     

Municipal solid waste management in Malaysia: Practices and challenges

Rapid economic development and population growth, inadequate infrastructure and expertise, and land scarcity make the management of municipal solid waste become one of Malaysia’s most critical environmental issues. The study is aimed at evaluating the generation, characteristics, and management of solid waste in Malaysia based on published information. In general, the per capita generation rate is about 0.5–0.8 kg/person/day in which domestic waste is the primary source. Currently, solid waste is managed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, with the participation of the private sector. A new institutional and legislation framework has been structured with the objectives to establish a holistic, integrated, and cost-effective solid waste management system, with an emphasis on environmental protection and public health. Therefore, the hierarchy of solid waste management has given the highest priority to source reduction through 3R, intermediate treatment and final disposal.     

Report: biomedical waste management practices at Balrampur Hospital, Lucknow, India.

Biomedical waste has become a serious health hazard in many countries, including India. Careless and indiscriminate disposal of this waste by healthcare establishments and research institutions can contribute to the spread of serious diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS (HIV) among those who handle it and also among the general public. The present study pertains to the biomedical waste management practices at Balrampur Hospital, a premier healthcare establishment in Lucknow, in North India. The study shows that infectious and non-infectious wastes are dumped together within the hospital premises, resulting in a mixing of the two, which are then disposed of with municipal waste at the dumping sites in the city. All types of wastes are collected in common bins placed outside the patients wards. For disposal of this waste the hospital depends on the generosity of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, whose employees generally collect it every 2 or 3 days. The hospital does not have any treatment facility for infectious waste. The laboratory waste materials, which are disposed of directly into the municipal sewer without proper disinfection of pathogens, ultimately reach the Gomti River. All disposable plastic items are segregated by the rag pickers from the hospital as well as municipal bins and dumps. The waste is deposited either inside the hospital grounds, or outside in the community bin for further transportation and disposal along with municipal solid waste. The open dumping of the waste makes it freely accessible to rag pickers who become exposed to serious health hazards due to injuries from sharps, needles and other types of material used when giving injections. The results of the study demonstrate the need for strict enforcement of legal provisions and a better environmental management system for the disposal of biomedical waste in the Balrampur Hospital, as well as other healthcare establishments in Lucknow.     

Screening tests for hazard classification of complex waste materials – Selection of methods

In this study we describe the development of an alternative methodology for hazard characterization of waste materials. Such an alternative methodology for hazard assessment of complex waste materials is urgently needed, because the lack of a validated instrument leads to arbitrary hazard classification of such complex waste materials. False classification can lead to human and environmental health risks and also has important financial consequences for the waste owner. The Hazardous Waste Directive (HWD) describes the methodology for hazard classification of waste materials. For mirror entries the HWD classification is based upon the hazardous properties (H1–15) of the waste which can be assessed from the hazardous properties of individual identified waste compounds or – if not all compounds are identified – from test results of hazard assessment tests performed on the waste material itself. For the latter the HWD recommends toxicity tests that were initially designed for risk assessment of chemicals in consumer products (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biocides, food, etc.). These tests (often using mammals) are not designed nor suitable for the hazard characterization of waste materials. With the present study we want to contribute to the development of an alternative and transparent test strategy for hazard assessment of complex wastes that is in line with the HWD principles for waste classification. It is necessary to cope with this important shortcoming in hazardous waste classification and to demonstrate that alternative methods are available that can be used for hazard assessment of waste materials. Next, by describing the pros and cons of the available methods, and by identifying the needs for additional or further development of test methods, we hope to stimulate research efforts and development in this direction. In this paper we describe promising techniques and argument on the test selection for the pilot study that we have performed on different types of waste materials. Test results are presented in a second paper.As the application of many of the proposed test methods is new in the field of waste management, the principles of the tests are described. The selected tests tackle important hazardous properties but refinement of the test battery is needed to fulfil the a priori conditions.     

Statistical modelling for the prediction and control of PCDDs and PCDFs emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators

The emissions of a full range of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDDs/PCDFs) have become one of the most controversial issues in siting and building new municipal incinerators. The lack of comprehensive evaluation of the PCDDs/PCDFs formation and emission control technologies in earlier times resulted in ambiguity in the decision-making of incineration projects. Until the last decade, several emission tests of municipal solid waste incineration regarding to new combustion criteria, public regulations, and risk assessments were conducted and reported in the literature. However, only a few analyses of statistical prediction and control have been established. This paper presents a series of multiple linear regression models for PCDDs/PCDFs emission prediction and control corresponding to different types of incinerators. The data used in the regression analysis were integrated from several testing programmes held in North America. By applying these regression results, evaluation of various combustion criteria, public regulations, and environmental and health risk assessment can then be achieved. Such evaluation is valuable for some developing countries which do not have sufficient finance or engineering experience to pursue large scale emission tests, but need rapid promulgation of emissions control for municipal solid waste incinerators.     

国内城市生活垃圾焚烧飞灰研究现状及进展

随着我国经济快速发展及城市化水平提升,城市生活垃圾产量越来越大,焚烧逐渐成为城市生活垃圾处理的主要方式.但焚烧会产生大量的垃圾焚烧飞灰(以下简称飞灰),飞灰属于危险废物.论述了飞灰的来源、成分、特性及危害,介绍了飞灰的处理处置技术:水泥固化技术、化学药剂稳定化技术、熔融固化技术、水热稳定化技术和水泥窑协同处理技术,并分...     

Evaluation of environmental impacts from municipal solid waste management in the municipality of Aarhus, Denmark (EASEWASTE).

A new computer based life cycle assessment model (EASEWASTE) was used to evaluate a municipal solid waste system with the purpose of identifying environmental benefits and disadvantages by anaerobic digestion of source-separated household waste and incineration. The most important processes that were included in the study are optical sorting and pre-treatment, anaerobic digestion with heat and power recovery, incineration with heat and power recovery, use of digested biomass on arable soils and finally, an estimated surplus consumption of plastic in order to achieve a higher quality and quantity of organic waste to the biogas plant. Results showed that there were no significant differences in most of the assessed environmental impacts for the two scenarios. However, the use of digested biomass may cause a potential toxicity impact on human health due to the heavy metal content of the organic waste. A sensitivity analysis showed that the results are sensitive to the energy recovery efficiencies, to the extra plastic consumption for waste bags and to the content of heavy metals in the waste. A model such as EASEWASTE is very suitable for evaluating the overall environmental consequences of different waste management strategies and technologies, and can be used for most waste material fractions existing in household waste.     

Health risk assessment of air emissions from a municipal solid waste incineration plant--a case study

A health risk assessment of long-term emissions of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air pollutants has been carried out for the municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) of the city of Taranto, Italy. Ground level air concentrations and soil deposition of carcinogenic (Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins/Furans and Cd) and non-carcinogenic (Pb and Hg) pollutants have been estimated using a well documented atmospheric dispersion model. Health risk values for air inhalation, dermal contact, soil and food ingestion have been calculated based on a combination of these concentrations and a matrix of environmental exposure factors. Exposure of the surrounding population has been addressed for different release scenarios based on four pollutants, four exposure pathways and two receptor groups (children and adults). Spatial risk distribution and cancer excess cases projected from plant emissions have been compared with background mortality records. Estimated results based on the MSWI emissions show: (1) individual risks well below maximum acceptable levels, (2) very small incremental cancer risk compared with background level.     

Guidelines for the evaluation and assessment of the sustainable use of resources and of wastes management at healthcare facilities.

This paper presents guidelines that can be used by managers of healthcare facilities to evaluate and assess the quality of resources and waste management at their facilities and enabling the principles of sustainable development to be addressed. The guidelines include the following key aspects which need to be considered when completing an assessment. They are: (a) general management; (b) social issues; (c) health and safety; (d) energy and water use; (e) purchasing and supply; (f) waste management (responsibility, segregation, storage and packaging); (g) waste transport; (h) recycling and re-use; (i) waste treatment; and (j) final disposal. They identify actions required to achieve a higher level of performance which can readily be applied to any healthcare facility, irrespective of the local level of social, economic and environmental development. The guidelines are presented, and the characteristics of facilities associated with sustainable (level 4) and unsustainable (level 0) healthcare resource and wastes management are outlined. They have been used to assess a major London hospital, and this highlighted a number of deficiencies in current practice, including a lack of control over purchasing and supply, and very low rates of segregation of municipal solid waste from hazardous healthcare waste.     

A Comparison Of Collection Systems In European Cities

A 1989 survey compares the conceptual and technical approaches to the collection of municipal solid waste, secondary materials and household hazardous wastes in eight major European cities. The collection systems reflect local structural conditions as well as the different political tasks of municipal waste management. The traditional focus on collection and treatment has been enlarged by separate collection and public education, and economic considerations are of increasing importance.     

The role played by environmental factors in the integration of a transfer station in a municipal solid waste management system

Transfer stations are an integral part of present-day municipal solid waste management systems. The main criteria used to decide on the location of a transfer station has traditionally been the minimization of transport costs, since it is cheaper to transport great amounts of waste over long distances in large loads than in small ones. In this study, we are going to consider the environmental factor in order to compare the feasibility of using a transfer station integrated within a waste management system. Applying the Life Cycle Assessment technique will enable us to obtain an objective parameter that quantifies the environmental impact of transportation and of operating a transfer station. Taking the current rates of solid wastes generation in the Plana region of Castellón (Spain) as our starting point, in this study we compare the environmental costs involved in the process of taking municipal wastes directly to the nearest waste treatment facility, with those involved in a waste management system integrating a transfer station. Comparing these two cases, an average reduction of 16.8% in the environmental impact can be obtained when a transfer station is incorporated in the waste management system.     

Integrated solid waste management based on the 3R approach

Integrated solid waste management (ISWM) based on the 3R approach (reduce, reuse, and recycle) is aimed at optimizing the management of solid waste from all the waste-generating sectors (municipal, construction and demolition, industrial, urban agriculture, and healthcare facilities) and involving all the stakeholders (waste generators, service providers, regulators, government, and community/neighborhoods). This article discusses the concept of solid waste management (SWM). Initially, SWM was aimed at reducing the risks to public health, and later the environmental aspect also became an important focus of SWM. Recently, another dimension is becoming a critical factor for SWM, i.e., resource conservation and resource recovery. Hence, the 3R approach is becoming a guiding factor for SWM. On the one hand, 3R helps to minimize the amount of waste from generation to disposal, thus managing the waste more effectively and minimizing the public health and environmental risks associated with it. On the other hand, resource recovery is maximized at all stages of SWM. Lately, the new concept of ISWM has been introduced to streamline all the stages of waste management, i.e., source separation, collection and transportation, transfer stations and material recovery, treatment and resource recovery, and final disposal. It was originally targeted at municipal solid waste management (MSWM), but now the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is promoting this concept to cover all waste generating sectors to optimize the level of material and resource recovery for recycling as well as to improve the efficiency of waste management services. The ISWM concept is being transformed into ISWM systems to replace conventional SWM systems. This article further discusses the implementation process for ISWM. The process includes a baseline study on the characterization and quantification of waste for all waste generating sectors within a city, assessment of current waste management systems and practices, target setting for ISWM, identification of issues of concern and suggestions from stakeholders, development of a draft ISWM plan, preparation of an implementation strategy, and establishment of a monitoring and feedback system. UNEP is assisting member countries and their cities to develop an ISWM plan covering all the waste generating sectors within a specific geographical or administrative area such as a city or municipality. This umbrella approach is useful to generate sufficient volumes of recycling materials required to make recycling industries feasible. This is also helpful for efficient reallocation of resources for SWM such as collection vehicles, transfer stations, treatment plants, and disposal sites. UNEP is assisting cities to develop and implement ISWM based on the 3R approach. These experiences could be useful for other countries to develop and implement ISWM to achieve improved public health, better environmental protection, and resource conservation and resource recovery.     

Environmental assessment of solid waste systems and technologies: EASEWASTE.

A new model has been developed for evaluating the overall resource consumption and environmental impacts of municipal solid waste management systems by the use of life cycle assessment. The model is named EASEWASTE (Environmental Assessment of Solid Waste Systems and Technologies) and is able to compare different waste management strategies, waste treatment methods and waste process technologies. The potential environmental impacts can be traced back to the most important processes and waste fractions that contribute to the relevant impacts. A model like EASEWASTE can be used by waste planners to optimize current waste management systems with respect to environmental achievements and by authorities to set guidelines and regulations and to evaluate different strategies for handling of waste. The waste hierarchy has for decades been governing waste management but the ranking of handling approaches may not always be the most environmentally friendly. The EASEWASTE model can identify the most environmentally sustainable solution, which may differ among waste materials and regions and can add valuable information about environmental achievements from each process in a solid waste management system.     

Extricating Membership as a PRP at Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites

Corporations often become potentially responsible parties (PRPs) at hazardous waste sites because of their past transportation or disposal of hazardous substances at such sites. Determining a PRP's potential liability for the assessment and cleanup of hazardous waste sites is a challenging effort and often results in disputes among other PRPs regarding appropriate allocation of response action costs to each party. Further, public companies have an obligation to report probable and reasonably estimable costs under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for environmental liabilities at their current or prior hazardous waste sites. The first step in such an evaluation is to determine whether or not a PRP can extricate themselves from any association with the subject site or, alternatively, demonstrate de minimis status. This article describes the methods by which PRPs can extricate themselves from liability associated with response action costs at contaminated sites, including: evaluating a PRP's prior settlements or indemnifications with other PRPs; identifying insurance coverage or other financial assurance instruments for the disposal facility; and examining applicable statutes of limitations against when a PRP received notification from the regulatory agency. The article also presents a case study discussing how a PRP with a portfolio of 72 hazardous waste disposal sites was able to extricate itself from the majority of these sites, resulting in only four sites where the PRP was determined to be a PRP and where an associated allocable share was assigned. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.