| Abstract: | Most waste management techniques—including stabilization/solidification, soil washing, and precipitation/filter press—take more of a trial-and-error approach to environmental cleanups, failing to exploit the waste's fundamental chemical behavior. The result is scientifically inferior processes, wasted time and resources, and recurrence of the same old problems at treated sites. This column defines some of the principal problems of waste management technologies and recommends a prudent approach to their resolution. Several of the author's personal experiences are used to support his arguments. The technologies cited here were selected based on their widespread use, their cost-effectiveness, their ease of application, and their intrinsic limitations. |
