Hazardous Waste Dumping Laws
The dangers of hazardous waste have always been known, but not until the 1960's did America really see hazardous dumping as a threat to the environment and public health. The Environmental Protection Agency was organized in the early 1970's to provide a single agency to regulate and enforce hazardous waste dumping laws. Although business is a major source of hazardous waste, individuals are also responsible for throwing out materials that contain toxic chemicals.
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History
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The federal government formed the Environmental Protection in 1970 as a response to the realization that pollution and dumping was exacting harm on the environment and public health. Before the 1970's, dumping hazardous waste in streams and rivers was a common practice among industrial producers. There were regulatory divisions dedicated to tackling pollution but they were spread out over many departments. The EPA gives credit to 1960's environmental reformers like Rachel Carlson, author of "Silent Spring," for awakening America to the pollution epidemic and the general failure of America's pollution policy.
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Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970
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The EPA derives regulatory power over all types of waste from Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970, a message to Congress by then president Richard Nixon. Nixon wanted an agency that could regulate land, sea and air because a single pollutant can often contaminate all three. This new administration could monitor pollution levels and set proper guidelines for hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part C
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In 1976, Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to set some broad objectives for the EPA, including hazardous waste disposal. Subtitle C covers hazardous waste on the state and federal level. The dangers of hazardous waste are so great that Congress has the EPA manage hazardous waste from "the cradle to the grave," or from production to disposal. Almost all hazardous waste dumping regulations stem from RCRA Part C.
Identification
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Subtitle C specifically identifies hazardous materials and labels hazardous characteristics for any future products. A general rule of thumb for hazardous waste is anything that can harm people. This includes any combustible or ignitable product such as lighter fluid and gas, any material that can corrode steel or has a pH balance of less than 2 or greater than 12.5, and any material with dangerous reactions to water or that is generally unstable.
Warning
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Although many people associate hazardous waste with industrial or nuclear production, homes also produce hazardous waste. Fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury and are a common source of hazardous material around the home. Throwing bulbs out in a municipal dump can cause damage to people and the environment. These bulbs can break and leak mercury into the water supply or burn off into the air.
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References
- Photo Credit "Port of RWC Fire _1925" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: (nz)dave (Dave) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
