How Is Hazardous Waste Formed?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. A hazardous waste can be a solid, a semi-solid, a liquid or a gas. Enormous amount of hazardous waste is generated as a result of industrial applications, manufacturing processes in industries and nuclear power generation.
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Industrial Cleaning
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In many industries, hazardous waste is generated by the cleaning processes used on industrial machinery and mechanical parts. One example in this regard is electronic equipment manufacturers, who utilize industrial solvents to clean circuit boards and machinery used in their units. Trichloroethylene, or TCE, is an example of a widely used industrial solvent. Some manufacturers dispose of spent TCE by pouring it into unlined ditches. As a result, it seeps through the earth and leads to extensive contamination of water supplies.
Dry Cleaning
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Perchloroethylene (perc) is the main chemical utilized in dry cleaning stores. Traditionally, dry cleaners clean clothes by soaking them in a bath of the solvent perc. Several dry cleaning operating units dispose perc by simply draining it into the ground. This eventually seeps through the earth and contaminates the drinking water.
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Manufacturing
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Diverse industries for manufacturing different kinds of products utilize heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, copper and nickel. The paint manufacturing industry uses heavy metals such as lead and cadmium to give the color of paint a hard, bright quality. The plastic manufacturing industry employs heavy metals to make the plastics more durable. Heavy metals also play a significant role in manufacturing electronic products, circuit boards and batteries. The waste generated from these industries should be handled with extreme caution, as they contain heavy metals.
Another all-too-common example is mining companies, which frequently leave sandy deposits of heavy metals piled on the ground and are later spread into the environment by wind.
Other Industrial Applications
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Paper mills utilize chlorine to bleach paper and release dioxin in the process. These long-lasting, toxic compounds are formed as useless byproducts that can be carcinogenic and pose other health hazards. PCB, or polychlorinated biphenyl, is a class of oily, human-made chemicals which were used in many industrial and commercial applications. Although banned in 1979, they are still found in industrial waste. Disposal of older machinery or equipment means the disposal of PCB inside.
Nuclear Power Generation
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Nuclear power plants generate substantial amounts of radioactive waste during production of electricity. According to Keith McGowan in "Hazardous Waste," nuclear power plants produce approximately 1,900 tons of new radioactive spent fuel annually. Low-level radioactive waste includes metal objects, clothing and other materials which have been contaminated as a result of exposure to radioactive substances. These emit small amounts of radiation. These power plants also generate large amounts of used radioactive fuel, called "spent fuel." The biggest challenge of the nuclear power industry is the disposal of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
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- Photo Credit nuclear power station image by david hughes from Fotolia.com
