ENV20

Introduction to Environmental
Engineering
JANg

Characterization of Industrial Wastes

wastes
that
requires
special
precautions
in
its
storage,
collection, transportation, treatment
or disposal to prevent damage to
persons or property, and includes
explosive,
flammable,
volatile,
radioactive, toxic and pathological
wastes (EPA, 1975)
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a solid waste or a combination of solid

wastes w/c because of the quantity,
concentration, or physical, chemical, or
infectious characteristics may
Cause or significantly contribute to an
increase in mortality or an increase in
serious irreversible or incapacitating
reversible illness
Pose a substantial present or potential
hazard
to
human
health
or
the
environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported or disposed of or
otherwise managed
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if they cause or significantly contribute

to an increase in mortality or an
increase
in serious irreversible, or
incapacitating reversible illness
pose a substantial potential hazard to
human health or the environment when
improperly treated, stored, transported,
disposed of, or otherwise managed

Toxicity
poisonous

(acute)
and
have
carcinogenic, teratogenic, or mutagenic
effect on human and other organisms

Ignitibility
can ignite under certain conditions, e.g.

friction
sensitive
substances
like
solvents, ignition triggered by static
electricity
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Acute Toxicity
the effects of one massive dose of the

toxic substance

Chronic Toxicity
effects of exposure to small doses over

longer periods

The latter may be lethal although a

single massive dose is not

Corrosivity
capable of corroding metals by chemical

reaction, can cause severe damage to

expose tissue

Reactivity
unstable

under normal conditions and

readily
undergo
violent
chemical
reactions, reacts violently with water and
create spontaneous explosive mixtures
like toxic gases, vapors and fumes and are
capable of detonating
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Spent

halogenated
solvents
used
for
degreasing i.e. trichloroethylene, methylene
chloride
Spent non-halogenated solvents i.e. xylene,
acetone, ethyl benzene, ethyl ether
Wastewater
treatment
sludges
from
electroplating operations
Dewatered air pollution control scrubber
sludges from coke ovens and blast furnaces
Sludge generated during the production of
various chromium compounds
API separator sludges from petroleum refineries
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Domestic sewage & irrigation return flows

Mine tailings
Animal manures
Mining overburden
Fly ash & bottom ash
Drilling fluids
Wastes from crude oil
Natural gas
Geothermal energy development
Nuclear & radioactive wastes (controlled

separately under another act)

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Garbage
From
Domestic
Premises
and
Households
Industrial and Commercial Solid Wastes Which Do
Not Contain Prescribed (specified with authority)
Hazardous Wastes
Materials From Building Demolition Except
Asbestos
Septic Tank Effluent and Associated Sullage
Untreated Spoils From Mining, Quarrying and
Excavation Works But Not Materials in the Nature
of Tailings, Commercially Treated Materials and
Mine Facility Consumables

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Plating Wastes
Acid Wastes
Alkali Wastes
Inorganic
Chemical Wastes
Reactive
Chemical Wastes
Paints
/Latices/Inks/Dye
s

Organic Solvents
Textile
Putrescible/Organic
Wastes
Containers
Immobilized Wastes
Organic Chemicals
Miscellaneous
Wastes
Oil

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Refinery & Fuel Fabrication Wastes

*No significant wastes since uranium is recycled

Spent Fuel
*when spent-fuel is discharge from light-weight
reactors, it consists of enriched uranium,
plutonium & fission products (can be
recycled but more expensive relative to the
price of virgin ore)
*thorough R & D program is underway to outline
a process for the safe disposal of
unprocessed fuel bundles
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Spent
fuel
assemblies
taken from the reactor core
are highly radioactive and
give off a lot of heat. They
are therefore stored in
special ponds which are
usually located at the
reactor site, to allow both
their heat and radioactivity
to decrease. The water in
the ponds serves the dual
purpose of acting as a
barrier against radiation
and dispersing the heat
from the spent fuel.

From low level wastes

-

generated from uranium mining &

uranium operations w/c release
small amounts of Thorium-230,
Radium-226, Radon-222 & lead210, as well as non-radioactive
ionic species to the environment
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From low level wastes

damage occurs over a long period
of time
- example:
-

- Ra-226 ingestion results in blood

& bone disorders
- Ra- 222 cause cancer to Uranium
miners
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-pose several problems since they contain

mineral,
chemical
&
radioactive
contaminants
-returning the tailings to the mine where it was
extracted would interfere w/ the mining of
further ore (volume of tailings is usually 3040% > that of the parent rock due to the
comminution process
-most uranium mining companies plan their
operations so as to dispose of tailings in
carefully engineered surface facilities
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-toxic metal contaminants such as As, Cd, Hg,

Mo, Va & Zn are found along w/ Fe
-inorganic contaminants are also present
including ammonium, chloride, and sulfate
ions in such concentrations as to present a
threat to the nearby environment
-Radioactive contamination from U-238 & its
daughters
-Of environmental concerns are isotopes such
as thorium-230, radium-226 and radon-222
with their radioactive daughters
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-Radium-226
is
a
low-level
radioactive hazard has a
shorter half-life (1600 yrs)
-Radium-226 tailings are deposited
mainly on the surface of smaller
particles thus are subject to slow
dissolution & transport by waters
percolating through the deposits
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-since Ra is chemically similar to Ca

it may be transferred in humans
into the bone structure
-Long term exposure to amounts as
small as 1 g in the body can
lead to serious bone damage

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-Radium-226 & Radon-222 are quickly

diluted by the surrounding air mass
so that distances beyond about 1
km from the tailings deposits have
radiation levels that are not
normally neglected
-e.g. hazard to building occupants
- 10,000 lung cancer fatalities/yr in
U.S. (Cohen,1980)
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Cultures & stocks of infectious

agents
Human pathological wastes
Human blood & blood products
Sharp implements (used & unused)
Contaminated animal wastes
Isolation waste from patients w/
highly communicable diseases
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On-site incineration where ash

disposal is to a sanitary landfill
- Sterilization
- W/lacking
incineration
&
sterilization,
wastes
are
segregated & packaged in special
colored-coded & labeled containers
for transportation & treatment
elsewhere prior to landfilling
-

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TV sets, heat pacers, earth

satellites, aerosol cans, pesticides,
spectrum of plastic materials
- degreasing
compounds,
wood
preservatives, pesticides, heavy
metals & other liquid contaminants
- Cannot
be
handled
by
the
conventional
processes
of
treatment
- Must be recycled & reclaimed
-

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Groundwater contamination
Hazardous to marine flora & fauna
Serious impacts to the ecosystem

Organic Chemicals
Bioaccumulative, POPs & fat soluble
PCBs and some pesticides have
carcinogenic & mutagenic effects
- Source: incineration of fossil fuels,
organic materials, and MSWs
-

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Inorganic Pollutants
Hg, Pb, Cd, As even in ppb are biological poisons
Accumulate in organic matter in soil & sediments
& taken up by growing plants
Can build up in human organs & tissues to toxic
levels
Low pH can increase the transportability of these
contaminants making them more soluble
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