CN3135 Environment Notes

Lecture 1
Waste and the type of pollution in the environment:

Pollution

Things to consider:
- Amount
- Type
- Impact

Ideal Industrial Practice

- No waste at all, circular economy

Pollution Control
- End of pipe Technology
o Corrective approach
o Reactive
o Mostly for compliance’s sake – saw as additional cost to the company
o Eg. Catalytic converters in car, Electrostatic precipitator
 - Pollution Prevention (P2)
o Preventive approach
o Proactive
o May have potential benefits such as improved competitiveness, higher productivity, and
reduced cost
o Promote elimination of waste production at source

Pollution Prevention (P2) Hierarchy

Definition (US EPA): Production technologies and strategies that eliminate or reduce process waste
streams i.e. source reduction and other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of wastes.
- Includes changes in technology, materials, processes, operations, and procedures

P2 – includes product changes, process changes, changes in methods of operation

 Pollution that is not created does not have to be managed

Benefits of Pollution Prevention

- Benefits company, industry and public by protecting the environment and reducing health risks,
and provides businesses with financial and strategic benefits
o Protecting human health and environment
o Cost savings – many p2 activities make industrial processes and equipment more resource-
efficient
o Improved worker safety
o Lower liability – minimizes releases, accidents, and unsafe waste-handling practices
o Building community relations
Case Study
- 3M – first to initiate companywide p2 program, prevents pollution at source
o Save cost in relation to materials, operations, pollution or waste treatment and disposal
o Use resources and materials more efficiently
o Improves community r/s, company image and customer loyalty
o Less fines, and civil and criminal liability
P2 goals must be SMART
- Smart and Measurable
- Attainable and safe goal
- Realistic
 - Time-bound

Pollution Prevention
- Reducing or eliminating toxic materials
o Replace material
o Reformulate product
o Install new or modify equipment
P2 is NOT…
- End of pipe treatment
- Open loop (off site) recycling
- Incineration or disposal
- Burning waste for energy recovery
- Transferring waste from one medium to another
- Incorporation of waste into products or by-products

Source Reduction
1. Product Change
a. Design for less environment impact
b. Increase of product life
2. Process Change
a. Input material change
b. Technology change
c. Improved operation practices

Water Pollution
Definition:
- Alteration in the composition or condition of water directly or indirectly because of the activities of
men, so that it is less suitable for any or all the purposes for which it is suitable in its natural state
Types:
- Construction
- Mining
- Industrial waste
- Petroleum discharge
- Agricultural
- Industrial
- Leachate
- Atmospheric Fallouts – acids, particulates

Water Pollutants
1. Plant nutrients
2. Toxic organics and inorganics
3. Sediments
4. Radioactive substances
5. Heat
6. Oil
 7. Oxygen Demanding substances
8. Pathogenic Organisms

Wastewater treatment options:

1. Discharge directly to a water course (surface water)
2. Discharge directly to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW)
3. Pre-treat in wastewater treatment plant prior to discharge to a watercourse
4. Pre-treat prior to discharge to POTW

Code of Practice on Pollution Control: SS 593: 2013

ROTW – treated, within engineer control

Watercourse – surface water out in open and is not treated

Requirements for Discharge of Trade Effluent into the Public Sewers

Definition: ‘Trade Effluent’ means any liquid, including particles of matter and other substances in
suspension in the liquid, which is the overflow from any trade, business, or manufacture or of any works of
engineering or building construction.
Regulations: All trade effluent to be discharged into the public sewerage system must be done so with the
written consent of the PUB.
- Requirements are spelt out in the Sewerage and Drainage Act, Chapter 294 and (trade effluent)
regulations

Water quality standards for trade effluent discharge into public sewer
a) T < 45-degree Celsius
b) Ph 6 – 9 at point of entry
c) Max conc of substances capped  refer to table

1. Inorganic Plant nutrients (N, P)

Eutrophication: algal blooms, rapid drop in DO when algae die, fish kills, dense algal mass, secretion of oil
and toxins

Nitrite (NO2-) – Serious public health threat, decrease hemoglobin affinity to O2, deprived O2, turns blue
- Blue-baby syndrome
- Methemoglobinemia

NH3 – toxic to fishes

Phosphorus – usually limited nutrients in rivers and lakes

2. Toxic organic and inorganic

Organic and Inorganic – Heavy metals

Pesticides – variety of chemicals that kill organisms (pests)
Includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides

Insecticides:
1. Organochlorines (chlorinated HCs)
a. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
b. Malaria (mosquitoes), typhus (body lice) and plague (fleas)
- Concern with impact on food chain, rather than Human toxicity

2. Organophosphates
a. Parathion, malathion, diazinon
b. Effective against wide range of insects
- Not persistent
- More acutely toxic to humans than organochlorines
- Hazardous

3. Carbamates
- Derived from carbamic acid
- Propoxur, carbaryl and aldicarb
- Toxic to humans
- Less persistent

Water Pollution – Examples

1. Sandoz Fire
- Pesticides, solvents and dyes destroyed
 - Severe soil contamination
- Massive fish kills and acute eco damage

2. Jilin – 1
- Floodwaters washed barrels of methyl chloride into Songhua River
- Water ss cut to 4.3 mil ppl

3. Jilin – 2
- Explosion, 100 tones of benzene spill into Songhua River
- Shut down of water ss to 4 mil ppl and substantial env damage

3. Sediments
- Clay, silt, sand, gravel
- Accumulates at the bottom of streams and river
- Death of benthic biota
- Loss of habitat and DO in water

4. Radioactive substances
- Unstable isotopes that spontaneously emit radiation
o Mining and processing of radioactive minerals
o Industries using radioactive substances (nuclear plant)
5. Heat
- Thermal pollution from industrial operations
- Cooling water released to the environment at temperate > ambient
- Rates of reaction doubles every 10 degrees, so increase in biological demand for O2.
- Solubility of O2 decreases with increase in temperature
- DO decreases with
o Increase temp
o Increase dissolved solids
6. Oil
- Accidental (spillage) and non-accidental
- Negative impacts of oil spills on marine and coastal habitats, wildlife species, recreational activities,
local industry, fisheries

7. Oxygen Demanding Materials (Biochemical Oxygen Demand)

- Oxidizable organics, and reduced nitrogen
- Depletes oxygen in water

8. Pathogenic Organisms
- Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoa in water and wastewater represent potential risks to
public health
- Impact on water and wastewater treatment following disruptions
o Eg natural disasters lead to communicable diseases

Emerging Pollutants

Synthetic chemicals (xenobiotics) VS Naturally occurring compounds

- US EPA defines emerging pollutants as new chemicals without regulatory status, and which impact
on environment and human health are poorly understood
1. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)
a. Interferes with natural function of hormonal system of humans and wildlife
 b. Can mimic hormones – if bind to sites intended for hormones, might have inappropriate
response
c. Found in pesticides, additives or contaminants in food and pharmaceutical and personal
care products
d. Associated with altered reproductive functions in males and females
e. Increased incidence of breast cancer
f. Abnormal growth patterns and neurodevelopment delays of child
2. Nanoparticles (1-100nm)
a. Wide variety of application
b. Manufacture and application growing exponentially
c. Found in paints, coatings, food addictives, industrial catalysts and personal healthcare
products
d. Environmental fate and toxic impact still not well understood
3. Metals
a. Non-biodegradable
b. Essential: biological functions ( Zn, Cu)
c. Toxic: Al, Ar, Cad, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb,mercury, Ni, Zn
d. Toxicity: concentration and speciation
e. Bioaccumulation – accumulation of metal or pollutant within organism
f. Biomagnification – magnifying conc of pollutant of the food chain
g. Eg. Minamata Disease, Itai-Itai disease

Oxygen Demand of a Waste

- Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD)
o Stoichiometrically determined oxygen need to convert all carbon molecules in pollutants to
CO2 and all NH3 to NO2 and NO3
o Possible only for pure industrial wastes
- Total organic carbon (TOC)
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
o Oxygen taken up by microorganisms in nature in stabilizing biodegradable organic carbon,
and oxidizable nitrogen present in waste
- Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
o Total quantity of oxygen required for chemical oxidation to carbon dioxide and water
o Measures strength of the wastes

Oxygen requirement of a waste

BOD
- Amount of oxygen required by living organisms engaged in utilization & stabilization of organic
matter present in wastewater at constant temp
- Measures biodegradable organic carbon, & oxidizable nitrogen present in w/w

2 stage process:
Stage 1 (UTILIZATION)– Organics used by microorganisms for energy and growth, typically 18 – 36 hours
Stage 2 (STABILIZATION)– after organics are removed, cells undergo endogenous metabolism which
eventually degrades the microorganisms present, again using O2, after which only non-biodegradable
cellular residue remains, typically 20 days

BOD5 – 5-day duration has no theoretical basis

BOD = (DOi - DOf)/P

Nitrogenous BOD (NBOD)
- Non-carbonaceous matter, NH3 produced during hydrolysis of proteins
- Autotrophic bacteria use O2 to oxidize NH3
- Growth of nitrifying bacteria is very slow, normally 6 – 10 days to reach significant numbers

COD>BOD
- What you can chemically oxidize, you might not be able to biologically oxidize
Lecture 2

Before proliferation of large cities and industries nature’s own systems kept air fairly clean:
- Wind Mixes and disperses gases (Dilution)
- Rain washes dust and other easily dissolved substances to the ground (Purification in water
stream)
- Plants absorbs CO2 to replace it with O2

Definition:
 Air pollution occurs when air contains harmful amounts of gases, dust, fumes or odour.

Direct: harm health or comfort of humans and animals or cause damage to plants and materials
Indirect: climate change

Pollution impact
Local:
- Hazardous air pollutants (HAP)
Regional:
- Marine chemical/oil pollution
- Air pollution (haze/smog/acid rain)
- Disposal of hazardous/toxic wastes
Global:
- Acid deposition
- Ozone depletion
- GHG

Air pollution – emission into the air of any air impurity, can be solids, liquids or gases
Industrial processes generate particulates like
- Dust
- Fumes
- Mist
- Smoke
- Spray

2 size classes of particles

- Particles < 10 microns (PM10)
- Particles < 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5)

Sources of Emission
- Natural Origin
o Volcanoes, wildfires, ocean spray
- Human-Induced (Anthropogenic)
o Exhaust, road dust
o Livestock and agricultural activities

Types of Emission Sources

- Stationary sources
o Factories, powerplants
- Mobile sources
o Automobile
- Area Sources
o Paddy fields, farms, cities
- Fugitive Sources
o Leaks

Primary and Secondary Pollutants

- Primary pollutant released directly into air from various sources and cause harm in their emitted
state
o Combustion, Evaporation, Grinding and abrasion
- Secondary pollutants formed due to chemical transformation in the atmosphere

Criteria Pollutants
- Common and detrimental to human health and environment
- Max conc above which adverse effects on human health may occur
- Dividing the line between acceptable air quality and poor air quality

CO – blood and brain

SO2 – lungs
NOx – lungs
Lead – blood, brain and kidneys
O3 – lungs
PM – lungs

National Air Quality Standards

Primary Standards set limits to protect public health, including the health of ‘sensitive’ population such as
asthmatics, children, and elderly
Secondary Standards set limits to protect public welfare, including protection against decreased visibility
Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) or Toxic Air Pollutants (TAPs) or Air Toxics
- An air pollutant to which no ambient air quality standards is applicable and cause or contributes to
an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness
- Always found in highest conc near the source
- About 200 chemicals known or suspected of causing cancer or other serious health effects

- More localized than criteria pollutants

- 4 Categories
o Pesticides
o Metals
o Organics
o Radionuclides
- Most HAPs originate from man-made sources
- In Sg, there is Environmental Protection and Management (Air Impurities) Regulations

Air Pollutants
1. Carbon Monoxide
a. Colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-irritating poison, can cause death
b. Attaches to haemoglobin, reduces oxygen carryin)g capacity
c. Results in headaches, drowsiness and asphyxiation  no oxygen
d. Caused from incomplete combustion of organic matter
i. Automobile – 67%
ii. Stationary fuel combustion – 20%
iii. Industrial processes – 6%
4 Factors – Caused by:
- Combustion Temperature
- Contact Time for fuel and oxidant
- Oxygen Supply
- Combustion chamber Turbulence
 2. Sulfur Dioxide
a. Colorless corrosive gas, respiratory irritant poison
b. Reacts with ozone and water vapor – H2SO4
c. Forms very small aerosols – penetrates deep in respiratory system, result in serious tissue
damage
d. Major anthropogenic (human made) sources of SO2 – combustion of sulphur-containing
fuels (coal and oils), and industrial processes.
3. Nitrogen Oxides, NOx (Nitric Oxide(NO) and Nitrogen Dioxide(NO2))
a. Thermal NOx – highly reactive gases formed from [O] of N2 in air during combustion at high
temperature (1000K)
b. Fuel NOx – N compounds in fuels (~zero in natural gas, up to 3% in coal)
c. NO – colorless, no known adverse health effect at concentrations found in atmosphere
i. Readily oxidizes to NO2
d. NO2 – Criteria Pollutant
i. Orders of magnitude more toxic than NO

- NOx + water vapor  HNO3, compound acid precipitation

- Primary source of NOx – automobile engine
- High T burning of fuel in excess air minimizes formation of HCs and CO, but increases amount of
NOx
4. Lead
a. Released as metal fumes or suspended particles from fuel combustion, ore smelting and
incineration of wastes
b. Major source – ore and metals processing, waste incinerators, use of leaded gasoline
5. Particulates
a. Small solid or liquid materials dispersed in the atmosphere; dust, ash, soot, smoke, and
droplets emitted to air, or formed in atmosphere
b. 0.005 – 100 um (<2.5 um – drawn deep into lungs)
c. Particles > 10 micrometers – removal by hair in nostril
d. Unburnt fuels from stationery fuel combustion, transportation, and industrial processes
e. Reduced visibility, soiling exposed surfaces, and respiratory problems, carcinogenicity
f. Particulates from vehicles (80% < 2.5um) – problematic
g. Participate in photochemical reaction to produce smog
6. Photochemical Oxidants
a. Products of secondary atmospheric reactions driven by solar energy
b. Strong oxidants, eye irritant
c. Destroys lung tissue and chlorophyll

Air Pollution
- Smog
- Acid Deposition
- Global warming
- Ozone depletion
Smog

Sulphurous Smog  results from high concentration of sulfur oxides (SOx) in the air

Increasing Sulphur content

Natural Gas  Oil  Coal

- Eg 1952 London Smog (Great Smog)

o Reduce visibility
o Lethal to respiratory system
o Deaths from bronchitis and pneumonia
o Many burned coals during the winter to keep warm
o 4000 people died from it
Photochemical Smog  daytime phenomenon, with plenty of sunlight (high UV radiation)
- Characterized by a brown haze
- High concentration of NOx, ozone, and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
o Primarily emitted from automobiles or petroleum industries
- Interactions between NOx and HCs (ie VOC) under the influence of sunlight
o Produces mixture of photochemical oxidants (ozone, PAN, acrolein, etc)
- Automobile exhaust contains high concentration of NO
- NO reacts in air to produce NO2 (reddish brown color, reduce visibility)

- Interaction between NOx and HC in the presence of sunlight produces ozone.

- Ozone is not stable, but in the presence of VOCs, forms PAN (peroxyacetyl nitrate) and other
photochemical oxidants:

NO2 + UV radiation + VOC + O2  NO + O3 + PAN + Aldehydes

 Need 4 ingredients – sunlight, O2, NOx and Hydrocarbons

- Common in urban areas due to emissions of NOx and HC from automobiles
- NOx from incomplete combustion
- VOC from petroleum products

NO – colorless; <<0.5 ppm ambient conc

- Oxidized rapidly to NO2
- Less harmful when compared with NO2
- A precursor of photochemical smog
 - 90-95% of NOx generated in combustion processes are in the form of nitric oxide (NO)

In the atmosphere, NO  NO2

NO2 – reddish brown gas

- Levels above 0.7ppm can cause respiratory damage
- Lead to photochemical smog formation

VOC

A variety of photochemical Oxidants

- Ground Level Ozone (O3)
o Most abundant
o One of the criteria pollutants
- Others: formaldehyde (HCHO), peroxybenzoyl nitrate (PBzN), peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), acrolein
(CH2CHCOH)

Health Effects of Pollutants in Photochemical Smog:

Pollutant
Particulate Matter (PM)
- From burning of fuels
Nitrogen Oxides
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Ground-Level Ozone – pollutant
Peroxyacetyl Nitrate (PAN)
Effects
- Irritates respiratory tract and impair ability of lungs to
exchange gases
- Contributes to problems with heart and lungs
- Links to decreased resistance to infection
- Eye irritation
- Respiratory problems
- Some compounds are carcinogens
- Coughing and wheezing
- Respiratory problems (particularly for conditions such
as asthma)
- Eye irritation
- Respiratory problems

Effects on plants, materials, and the environment:

- Brown haze
- Scattering of light caused by very small liquid and solid particles
- NOx, O3 and PAN can reduce or even stop growth in plants by reducing photosynthesis
o PAN is photo-toxic
- O3 causes cracking of rubber, reduction in tensile strength of textiles, fading of dyed fibers and
cracking of paint
Acid Deposition
- Primary pollutants, esp sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxide (NOx) discharged into the
atmosphere where they react with various compounds and transfer back to earth as:
o Water droplets in rain, sleet, snow or fog
 Wet Deposition
o Attached to small airborne particles
 Dry Deposition

All rain is acidic, but not all rain is acid rain

Acid Rain
o Must be pH < 5.6 to be considered acid rain
- H2SO4 and HNO3 forms in atmosphere from SO2 and NOx, lowers pH
- Burning of high sulfur coal:
o pH 4.0 to 4.5 (as low as pH 2.1)
o airflow patterns from industrial to other regions
- Atmospheric acids – include acidic particulate matters, which may or may not be incorporated into
rain
- Natural source such as lightning and volcanoes
- Mostly anthropogenic source, such as coal burning and use of ICE

- Contribution from coal > petroleum-based fuel

- Natural gas  barely any sulfur
- Coal  1-5% sulfur
- Increasing stack heights at power plants
o Lessen impact at ground level immediate area
o Travels greater distances and impacts previously unaffected areas
- Effect on forest ecosystem – forest dying at an alarming rate
- Effect on aquatic ecosystem – acid precipitation and overland runoff into lakes cause decrease in pH
of lake water
o Impacts aquatic life – speciation of aquatic lifeforms, metals, increased bioavailability, etc

Global Warming
- Pollutants from a small area can accumulate and spread in the upper atmosphere and affect entire
earth’s weather
- Since Industrial revolution:
o Increase use of fossil fuels for energy
o Deforestation
 Less carbon sinks
o PRE IR 250 – 280ppm
o Currently: 400 – 430ppm
- Global warming result in  change in weather patterns, melting of ice caps, coastal flooding,
adverse impact on human populations and other life
- Even if emissions stops now, global warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 due to the large
heat capacity of the oceans, and long half-lives of GHG in the atmosphere

- CO2 transparent to visible light but efficient in absorbing infra-red heat radiation emitted by
Earth’s warm surface
o Traps heat in the air close to Earth’s surface, and reemit back to Earth
Major GHG

- Methane has doubled since Industrial Revolution

o Cultivation of wetland rice, increased cattle and sheep
o Use of natural gas

- CFC
o Considered inert and non-toxic
o Refrigerant, foaming agent, propellants, fire retardants
o Use has been banned in many parts of the world

Ozone Depletion
- Ozone Layer in the stratosphere – naturally occurring, keeps 95 – 99% of sun’s UV radiation from
striking Earth
- Most severe over the southern tip of South America, also in north Canada and Siberia
- Ozone hole  7.7 million sq miles

- Mainly caused by CFCs and HCFCs

How Ozone absorbs UV radiations

- As ozone absorbs uv light, it splits into an oxygen molecule and oxygen radical

O3 + UV radiation  O2 + O.

Recombination of oxygen radicals and oxygen molecules allows ozone to be reformed, available to absorb
more UV radiation:

O2 + O.  O3
- 1% loss in ozone = 2% increase in UV Radiation = 10^6 extra cancer/year

Ozone Depletion Process

CFCs released  CFCs rise into ozone layer  UV releases Cl from CFCs  Cl destroys ozone  Depleted
Ozone, more UV  More UV, more skin cancer

CFC
- Primary cause of ozone depletion in the stratosphere
- Trade name: Freon
- Cheap, easy to manufacture, unreactive, odorless, non-flammable, non-toxic and non-corrosive
- Used as cleaners, coolants, propellants, foaming agents

- At Earth’s surface, CFCs are nearly inert, but when impacted by UV radiation in the upper
atmosphere, CFCs release chlorine atoms:

- Chlorine radical is not consumed through this process and acts essentially as a catalyst
- 1 Chlorine atom can destroy more than 100,000 ozone molecules before finally being removed
from the stratosphere

- Net result of the presence of CFCs in the upper atmosphere – decrease in ozone concentration

- Other ozone depleting substances (ODS):

o Halons and Hydrobromoflurocarbons, HBFC  fire extinguishers
o Methyl Bromide  Fumigant
o Hydrogen Chloride  emitted from space shuttle to stratosphere
o Cleaning solvents  carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, n-propyl bromide,
hexachlorobutadiene

Effects of Ozone Depletion

Human Health
- Eye cataracts
- Skin cancers
- Immune system suppression
- Premature aging, severe sunburn
Aquatic life/Food & Forests
- Reduced crop yield for some crops
- Reduced seafood (reduced phytoplankton)
- Decreased forestry (for UV sensitive tree species)
- Disrupted aquatic food chain from reduced phytoplankton

Air pollution and materials

- Degredation of outdoor materials (paints, plastics)
- CFCs – greenhouse gases too

ODS

- CFCs  Refrigerators, air-con, solvents, dry-cleaning agents

- Halons & HBFC  Fire extinguishers
- Carbon tetrachloride  Fire extinguishers & solvents
- Methyl chloroform  adhesives, aerosols
- Hydrofluorocarbons  solvent cleaning, fire extinguishers, solvent cleaning

What is being done about the Ozone layer?

- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
o 197 countries
o Reached smallest extent in 2019
o Therefore, important for engineers to thoroughly study the materials they are producing or
using it to ensure that they will create no adverse environmental effects

Solid Waste

EPA Solid Waste Definition:

- Any discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-liquid, or contaminated gaseous material
resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community
activities
o Unlike water or air-dispersed waste, solid waste will not go away

Heterogenous: industrial, commercial, and institutional wastes

Waste – any unwanted material or substances that results from a human activity
Municipal Solid Waste – non-liquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses
Industrial Solid Waste – Waste from the production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture, and
petroleum extracting and refining
Hazardous Waste – solid or liquid waste that is corrosive, ignitable, reactive, or toxic

CIRT
Corrosive – substances that corrode metals in storage tanks or equipment
Ignitable – substances that easily catch fire
Reactive – substances that chemically unstable and readily react with other compounds, often explosive or
by producing noxious fumes
Toxic – substances that harm human health when they are inhaled, are ingested, or contact human skin

Impacts of Solid Wastes (incl non-Hazardous)

1. Pollution: Overloading of wastes break down the ecosystem, causing environmental pollution, a
deterioration in environmental quality
a. Toxicity – spread or contaminate when released in the air, water, or land
b. Disease – rodent and pest
i. Human, Animal, and soil pathogens
ii. Uncontrolled fermentation of organic wastes
c. Fire Potential
d. Decrease in Aesthetic quality of the Environment
2. Conservation of Resources: Raw materials are being used at a faster rate than being replaced
a. Need for reduction of waste and recovery of materials from wastes

Proper management of solid waste  public health and environment

Hazardous Waste

- Most hazardous groups of industrial chemicals: Organic compounds and heavy metals
- Synthetic Organic compounds and petroleum product
o Eg plastic containers, rubber tires, pesticides, solvents
 Many of them are Mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens and EDCs
- Heavy Metals: Lead, Chromium, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Tin and Copper
o Widely used in industry especially in electronics fabrication
o Effect of Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification
- Cause cancer, respiratory & heart diseases, etc

Landfills

1. Open Dump
a. Large field orpit where waste is deposited
 b. Rare in developed countries.

c. Love Canal
2. Sanitary landfills
a. Solid wastes spread out in thin layers, compacted, and covered daily with a fresh layer of
clay
i. Keeps materials dry, reduce leakages of contaminated water, lessens fire risk,
decrease odor, and limits accessibility from vermin
b. Designed to eliminate odor and minimize environmental problems
i. Confines waste to smallest practical area
ii. Engineered facilities for long-term containment of solid wastes
Incineration
- Not pollution prevention!!
- Waste to energy incineration: heat generated by incineration is used rather than released to the
atmosphere
o Energy recovery
o Reduce volume and hazard
o Captures or destroys potentially harmful substances with advanced air pollution control
(APC) equipment
o Provides a means to enable recovery of the energy, minerals and/or chemical content from
waste
- Ideal types of waste: mixed municipal solid waste, medical waste, demolition wood, auto shredder
residue, dried sewage sludge, and some industrial solid wastes
- Burning contributes to pollutions and GHG emissions
- Dioxins and Furans, Airborne emissios to land  food chain  cancer
- Odor
- NIMBY, Not in my Backyard

Fly Ash & Bottom Ash

- Incineration ash comprises about 15% fly ash and 85% incineration bottom ash
- Largely inert
- Both contaminated with heavy metals and dioxins/furans
- Fly ash is easily airborne  risk of exposure due to ingestion or inhalation
- When disposed in landfills, it becomes exposed to acidic conditions that enhance the ease with
which metals dissolve into leachate

Metal Composition of Fly Ash

TCLP – toxicity characteristics leaching procedure test  qualify toxicity of waste

P2 goals must be SMART

- Smart and Measurable
- Attainable and safe goal
- Realistic
- Time-bound

Ultimately, all goals must be SMART for it to be effective. SMART is the acronym for smart and measurable,
attainable and safe goal, realistic goal and a goal should always be time-bound.