Hazardous waste

Introduction
• Concern of handling industrially and MSW hazardous wastes.

• MSW may contain small amounts of hazardous wastes from households

and commercial facilities.

• What is unknown is the fate of hazardous materials found in MSW when

products such as compost are produced from MSW, when MSW is
combusted and when MSW is placed in landfills

• The long term effects, if any, on the public health and the environment
from the presence of these materials need to be investigated.
 Definition
• Waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public
health or the environment and generally exhibits one or more
of these characteristics:
– Ignitable
– Reactive
– Corrosive
– Toxic
 Properties of hazardous waste
• Properties of wastes that have been used to assess whether a
waste is hazardous are related to questions of safety and
health
 Characteristics
• Ignitability
• Create fires under certain conditions, are spontaneously
combustible, or have a flash point less than 60 °C (140 °F).
• Corrosivity
• Acids or bases (pH less than or equal to 2, or greater than or
equal to 12.5) that are capable of corroding metal containers,
such as storage tanks, drums, and barrels.

• Eg battery acid is an example.

 Reactivity
• Reactive wastes are unstable under "normal"
conditions.

• They can cause explosions, toxic fumes, gases, or vapors

when heated, compressed, or mixed with water.

• Examples include lithium-sulfur batteries and

explosives.
 Toxicity
• Contain concentrations of certain substances in excess of
regulatory thresholds which are expected to cause injury or
illness to human health or the environment.
 Health-related properties
• Carcinogenicity
• Infectivity
• Irritant (allergic response)
• Mutagenicity
• Toxicity (poisoning)
– Acute toxicity
– Chronic toxicity
• Radioactivity
 Commonly used properties
– Ignitability
– Corrosivity
– Reactivity
– Toxicity
– Carcinogenicity
 Long temp persistence
• Environmental persistence of hazardous compounds is one
critical issue in the long term management.

• Classification
– Non-persistent
– Persistent
 Non- persistent wastes

• low molecular-weight solvents,

• some biodegradable pesticides (organophosphates), most
detergents

Hazards
• Toxicity problems primarily to environment and biota point of
release.
• Toxic effects occur rapidly after exposure
 Persistent organic wastes

• Higher organic wastes

– Higher molecular-weight chlorinated and aromatic hydrocarbons,
– pesticide ( DDT, DDE, lindane);
– PCB, phthalates

• Hazards
– Immediate toxic effects (acute and sub-acute)
– Long term chronic toxicity
– widespread contamination and bioconcentration in the food chain.
 Half-life concept
• The half-life concept can be used to characterize and
compare the relative environmental persistence of various
hazardous wastes.

• Formula used:
 d[C] = - kTC
dt

Where
[C] = concentration at time t
t = time
kT = first order reaction rate constant

the integrated form of equation is

In [Co] = kTt
[C]

Where
Co = concentration at time zero
When half of the initial material has decayed away, [Co]/[C] is equal to 2; the corresponding time is given by the
following expression
t1/2 = In2 = 0.69
kT kT
 Example
Evaluation of contaminate persistence.
Determine the time required for the concentration of toluene and Dieldrin spilled in a
shallow leachate treatment pond to be reduced to half their initial values. Assume the
first-order removal constants for toluene and Dieldrin are 0.0665/hr and 2.665x 10 -5/hr,
respectively.

• Solution
Use the above equation to determine the time required for the concentrations in the
treatment pond to reach one-half their original values
Toluene
t1/2 = 0.69
kT

• t1/2 = 0.69 = 10.4hr

• 0.0665/hr
Toluene
t1/2 = 0.69
kT

t1/2 = 0.69
2.665 x 10-5/hr

25.891hr
 NOTE
• The time required for the concentration of Dieldrin to reach
one half of the initial value can be used as an argument for
the development and use of agricultural chemicals that are
more readily broken down in the environment.
 Health care waste
• By-product of health care that includes:
– Sharps/non sharps,
– blood,
– body parts,
– chemicals,
– pharmaceuticals,
– medical devices
– radioactive materials.
 health-care waste mgt

• segregation of waste according to colour of the storage

container.

• Done within health care facility.

• Options and colour coding by type of storage container to be

used for different waste category are adopted according to
the national and local guidelines

• Source: Mundia, A. Y. and Mbewe, A. R. (2003). Study on National Health-care waste

management plan
Colour coding and type of containers for disposal of health-care
waste

• Colour coding - Yellow bag (anatomical waste)

• Type of storage container and category of waste-Plastic bag: Human

anatomical waste (human tissues, organs, body parts) and animal waste
(animal tissues, organs, body parts carcasses, bleeding parts, fluid, blood
and experimental animals used in research, waste generated by
veterinary institutions, discharge from hospitals, animal houses).

• Treatment options for health-care waste - Incineration or deep burial

Colour coding and type of containers for disposal of health-care
waste

• Colour coding- Red bag (infectious plastics)

• Type of storage container and category of waste- Disinfected container or plastic

bag: Microbiology and biotechnology waste, soiled waste (items contaminated
with blood, and body fluids including cotton, dressings, soiled plaster casts, lines,
beddings, other material contaminated with blood), solid waste (wastes generated
from disposable items other than the waste sharps such as tubing, catheters,
intravenous sets, etc.) and waste sharps (needles, syringes, scalpels, blades, glass,
etc. that may cause puncture and cuts. This includes both used and unused
sharps).

• Treatment option: Autoclave, microwave or chemical disinfection (Transfers

hazardous, contaminated waste into a normal non-risk domestic ... Due to the
unique design and special construction of the autoclave), encapsulation
 Black bag
• Colour coding - Black plastics

• Type of container storage and category: Plastic bag:

Discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs (wastes comprising
of outdated, contaminated and discarded medicines),
incineration ash (ash from incineration of any bio-medical
waste) and chemical waste (chemicals used in production of
biological, chemicals used in disinfection, as insecticides, etc.

• Treatment option: Secured landfill, encapsulated,

incineration at >1200oC
» Thank you
 Solid waste generation and collection

• Importance of waste quantities

• Measures used to quantify wastes quantities
• Waste generation rates
• Types and materials discovered from MSW
 Importance of waste quantities

• To determine
– Selecting specific equipment
– Designing wastes collection routes
– Material recovery
– Disposal facilities
 Measures used to quantify wastes quantities

• SW quantities are expressed in terms of kg/cap.day

• Care must exercised because in most cases the data reported
may reflect amount of waste collected.

• Consideration
• Waste recycled (directed/indirectly)
• Composted
• Re-used
• Burned in fire places
• Methods used estimates Waste
– load count analysis
– Weight-volume analysis
– Material balance analysis
– Waste characterization
 Waste characterization
• Goal
• Identify the source
• characteristics
• Quantities of wastes
 Typical steps of waste
characterization
Develop sampling methodology
• Sample identification and characteristics including
Source, size of sample (kg waste separated)
• Number of samples required for statistical significant
• Duration of sampling period
• Time of the year
• The End
 Safety properties
• ignitable (i.e.flammable) Flammability, Easily burn or ignite, causing fire or
combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause combustion. Easily ignite or capable of burning
rapidly.

• reactive
• Corrosive ( In other words, corrosion is the wearing away of metals due to a chemical reaction, Corrossive
chemicals substances that cause visible destruction or permanent changes in skin tissues at site of contact of highly
corrosive

• Toxic