Abstract The paper examines how hazardouswaste is an acute problem throughout the world. The writer proposes that there is no single solution to this problem and that it is unlikely that our modern, industrialized society will become waste-free. This paper defines waste and hazardouswaste. It looks at how hazardouswaste is produced and how it can impact the environment as well as human health. The paper includes strategies for minimizing both the volume and impact of waste. The paper concludes that an approach that combines source reduction, reuse, recycling and burying in sanitary landfills is needed in order to properly manage both hazardous and non-hazardouswaste.
Abstract This paper describes the daily operation process of the Miami facility of Cliff Berry Inc., hazardouswaste disposal firm. The paper describes the facility, its waste disposal processes and also explains the firm's specialization in oil waste treatment and disposal. The paper also describes Cliff Berry's waste water management system and relates the challenges that they face, such as is the development of new technologies, the criticism of the hazardouswaste disposal industry, the threat of new competition and regulatory issues on federal, state and county levels.
Outline:
Introduction
The Facility and Its Operations
Customers
Challenges
Major Regulatory Issues
Plans for the Future
References
From the Paper "The primary sources of waste at the Miami plant of Cliff Berry are the ships that ply the waters around South Florida. The area is home to two major cruise ship hubs at Miami and Fort Lauderdale, as well as two major container ports, the Port of Miami and Port Everglades. Oily bilge water from these ships is processed through this plant. They also service other major area hubs such as Tampa and Cape Canaveral. They work with all the major cruise lines that operate in South Florida."
Abstract The research presented in this paper closely examines hazardouswaste, its production, transportation and storage, and any issues arising out of those processes or events that will help lend insight and understanding into this very important subject. The paper explains that hazardouswaste is any product which necessitates a special process or treatment for disposing of the waste, or, if mishandled, the waste, such as asbestos, poses a threat and health hazard to people who come in contact with it. The paper points out that there were no international rules or laws governing the transfer of hazardouswaste from one country to another, and in some instances the transfer was negotiated privately, without making the government of the receiving country aware of the transfer. The paper suggests that it is perhaps more important than ever, and a very good time to look at the issues of hazardouswaste when people are concerned about issues such as global warming and preserving the natural environment. The paper concludes that the issue of hazardouswaste is one that must be addressed, and addressed in a way that relieves third world countries and future generations of people of the burden of dealing with that problem.
Outline:
What is HazardousWaste and Who Makes It?
From the Paper "Third world countries are targeted as dumping grounds for hazardous waste because those countries are badly in need of cash. It becomes very unsettling from a safety and humanitarian perspective when one thinks of the little island of Haiti contracting to receive hazardous waste when that country is already dealing with the squalor of human waste and disease for which there are no adequate infrastructures like sewer systems, water delivery systems, housing, and other infrastructure that would facilitate the adequate and proper handling and treatment of hazardous waste."
Abstract This paper focuses on the epic topic of household hazardouswaste. A thorough description of what household hazardouswaste is and where it comes from is provided. Following this, a discussion of safe usage, storage, and disposal of these materials is presented. The paper examines what can happen to the environment when these waste products are not disposed of properly. Finally, the paper discusses why household hazardouswaste does not receive the same scrutiny by governmental agencies as commercial and industrial hazardouswaste.
From the Paper "As mentioned, household products are considered to be hazardous if they have one or more of the following properties. If they are flammable or combustible, meaning they can be easily set on fire, they are deemed hazardous. If they are explosive or reactive, in such a manner that they can detonate or explode through exposure to heat, sudden shock, pressure, or interaction with incompatible substances, they are deemed hazardous. If the product is found to be corrosive, in that it exhibits a chemical action that can burn and destroy living tissues or other materials if it comes into contact with them, it is deemed hazardous. And, if the product is toxic, where it is capable of causing injury or even death if it is ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin, it is deemed hazardous ("Household Hazardous Waste Project")."
Abstract Hazardouswaste management is one of the most problematic issues that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asked to face: Hazardouswaste is challenging to clean and dispose of and there tend to be complications resulting from the disposal of waste in the response from the public sector in terms of opposing localized disposal plans. The EPA is also challenged in terms of funding, for the cleanup and disposal of hazardouswastes is a costly process. This paper investigates how the EPA manages the funding and cleanup of hazardouswastes despite these challenges.
Abstract The paper examines the role risk perceptions play in shaping citizens' policy preferences on three issues involving types of potential harms: air pollution, crime, and hazardouswaste storage and disposal. The paper uses cases studies to illustrate that risk perceptions are relevant to the public's views on environmental issues. The analysis shows that crime, as a personal safety/social policy issue, and air pollution as an environmental regulatory issue are extremely similar in terms of determinants of policy preferences. Hazardouswaste storage and disposal is quite dissimilar. The paper concludes that that it is evident that most individuals do see the role of government as inclusive of a duty to protect the citizenry from such hazardous materials and environments.
Outline:
Introduction
Specific Case Studies Regarding Waste Management Issues
Specific Relationships between Risk Management and Policy
Risk in Individual Policy Preferences
Conclusion
From the Paper "Individuals' perceptions of risks are relevant to the policy process. The degree of risk individuals assign to activities (e.g., cigarette smoking) or technologies (e.g., genetic modification of foods) involving possible harm helps shape their attitudes toward public policy on such issues. Extensive literatures explain both the underlying causes of risk perception per se and the determinants of assigning risk to particular activities, situations, or technologies. But relatively few studies account for how those risk perceptions specifically influence preferences toward government policies designed to manage potential public health, personal safety, or ecological hazards."
Abstract Waste management and the landfill industry in general have emerged in the past few decades as an area of concern for citizens, government officials and policy makers alike. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was designed to govern the handling and disposal of "hazardouswastes" at sites that were then currently active. The RCRA affects sites where such wastes were treated, stored or disposed of since November 19, 1980. Thus, any person that generates "hazardouswaste" is governed, as are persons that treat, store or dispose of hazardouswastes. This paper discusses the changes in the waste management and landfill industry as a result of the RCRA, the reconfiguration of the solid waste industry after the EPA banned local small dumps, and includes policy analysis and recommendations for the future in this area.
From the Paper "The RCRA requires landfill owners to prove that they can afford to maintain their landfills after closure and to correct environmental problems the landfills cause. Trust funds are the most promising of the mechanisms owners may use to provide financial assurance (Lee, at 35-39). After the EPA banned small dumps, a large landfill industry arose, causing a reconfiguration of the solid waste industry. Public and private landfill owners face additional compliance deadlines under the municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill regulations issued by the EPA."
An analysis of the legal battle between General Electric (GE) and Environmental Protection Association (EPA) which has ordered them to clean up the Hudson River following their dumping of chemicals.
Abstract This paper provides a history of the problem which allowed GE to dump hazardouswaste into the Hudson River. These chemicals, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are said to cause cancer and other health problems. The writer examines the arguments of both parties and those presented in the legal battle which is still in progress.
From the Paper "Imagine, if you will, a sunny day. A boy and his father are fishing on the beautiful waters of the Hudson River. Excitedly, the boy yells, ?I got a fish! I got a fish!? He reels it in and his father removes the hook from its mouth. Dad says, ?That sure is nice one, son.? He then tosses the fish back in the water. When the boy asks why, the father explains that the fish in these waters are dangerous to eat. They contain high levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). "
Abstract This paper discusses the hazardous effects of inadequate methods of solid waste disposal on the environment. The paper emphasizes the urgency of the need to deal with this issue, and describes fecal contamination as the major culprit. The writer illustrates how the lack of modern sanitation facilities and adequate health care in certain areas, are the main cause of fecal contamination.
From the Paper "Fecal waste may contain an undetermined number of bacteria, viruses, and parasites capable of causing disease in humans and animals. Studies have focused on numbers of indicator bacteria (total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and fecal streptococci) or enteroviruses in feces and leachates, but have not estimated the total pathogen load or identified the major sources of these pathogens. This may be due to lack of detection methods for many of the pathogens in solid waste or leachate as well as potentially low numbers of viable but non-culturable organisms. Fecal waste is a breeding ground for diseases and even the smallest of contaminations can cause a great deal of problems."
Tags: bacteria, virus, parasites, garbage, recycling, health, hazard, water
Abstract The paper reveals that environmental racism underlies policies, practices and directives which discriminate against people of color in environmental issues. The paper looks at studies that show how race has remained a major determinant of socioeconomic predictors and that more than half of the populations living in proximity to hazardouswaste facilities were African-Americans, Hispanics, Blacks or Asia/Pacific Islanders. The paper discusses how environmental racism has persisted despite increased advocacy and awareness. The paper then looks at the major environmental health hazards that include lead poisoning, toxic housing, toxic schools and asthma.
New Ways of Viewing the Same Situation
Color Tips the Balance
Environmental Racism Persists Despite Increased Awareness
The Income Gap is Wider Today
The EPA Ineffective, the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement
Citizen Action and Litigation
From the Paper "Inequality among communities is a concrete reality. Economics, political influence and race are among the criteria in the distribution of amenities as well as dis-amenities (Bullard 2003). Racism is a very major consideration in the United States. Environmental racism is one of its forms and found in housing, employment, education and voting. It is an environmental policy, practice or directive, which discriminates, intentionally or not, according to race or color. It is a form of environmental injustice concretized and reinforced by government, legal, economic, political and military institutions. It blends with public policies and industrial practices, which make Whites benefit more than color people to whom the costs are passed on (Bullard)."
Abstract This paper discusses the waste management of Maltese Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. The paper discusses the history of poor waste management in the area. The paper suggests that there is a gap between the ideals of the government and its investors, particularly in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and the actual and current want of strict protocols, official guidelines and better methods of handling dangerous or hazardouswaste that comes out of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. It also suggests the need for further studies into the problem.
Table of Contents:
Discussion
Limitations And Recommendations
From the Paper "These guidelines and SOPs are limited to pharmaceutical manufacturing companies now operating in Malta at this present time and cover only the management of their hazardous waste products in each stage indicated by the guidelines and SOPs. They are also to be applied in accordance with current legislations in force in the island and from an agreement with the EU.
This study recommended that these guidelines and SOPs on pick up, packaging and loading and export be tested on other and next-largest pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Malta for a reasonable period and the findings compared with those of Actavis, Ltd. The difficulties encountered in the case of Actavis, Ltd. should be noted and used as guide in the study of other similar firms in the island."
Abstract The paper compares and contrasts the limitations of each the three ways of dealing with waste: landfill, incineration and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). In particular, the paper focuses on municipal and non-hazardouswaste. The paper critically examines each of these methods and their flaws. The paper argues that the 3Rs are the most sustainable ways of dealing with waste and that, despite the flaws, some of which can be fixed, this is the best long-term solution.
Outline:
Landfill
Incineration
The 3Rs
From the Paper "Waste disposal presents a big environmental problem that is universal to all nations of the world. Canada is no exception. "In 2000, Canadians generated 1021 kg of non-hazardous waste per capital" Statistics Canada (qtd. in McLaren, 373.) Waste is an increasing problem within our consumerist society, since not only has it brought about adverse environmental impact but it is also becoming increasingly expensive to deal with it and we are producing more despite all our efforts. In Canada for example "non-hazardous waste disposal per capita was 7 per cent higher in 2000 than in 1996" (Mclaren, 373). Gandy states that "many US cities now face a tax burden for their solid waste management which is exceeded only by education and roads" (31)."
Abstract This paper discusses the environmental impact of the aircraft manufacturing company, Boeing. Boeing's record as a major polluter in the Pacific Northwest and its hazardouswaste disposal process are discussed, as well as the importance of the company to the economy of the Northwest. The paper looks at the company's proactive stance on pollution.
Abstract This is an informational essay on the proposed toxic waste incinerator in LaFollette, Tennessee. It discusses the incinerator's potential impact on the surrounding environment and the health of the nearby community, citing the Oak Ridge and East Liverpool, OH incinerators as examples of how hazardous such a proposal is.
Abstract The paper covers the role of the government agency EPA in the Casmalia situation. The thesis states and maintains that the government is not taking proper action to maintain the safety of the people and thus, it is endangering the lives of the concerned citizen in the cover up situation that it is creating.
