The Effects of Hazardous Waste on the Environment

The Effects of Hazardous Waste on the Environment

Imagine you’ve made soup for dinner. You cut up potatoes, chicken, carrots, celery, onions and other ingredients and put them in a slow cooker. Then you walk away, leaving the pile of vegetable peelings and chicken fat on the counter.

Within a few hours, these scraps will start to rot and smell. You may have to deal with a fly infestation as pests find the spoiled food and start reproducing. Your kitchen will eventually become unusable if you allow food waste to continue accumulating.

This thought exercise is an example of the importance of waste disposal. However, kitchen scraps are different from toxic waste like chemicals. Untreated hazardous materials can leach into the soil, water and air, adversely affecting the food chain.

What Is Toxic Waste?

The term “waste” refers to any unwanted or discarded material or substance. For example, the sludge a wastewater treatment facility removes from clean water is waste. However, single-use plastic is also waste because its usual destination is the trash.

Environmental impact differentiates typical waste from hazardous or toxic waste. While hazardous waste might harm the environment, toxic waste always does. Both types require specialized treatment and storage to reduce their environmental impact.

Types of Toxic Waste

The EPA categorizes listed wastes, characteristic wastes and mixed wastes. The Code of Federal Regulations divides listed wastes into four lists — F, K, P and U. If a material is on one of these lists, it’s officially a listed waste and needs specific disposal techniques.

A few examples of listed wastes include:

  • Dioxin-bearing wastes
  • Multisource leachate
  • Pesticides manufacturing
  • Coking
  • Commercial chemical products

Characteristic wastes fall into four categories, depending on how they interact with their environment.

  • Ignitability
  • Corrosivity
  • Reactivity
  • Toxicity

Finally, mixed wastes are simultaneously hazardous and radioactive. Multiple agencies regulate mixed wastes, including the EPA, the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

How Harmful Is Toxic Waste?

How Harmful Is Toxic Waste?

Toxic waste is a form of pollution. If improperly handled, it can cause wide-ranging issues. It typically affects the environment first, then starts harming the animals and people in the surrounding area. The effects of hazardous waste on human health are severe and well-documented.

Here are a few consequences of mishandling toxic waste:

  • Contaminated soil, water and air
  • Illness, genetic abnormalities, birth defects and death for wildlife, livestock and humans

It is challenging to remove toxic waste once it enters an ecosystem. Though cleanup is possible, it’s expensive and typically an attempt to remediate damage that has already happened. Proactively preventing exposure is the best way to keep an ecosystem and everyone who lives in it healthy.

Toxic Waste Processing

Several processing and handling methods exist for toxic waste, including temporarily storing it in sealed containers, permanently moving it into landfills or sending it to incinerators.

If burning hazardous waste is too risky, it’s possible to store it in sealed landfills and other containment options like surface impoundments. These storage solutions follow specific rules and regulations to ensure toxic materials don’t leak into the surrounding soil.

What Regulations Are in Place for Toxic Waste?

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulates hazardous waste in the U.S. Under this law, the EPA is responsible for enforcing hazardous material handling, storage and disposal.

A compliance monitoring program ensures all facilities meet RCRA standards for handling hazardous waste. Under the current system, the EPA and states are part of the verification process, certifying proper handling in each jurisdiction.

Sources of Hazardous Waste in U.S. Industries

Most hazardous waste in the U.S. comes from industrial processes that mass-produce products, creating hazardous waste in proportionally large amounts. Each industrial facility is responsible for meeting legal compliance standards and safely processing hazardous waste.

While some facilities have waste processing built into their system, others outsource it to waste processing and removal specialists. Sometimes, facility managers combine these methods to effectively handle waste products.

Here are a few industries that create hazardous waste in the U.S.

  • Chemical manufacturing
  • Petroleum and coal
  • Waste treatment and disposal
  • Automotive
  • Aviation
  • Dry cleaning

Many industrial and manufacturing specialties create hazardous waste in their production process. Products that need chemical pretreatment before their sale also generate hazardous waste — for example, paints, paper and printing.

Industries like pesticide manufacturing that make toxic chemicals are another common source of hazardous waste. However, with the appropriate disposal process, companies can keep chemicals out of the environment where they might cause harm.

How to Be Environmentally Friendly as a Business

How to Be Environmentally Friendly as a Business

If your industry produces hazardous waste materials, you’re responsible for proper handling, storage and disposal. Following RCRA guidelines will ensure you’re compliant with the law and friendly to the environment.

Reducing the initial amount of waste you create is also a positive step. However, for many industries, hazardous waste is an unavoidable byproduct of their production process. Following industry best practices for disposal may be your best option for supporting environmental health.

Your facility managers must decide how to handle waste materials. If you opt to outsource hazardous waste processing, choose the most ethical company you can find. Look for affordable providers that value honesty, take the work seriously and carefully handle hazardous materials.

Choose Chem Klean Corporation for Hazardous Waste Removal

Chem Klean Corporation has served businesses across South Florida since 1999. We commit to keeping the environment healthy and your business compliant with all hazardous waste regulations, with quick turnaround times and excellent customer service.

Some of our services include:

We work with businesses in the automotive, aviation, industrial and manufacturing industries, to name a few. Our primary service locations include Broward County, Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County.

Contact us today to learn how we can support your industry with hazardous waste removal services!