65: Hazardous Waste

Question 1

According to the EPA what is Love Canal?

Answer 1

one of the most appalling environmental tragedies in American history

Question 2

What happened with Love Canal?

Answer 2

1942-1953: Hooker Chemical Company disposed of 22,000 tons of toxic chemicals in a 3000 ft ditch called Love Canal NY
- when filled, the company covered it with topsoil and gave it to the city, who built houses and school

Question 3

What occurred in 1978 with Love Canal?

Answer 3

the toxic chemicals percolated upward through soil and caused rotting drum containers, leaching their contents into backyards and basements of 100 homes and a public school built on the banks of the canal

Question 4

What was the result of what happened in 1978 with love canal?

Answer 4

elevated numbers of miscarriages, birth defects, burns, cancer, and psychological disorders

Question 5

What did the President Jimmy Carter do in 1978 with Love Canal?

Answer 5

declared this a state of emergency and made the federal government relocate 239 families, passed the Superfund law in 1980

Question 6

What is hazardous waste?

Answer 6

waste if improperly managed, poses a serious threat to human health and the environment

Question 7

What are examples of hazardous waste?

Answer 7

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl)
Lithium batteries
Radioactive waste
Mercury
Paints and solvents
Motor oil
Drain cleaners
Fireworks
Weed killers
Old TVs
Lead

Question 8

What are the types of hazardous waste?

Answer 8

1. ignitable
2. reactive
3. corrosive
4. toxic

Question 9

What is ignitable waste?

Answer 9

likely to catch fire (like gasoline)

Question 10

What is reactive waste?

Answer 10

chemically unstable, able to react with other compounds, and explode (like ammonia and bleach)

Question 11

What is corrosive waste?

Answer 11

able to corrode metals in storage tanks or equipment (like battery acid)

Question 12

What is toxic waste?

Answer 12

harmful to human health when inhaled, ingested, or touched (pesticides and heavy metals)

Question 13

What are dioxins?

Answer 13

75 chemical compounds that are Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), they can’t be biodegraded (decomposed)

Question 14

How are dioxins produced?

Answer 14

produced during combustion of chlorine compounds
- mostly coming from municipal and medical waste but also from natural sources (can be produced during incineration)

Question 15

Where do dioxins settle?

Answer 15

on plants, soil and water, and gets into food web (stored in fatty tissue)

Question 16

What can dioxins cause?

Answer 16

reproductive and developmental problems, interfere with hormones and cause cancer

Question 17

What is electronic waste (e-waste)?

Answer 17

contains toxic materials like cadmium, mercury, and lead

Question 18

How can we minimize problems with e-waste?

Answer 18

recycling it minimizes 2 problems: mining for these materials and disposing of them

Question 19

What has occurred to the amount of e-waste?

Answer 19

has been increasing (buying new electronics faster)
- need to take electronics to a recycling facility rather than dumping them

Question 20

How is hazardous waste disposed?

Answer 20

1. surface impoundments
2. deep-well injections

Question 21

What is a surface impoundment?

Answer 21

very similar to landfills, it is a depression with clay/plastic at the bottom
- used to dispose hazardous waste

Question 22

What is a deep-well injection?

Answer 22

used to dispose of hazardous liquids
- a hole is drilled below the underground water table, and the waste is injected there
- will not affect the water, the area has to absorb the waste and is stable (waste stays there)