Solid and Haz Waste - Saraniecki

Question 1

Define garbage

Answer 1

putrescible waste
animal and vegetable waste
mostly originates from restaurants, markets, grocery stores, home kitchens

Question 2

Define refuse

Answer 2

putrescible or nonputrescible waste
discarded or rejected
garbage, incinerator residue, recyclables

Question 3

What is municipal waste?

Answer 3

non-hazardous waste from homes, commercial establishments, institutions, light industrial
excludes: industrial, ag residues, mining residues, sewage sludge

Question 4

What is resource recovery?

Answer 4

collection and preparation of waste to be used as a raw material in the production or manufacturing of any product

Question 5

What is not considered solid waste?

Answer 5

sewage
agricultural manures
crop residues
nuclear
mining residues

Question 6

What is leachate?

Answer 6

liquid that percolates through the landfill through rain, indigenous water, bacteria
collected via pipes, geomembranes, geonets, geotextiles

Question 7

What is a geomembrane?

Answer 7

impermeable layer of clay-like soil, rock, or dirt designed as the limiting barrier for the movement of liquids and gases

Question 8

What is a geonet?

Answer 8

impermeable layer of strong synthetic material that provides a path for liquids to flow horizontally in a landfill

Question 9

What is a geotextile?

Answer 9

permeable synthetic material usually used in conjunction with stones or sand to act as a filter
strengthens structure of pile and provides drainage path

Question 10

What is an MRF?
What is achievable here?

Answer 10

Material Recovery Facility
35% recycling materials
95% energy saved from recycling aluminum cans

Question 11

What is RCRA?

Answer 11

Title 40 parts 239-282
public law that creates framework for proper management of hazardous and non hazardous solid waste
Includes: CAA, CERCLA, CWA, FIFRA, FQPA, FFDCA, NEPA, OSHA, TSCA, SARA and many more

Question 12

What are the four general programs in RCRA?

Answer 12

Solid waste - Subtitle D
Medical Waste - Subtitle J
USTs - Subtitle I
Hazardous waste - Subtitle C

Question 13

What does Subtitle D dictate?

Answer 13

industrial and municipal solid waste
basic criteria for disposal facilities
state agencies implement

Question 14

What is collection frequency for garbage?

Answer 14

residential - weekly, twice when warm, slums ghettos twice a week
one container cannot exceed 70 lbs
business - daily except sunday

Question 15

Who regulates medical waste now?

Answer 15

Clean air act
FIFRA, DOT, OSHA, NRC, US Postal

Question 16

Who enforces hazardous waste laws?

Answer 16

EPA or state haz waste agency

Question 17

What is found on Hazardous F list?

Answer 17

non-specific sources
solvents, generic waste

Question 18

What is found on Hazardous K List?

Answer 18

process waste from specified industrial processes
ex: wood preservation, inorganic pigments, explosives, pesticides

Question 19

What is found on Hazardous P list?

Answer 19

acutely hazardous
ex: unused pesticides, organic chemicals

Question 20

What is found on Hazardous U list?

Answer 20

non-acute hazardous chemicals
unused natural and synthetic organics

Question 21

What are characteristics of hazardous waste? (4)

Answer 21

TRIC
toxicity
reactivity - water/air/heat reactive
ignitability - flashpoint<140F
corrosivity pH<2, pH>12.5

Question 22

When is mixed hazardous and non hazardous waste still considered non hazardous?

Answer 22

when hazardous waste either only has ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity

Question 23

What constitutes as CESQG?

Answer 23

Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator
less than 100kg hazwaste/month
not regulated by EPA
after 55 gal waste, must be shipped in 3 days

Question 24

What constitutes as SQG?

Answer 24

small quantity generator
100-1000kg/month hazwaste
EPA regulated
onsite accumulation 270 days or less if shipped 200 miles or more
180 days or less otherwise
limit 6000 kg

Question 25

What constitutes as a LQG?

Answer 25

large quantity generator? more than 1000kg/month onsite accumulation 90 days or less

Question 26

What are hazardous waste universal wastes?

Answer 26

small dry batteries agricultural pesticides thermostats containing mercury paints, latex, oil based lamps

Question 27

What are the 4 types of universal waste handlers?

Answer 27

small quantity - less than 5000 kg large quantity - 5000 kg or more universal waste transporter universal waste destination facility

Question 28

What is a superfund?

Answer 28

regulates leachate and other releases of hazardous substances from abandoned haz waste sites operating prior to Nov 1980 also regulates businesses with 220-2000lbs/month established trust fund to provide for cleanup when no other party around administered by OSWER

Question 29

What is the valley method?

Answer 29

landfill natural depressions are filled with refuse best and most common option

Question 30

What is the area or ramp method?

Answer 30

in fairly level or rolling terrain, refuse dumped until it is leveled out or a mount is formed

Question 31

What is the trench moethod?

Answer 31

level ground trenches excavated and refuse is deposited mound at the end

Question 32

what are single liners?

Answer 32

one liner consisting of compacted soil or geomembrane

Question 33

What are composite liners?

Answer 33

subtitle d single liner of compacted soil and geomembrane in intimate contact

Question 34

What are double liners?

Answer 34

subtitle C or haz waste - required system with low permeability barrier layers with leak detection system in between upper and lower levels either compacted soil, geomembrane, or composite

Question 35

What are the stages of solid waste decomposition?

Answer 35

aerobic stage - CO2, H2O, NO2 first anaerobic stage - O2 depleted second anaerobic stage - CO2 and organic acids produced CH4 fermentation - methane producing bacteria degrades acids to methane, Co2, pH approaches neutral and COD decreases maturation - most acids used, CH4 less

Question 36

What is required for landfill coverage?

Answer 36

All solid waste covered by 6 inches daily 24 inch final cover

Question 37

How should small dead animals and septic tank waste be handles?

Answer 37

ideally incineration placed in separate area and covered immediately

Question 38

What is the life cycle of a house fly?

Answer 38

larvae can penetrate 5' uncompacted soil or through almost 6" compacted egg - 8-16 hrs larvae 3-6 days pupa 3-7 days adult 1-14 days

Question 39

What cannot be landfilled?

Answer 39

dioxin-containing wastes spent solvents

Question 40

What must a landfill have for final closure?

Answer 40

vegetative cover topsoil 6 in min infiltration cover 18 in min solid waste cover/cap slope at 4 degrees for runoff

Question 41

What is exothermic incineration? Examples? (4)

Answer 41

thermal destruction by time, temp, and turbulence mass fired combustors refuse derived fuel fired combustors modular combustion unit on-site commercial and industrial combustors

Question 42

What is endothermic pyrolysis?

Answer 42

thermal decomposition of organic material through the application of heat in the absence of oxygen hydrocarbon MSWs converted to high heat value gas this energy is used to heat water to make electricity

Question 43

What is In-Situ virtrification?

Answer 43

electric current used to melt soil or other earthen materials at 1600-2000C or 2900-3650F organic pollutants destroyed by pyrolysis inorganic pollutants products captured with water vapors final product is a chemically stable glass similar to obsidian

Question 44

What are some limitations on In-Situ vitrification?

Answer 44

cannot be used with buried pipes or drums contaminants might migrate to clean areas cannot be used near flammables difficult to control extremely expensive

Question 45

What is Ex-Situ vitrification?

Answer 45

accomplished inside a chamber used to treat radioactive wastes before storage to minimize public from radiation exposure