Every type of industry generates certain amount of hazardous
waste. Hazardous waste is dangerous and can potentially be fatal for the
environment and people at large. In an attempt to
make it less deadly several
industries are turning to hazardous waste disposal company to have their
hazardous waste managed from “the cradle to the grave”. Hazardous waste is
first treated, then stored and finally disposed off.
Treatment Process
Hazardous waste must be treated properly before it can be
disposed off. The treatment is essential to change the chemical, physical, and
biological character of the waste in order to make it less fatal for the
environment. Proper treatment further helps in recovering energy or any useful
material resources from the waste, neutralizing it, and making the waste safer
enough to transport, store, and dispose off.
There are various hazardous waste disposal company which
treats hazardous waste such as chemical oxidation, vitrification, incineration,
biological treatment and many more with the help of latest technologies. The
most common method is incineration.
Storage
Hazardous waste is stored temporarily prior to treatment or
disposal. Hazardous waste is not an ordinary waste. It must be stored in
containers, waste piles, tanks, containment buildings, or drip pads that comply
with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations. RCRA is a
federal law of the United States whose aim is to protect the public from harm
caused by the waste disposal.
Tanks
Tanks are made up of materials such as plastic, steel,
concrete or fiberglass. Tanks can be open or covered to store and treat the
hazardous waste.
Containers
Hazardous waste is stored, transported, treated, and finally
disposed off in hazardous waste containers such as tanker trucks, 55-gallon
drums, railroad cars, bags, test tubes, and buckets.
Waste Piles
A waste pile is an open pile used for storing waste.
Hazardous waste pile is placed on top of a double liner system to make sure
leachate from the waste does not contaminate surface or ground water supplies.
Drip Pads
It’s a wood drying structure made up of non-earthen
materials. Generally pressure-treated wood industries use it to collect excess
wood preservative drippage.
Containment Buildings
Containment buildings are self-supported structures with
four walls, floor and a roof. They are fully enclosed to store and treat
hazardous waste.
Surface Impoundments
A surface impoundment is a man-made excavation such as a
storage pit, holding pond, or a settling lagoon.
Disposal of hazardous waste
After the treatment and storage; hazardous waste is finally
disposed off. Disposal facilities are designed in a way so as to prevent the
release of harmful chemicals into the environment. The most common way of
disposing hazardous waste is by placing it in a land disposal unit such as a
landfill, waste pile, surface impoundment, or a land treatment unit.
For liquid hazardous waste underground injection wells are
preferred. Injection wells are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
SDWA is the main federal law that ensures the quality of America’s drinking
water.
Hazardous waste should not be taken for granted at any
stage. If not disposed off properly; it can cause deadly diseases and even
death. Hence its important that industries use the services of professionals
who are trained and efficient in providing environmental hazardous waste
services .
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