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 .
Andrew Getz is a freelance journalist who has been particularly keen on writing on hazardous waste disposal and industrial cleaning services. His thought-provoking articles have been published in various magazines and websites.