Industrial waste

Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, industries, mills, and mining operations. It has existed since the start of the Industrial Revolution.[1] Some examples of industrial wastes are chemical solvents, pigments, sludge, metals, ash, paints, sandpaper, paper products, industrial by-products, metals, and radioactive wastes.

Toxic waste, chemical waste, industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste are designations of industrial wastes. Sewage treatment plants can treat some industrial wastes, i.e. those consisting of conventional pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Industrial wastes containing toxic pollutants require specialized treatment systems. (See Industrial wastewater treatment).[2]

Environmental Impact

Production sites are commonly located near bodies of water due to industrial dependence on large amounts of water as an input. Many areas that are becoming industrialized do not yet have the resources or technology to dispose of waste with lesser effects on the environment. Both untreated and partially treated wastewater are commonly fed back into a near lying body of water. Metals, chemicals and sewage released into bodies of water directly affect marine ecosystems and the health of those who depend on the waters as food or drinking water sources. Toxins from the wastewater can kill off marine life or cause varying degrees of illness to those who consume these marine animals, depending on the contaminant. Metals and chemicals released into bodies of water affect the marine ecosystems. [3] Wastewater containing nitrates and phosphates often causes Eutrophication which can kill off existing life in the water. A Thailand study focusing on water pollution origins found that the highest concentrations of water contamination in the U-tapao river had a direct correlation to industrial wastewater. [4]

Management

In Thailand

In Thailand the roles in Municipal solid waste (MSW) management and industrial waste management are organized by the Royal Thai Government, which is then divided into central government, regional government, and local government. Each government is responsible for different tasks. The central government is responsible for stimulating regulation, policies, and standards. The regional governments are responsible for coordinating the central and local governments. The local governments are responsible for waste management in their governed area.[5] However, the local governments do not dispose of the waste by themselves but instead hire private companies that have been granted the right from the Pollution Control Department (PCD) in Thailand.[6] The main companies are Bangpoo Industrial Waste Management Center,[7] General Environmental Conservation Public Company Limited (GENCO),[8] SGS Thailand,[9] Waste Management Siam LTD (WMS),[10] and Better World Green Public Company Limited (BWG).[11] These companies are responsible for the waste they have received from their customers before releasing it to the environment, burying it.

In the United States

The 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) provides for federal regulation of waste while allowing for individual state control through EPA approved waste disposal programs.

State compliance is monitored by EPA inspections. In the case that waste management guideline standards are not met, action against the site will be taken. Compliance errors may be corrected by enforced cleanup directly by the site responsible for the waste or by a third party hired by that site.[12] Prior to this act, open dumping or releasing wastewater into nearby bodies of water were common waste disposal methods. [13] The negative externalities on human health and environmental health led to the need for such a regulations. The RCRA framework provides specified subsections defining nonhazardous and hazardous waste materials and how each should be properly managed and disposed of. Guidelines for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste includes the banning of open dumping. Hazardous waste is monitored in a cradle to grave fashion.The EPA now manages 2.96 million tons of solid, hazardous and industrial waste. Since establishment, the RCRA has undergone reforms as inefficiencies arise and as waste management evolves. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Maczulak, Anne Elizabeth (2010). Pollution: Treating Environmental Toxins. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 9781438126333.
  2. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (2011). "Introduction to the National Pretreatment Program" Document no. EPA-833-B-11-001. pp. 1-1, 1-2.
  3. ↑ U.S. Congress, Office of Technology’ Assessment (1987). Wastes in Marine Environments. Washington, DC: Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 22.
  4. ↑ Gyawali at al. (2012). "Effects of Industrial Waste Disposal on the Surface Water Quality of U-tapao River, Thailand" (PDF). 2012 International Conference on Environment Science and Engieering. 32: 5.
  5. ↑ Jiaranaikhajorn, Taweechai. "Waste and Hazardous Substances Management Bureau" (PDF). Pollution Control Department (PCD), THAILAND. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Pollution Control Department (PCD) Statement, THAILAND". Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Archived from the original on 2014-11-11.
  7. ↑ Visvanathan, C. "Hazardous and Industrial Solid Waste Management in Thailand - an Overview" (PDF). www.faculty.ait.ac.th/visu/. Asian Institute of Technology Thailand. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Genco Background". General Environment Conservation Public Company Limited (GENCO). Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "About SGS". SGS (Thailand) Limited. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "About Waste Management Siam LTD. (WMS)". Waste Management Siam LTD. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "About BGW". http://www.betterworldgreen.com/. Better World Green Public Company Limited (BWG). External link in |website= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  12. 1 2 EPA,OSWER,ORCR, US. "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Overview | US EPA". US EPA. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  13. ↑ Brown et. al (June 1977). "Reassessing the History of U.S. Hazardous Waste Disposal Policy - Problem Definition, Expert Knowledge and Agenda-Setting". Risk: Health, Safety and Environment (1990-2002). 8: 26. line feed character in |title= at position 48 (help)
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