Chemical waste

Chemical waste

Chemical waste is a waste that is made from harmful chemicals (mostly produced by large factories). Chemical waste may fall under regulations such as COSHH in the United Kingdom, or the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in the United States. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as state and local regulations also regulate chemical use and disposal.[1] Chemical waste may or may not be classed as hazardous waste.

Contents

Laboratory

In the laboratory, chemical wastes are usually segregated on-site into appropriate waste carboys, and disposed by a specialist contractor in order to meet safety, health, and legislative requirements.

Waste organic solvents are separated into chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvent waste. Chlorinated solvent waste is usually incinerated at high temperature to minimize the formation of dioxins.[citation needed] Non-chlorinated solvent waste can be burned for energy recovery. Innocuous aqueous waste (such as solutions of sodium chloride) may be poured down the sink; aqueous waste containing toxic compounds are collected separately.

Waste elemental mercury, spent acids and bases may be collected separately for recycling.

Broken glassware are usually collected in plastic-lined cardboard boxes for landfilling. Due to contamination, they are usually not suitable for recycling. Similarly, used hypodermic needles are collected as sharps and are incinerated as medical waste.

Mapping of chemical waste in the United States

TOXMAP is a Geographic Information System (GIS) from the Division of Specialized Information Services[2] of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) that uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Basic Research Programs. TOXMAP is a resource funded by the US Federal Government. TOXMAP's chemical and environmental health information is taken from NLM's Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET)[3] and PubMed, and from other authoritative sources.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hallam, Bill (April/May 2010). "Techniques for Efficient Hazardous Chemicals Handling and Disposal". Pollution Equipment News. p. 13.. http://www.pollutionequipment-digital.com/pollutionequipment/20100405/?pg=17#pg13. 
  2. ^ "SIS Specialized Information System". United States National Library of Medicine. http://sis.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 11 August 2010. 
  3. ^ "Toxnet". United States National Library of Medicine. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 11 August 2010. 

Further reading

External links