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Management of Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Published in Kenneth L. Miller, Handbook of Management of Radiation Protection Programs, 2020
Incineration can provide volume reduction by a factor of 100. The first commercial low-level radioactive waste incinerator in the U.S. has been in operation since November of 1989. The $7.5 million facility can handle up to 1600 pounds of dry, solid waste per hour.17,18
Outdoor Emissions
Published in William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel, Reversibility of Chronic Disease and Hypersensitivity, Volume 4, 2017
William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel
Industrial pollution and waste contribute to climate change as well. The anaerobic decomposition of waste in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and the number one cause of chemical sensitivity and waste incineration releases carbon dioxide. The transportation of waste to recycling, treatment, and disposal sites produces transportation-related carbon emissions. Finally, the materials disposed of as waste must be replaced by more raw materials, which imply further consumption of fossil fuels and additional carbon releases.
Quantitative Cancer Risk Assessment
Published in Peter G. Shields, Cancer Risk Assessment, 2005
The exposure assessment process varies in complexity depending upon the conditions under which individuals may contact the agent. For example, dermal exposure usually results in a lower dose to the target organ than an oral dose, and in the dermal exposure scenario, the chemical may be bound to a matrix such as soil, which would be expected to decrease dermal absorption. In other cases, the exposure estimate includes the use of sophisticated mathematical models, and the exposures related to all significant potential pathways are estimated (14). An example of a complicated site-specific exposure assessment is that of a hazardous waste incinerator where air levels are models based upon meteorological data, and deposition of particulates on edible plants and water are estimated. These data are then used to calculate the amount inhaled or ingested from consumption of plants and animals including fish. Route- and chemical-specific absorption factors are then used to translate exposure to doses, which are summed for all exposure pathways. Current EPA risk assessment guidelines promote estimating “high end” and “central tendency” exposures (14). High end exposure scenarios are supposed to result in reasonable but highly conservative estimates of risk that generally represent the degree of exposure to only the most exposed members of the population (2–10%). Central tendency exposure scenarios reflect the degree of exposure of typical or average individuals. Unfortunately, the exposure assessment may also include highly implausible estimates that would include few, if any, of the people with potential exposures.
Levels of PCDDs/PCDFs in waste incineration ash of some Jordanian hospitals using GC/MS
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Sharif Arar, Mahmoud A. Alawi, Nisreen E. Al-Mikhi
Waste incineration is one of the main waste disposal strategies used in treating hospital waste in many countries. However, emission of combustion by-products like dioxins, furans, and heavy metals in fly- and bottom ash is inevitable and poses a serious environmental and public health concerns, where these accumulative pollutants can be transported and leached from landfills and dumping sites (Petrilik and Ryder 2005). The environmental impact of medical waste incinerators has become the subject of public concern. The main theme of incinerators is to develop a sustainable waste management by reducing volume and weight of non-avoidable and non-recyclable medical waste to be disposed, and to decrease its post depositional reactivity due to its inorganic and organic matter constituents (Mininni et al.2007). In this process, unintentional release of the toxic polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs occurs, which have hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic properties (Van den Berg et al.2006). These PCDDs/PCDFs are deposited in the incinerator bottom ash which is a form of ash produced in incineration facilities. This material is discharged from the moving grate of municipal solid waste incinerators or fly ash at the top end of stack of the incinerators that was removed by special types of filters.
Medical waste management – how industry can help us to protect environment and money?
Published in Renal Failure, 2020
Paweł Żebrowski, Jacek Zawierucha, Tomasz Prystacki, Wojciech Marcinkowski, Jolanta Małyszko
Medical waste management has become a serious problem. During every hemodialysis session more than 1 kg of medical waste are produced. Part of them are recognized as the infectious waste (waste contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids), according to the World Health Organization [1]. Dialyzers, bloodlines, needles are the most important hazardous waste. They should be properly stored and destroyed. On the basis on projection made by Liyanage et al. [2] in 2010 more than 2.61 million patients were treated with dialysis (both, peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis) and will double in 2030. The majority of the patients are treated with hemodialysis mode [3]. It shows that about 2.7 million patients get the 156 hemodialyses annually. During 420 millions HD sessions worldwide yearly more than 420 million kg of medical waste are produced. Waste incineration of such big mass has a significant impact on the environment as well as the cost of the treatment. The cost of destroying medical waste is growing almost every day – due to the more restrictive requirements for Waste Disposal Services, costs of energy used for incineration, etc. In the European countries the cost of utilization of 1 kg of medical waste is about 3 Euro [4]. In this study, we assessed the weight of different dialyzers available on the Polish market. The dialyzer weight is the heaviest part of dialysis set influencing significantly the cost of utilization of hazardous medical waste.
A systematic review on biomonitoring of individuals living near or working at solid waste incinerator plants
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2019
Laura Campo, Petra Bechtold, Lucia Borsari, Silvia Fustinoni
Waste incineration is a thermal process leading to the combustion of organic substances contained in waste material. Solid waste incinerators (SWIs) can treat both municipal (MSWI) and industrial/hospital hazardous waste (HSWI). Waste materials feeding the plant may be thus crude urban waste, residual from differentiated waste collection and treated or untreated waste from industrial processes or hospitals. As a consequence of the combustion process, emissions are spread into the environment containing both inorganic and organic substances, among which carbon oxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur and nitrogen oxides (SOX, NOX), soot, metal elements, and their oxides and salts, volatile organic compounds (VOC), dioxins [polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDFs), together PCDD/Fs)], polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), particulate matter (PM) and ultrafine particles (World Health Organization 2007). These substances may be emitted as vapors (i.e. Hg, VOC, 2-, and 3-ring-PAHs) or adsorbed onto particulate matters; as such, they can be present as airborne pollutants and enter the human body through inhalation, or they can deposit on the ground. Ground contaminants can be directly ingested with contaminated food, that is vegetables or animals grown in the deposition area of the incineration plume, or with contaminated water, after dissolution by atmospheric precipitations and leaching into the groundwater.