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PubMed2001

Technologies to address air quality issues impacting animal agriculture.

The continued productivity, profitability and sustainability of animal production agriculture in most parts of the world will be dependent upon implementation of effective technologies and management practices to mitigate perceived and documented environmental impacts resulting from confined animal operation emissions. North Carolina State University Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center (APWMC) program efforts to identify such technologies through support of research, development and demonstration projects involve collaborative efforts with approximately 20 other universities (nationally and internationally). Many of these projects are well beyond the laboratory developmental stage and some are yielding encouraging results. Performance data, to date, has shown that swine manure treatment systems including a covered in-ground anaerobic digester, a sequencing batch reactor, and an upflow biological aerated filter system significantly improved odor emission variables.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

Identifying the sources of subsurface contamination at the Hanford Site in Washington using high-precision uranium isotopic measurements.

In the mid-1990s, a groundwater plume of uranium (U) was detected in monitoring wells in the B-BX-BY Waste Management Area at the Hanford Site in Washington. This area has been used since the late 1940s to store high-level radioactive waste and other products of U fuel-rod processing. Using multiple-collector ICP source magnetic sector mass spectrometry, high-precision uranium isotopic analyses were conducted of samples of vadose zone contamination and of groundwater. The isotope ratios 236U/238U, 234U/238U, and 238U/235U are used to distinguish contaminant sources. On the basis of the isotopic data, the source of the groundwater contamination appears to be related to a 1951 overflow event at tank BX-102 that spilled high-level U waste into the vadose zone. The U isotopic variation of the groundwater plume is a result of mixing between contaminant U from this spill and natural background U. Vadose zone U contamination at tank B-110 likely predates the recorded tank leak and can be ruled out as a significant source of groundwater contamination, based on the U isotopic composition. The locus of vadose zone contamination is displaced from the initial locus of groundwater contamination, indicating that lateral migration in the vadose zone was at least 8 times greater than vertical migration. The time evolution of the groundwater plume suggests an average U migration rate of approximately 0.7-0.8 m/day showing slight retardation relative to a groundwater flow of approximately 1 m/day.

Environmental Monitoring↗

PubMed1999

Use of a sentinel system for field measurements of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst inactivation in soil and animal waste.

A small-volume sentinel chamber was developed to assess the effects of environmental stresses on survival of sucrose-Percoll-purified Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil and animal wastes. Chambers were tested for their ability to equilibrate with external chemical and moisture conditions. Sentinel oocysts were then exposed to stresses of the external environment that affected their viability (potential infectivity), as indicated by results of a dye permeability assay. Preliminary laboratory experiments indicated that temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees C and decreases in soil water potential (-0.003 to -3.20 MPa) increased oocyst inactivation rates. The effects of two common animal waste management practices on oocyst survival were investigated on three dairy farms in Delaware County, N.Y., within the New York City watershed: (i) piling wastes from dairy youngstock (including neonatal calves) and (ii) spreading wastes as a soil amendment on an agricultural field. Sentinel containers filled with air-dried and sieved (2-mm mesh) youngstock waste or field soil were wetted and inoculated with 2 million oocysts in an aqueous suspension and then placed in waste piles on two different farms and in soil within a cropped field on one farm. Controls consisted of purified oocysts in either phosphate-buffered saline or distilled water contained in sealed microcentrifuge tubes. Two microdata loggers recorded the ambient temperature at each field site. Sentinel experiments were conducted during the fall and winter (1996 to 1997) and winter (1998). Sentinel containers and controls were removed at 2- to 4-week intervals, and oocysts were extracted and tested by the dye permeability assay. The proportions of potentially infective oocysts exposed to the soil and waste pile material decreased more rapidly than their counterpart controls exposed to buffer or water, indicating that factors other than temperature affected oocyst inactivation in the waste piles and soil. The effect of soil freeze-thaw cycles was evident in the large proportion of empty sentinel oocysts. The potentially infective sentinel oocysts were reduced to <1% while the proportions in controls did not decrease below 50% potentially infective during the first field experiment. Microscopic observations of empty oocyst fragments indicated that abrasive effects of soil particles were a factor in oocyst inactivation. A similar pattern was observed in a second field experiment at the same site.

Animal Husbandry↗

PubMed2005

Utilization of bottom ash from the incineration of separated wastes as a cement substitute.

Waste incineration is still an essential technology in the concept of integrated waste management. Most of the combustion residues are incinerator bottom ash. It has been discovered that incinerator bottom ash from the incineration of separated waste in the primary chamber of the modular two-stage incinerator mainly consists of metal oxides, especially SiO2 and CaO, in proportions that are quite similar to those in cement and so the feasibility of its application as a substitute for cement in concrete was investigated. It was found that after 28 days, the flexural and compressive strengths of the binder using bottom ash were practically comparable with those of a pure cement mixture. The results show that it is reasonable to use a binder containing incinerator bottom ash for applications in which an early-stage lower strength of concrete element is acceptable.

Calcium Compounds↗

PubMed1981

Interim status standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities--Environmental Protection Agency. Interim final rule and interim final amendments to rules and request for comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] has issued standards applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste management facilities as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA]. One of these standards bans the disposal of most containerized liquid hazardous waste in landfills, effective November 19, 1981. As a result of reconsideration of this restriction, EPA is today promulgating an interim final rule to allow the disposal of small containers of liquid and solid hazardous waste in landfills provided that the wastes are placed in overpacked drums [lab packs] in the manner specified in today's rule. The purpose of today's rule is to provide an environmental sound disposal option for generators of small containers of hazardous wastes, such as laboratories.

Hospitals↗

PubMed1994

Intersectoral approaches to dengue vector control.

Medical entomology in the context of urban vector control, especially for dengue, can be likened to the tail of a dog. Vertically structured Aedes aegypti campaigns such as run by Gorgas and Soper earlier this century relied on sufficient legislative backing for vector control to ensure that the tail was capable of wagging the dog. Under these conditions, especially where individual rights do not intrude, vertical programs will be successful. The global expansion of dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever and its vectors, plus growing trends towards urban/periurban living indicate a more serious scenario than at present. In 1987, the Brundtland Report: "Our Common Future" decried sectoralism in problem solving. Following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, the resulting Commission on Sustainable Development has promoted the intersectoral message of health, environment and development. The WHO/FAO/UNEP/UNCHS Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control has promoted this for some time and is attempting to build multidisciplinary projects against urban vector borne disease. Adequate solid waste management and recycling will reduce numbers of water bearing containers infested with Aedes aegypti and provision of reliable piped water supplies will impact heavily on infested water storage containers. Both should be encouraged as viable control options. For much of the world, vertical programs have been reported as prohibitively expensive, and unacceptable intrusion on human rights and thus unsustainable in the modern economic context. However there are successful modern examples.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aedes↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation of investments in recycling centres for construction and demolition wastes in Brazilian municipalities.

There are very few construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling centres in Brazil. To encourage the building and operation of new units, data were collected and analysed relating to C&D waste management and recycling in Brazil. Based on the results of this analysis, a conceptual model is presented for conducting viability studies of future C&D waste recycling centres. Applying this model to verify the viability of private recycling centres, the results show that under current market conditions in Brazil, C&D waste recycling centres are not financially feasible based solely on revenue from the sale of processed products. Nevertheless, under the same market conditions, the recycling centres could be economically viable for public authorities depending on the particular circumstances of each municipality. The feasibility, however, depends on continuity and the production volume reached. The conceptual model, the results of its applications and the discussions about the experiences of existing centres can strongly support public authorities and private initiatives in their decision-making about investments in Brazil and in other developing countries.

Brazil↗

PubMed2004

Recovery of astaxanthin from seafood wastewater utilizing fish scales waste.

The paper presents basic data on astaxanthin adsorption from fisheries wastewater to fish scales. This process has been proposed to be applicable in fisheries and shrimp waste management [Helgason, Recovery of compounds using a natural adsorbent, Patent WO 01/77230, 2001]. The innovative feature of the method is the application of a solid waste (fish scales) as a natural adsorbent for a carotenoid pigment (astaxanthin) from the seafood industry wastewater. The model investigations were performed with pure synthetic carotenoids to exclude the role of matrix in which astaxanthin is present in the wastewater. Under the experimental conditions used, the maximum loading capacity of astaxanthin onto the scales is 360 mg kg(-1) dry wt. Studies of the thus formed value added product indicated that drying causes significant loss of astaxanthin activity. Due to the effective filtration characteristics of the studied sorption material, we suggest the scale/astaxanthin sorption process to be suitable for treatment of wastewater from different industries.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2001

Cement solidification of simulated off-gas condensates from vitrification of low-level nuclear waste solutions.

Solidification in a cementitious matrix is a viable alternative for low-level nuclear waste management; it is therefore important to understand the behavior and properties of such wasteforms. We have examined the cementitious solidification of simulated off-gas waste streams resulting from the vitrification of low-level nuclear waste. Different possible methods for scrubbing the off-gasses from a vitrifier give rise to three possible types of waste compositions: acidic (from aqueous dissolution of volatile NOx and POx carried over from the vitrifier), basic (from neutralizing the former with sodium hydroxide), and fully carbonated (arising from a direct-combustion vitrifier). Six binder compositions were tested in which ordinary Portland cement was replaced at different proportions by fly ash and/or ground granulated blast furnace slag. A high solution to binder ratio of 1l/1 kg was used to minimize the volume of the wasteform and 10% attapulgite clay was added to all mixes to ensure that the fresh mix did not segregate prior to setting. The 28-day compressive strengths decreased when a high proportion of cement was replaced with fly ash, but were increased significantly when the cement was replaced with slag. The heats of hydration at early age for the various solids compositions decreased when cement was replaced with either fly ash or slag; however, for the fly ash mix the low heat was also associated with a significant decrease in compressive strength. High curing temperature (60 degrees C) or the use of extra-fine slag did not significantly affect the compressive strength. Recommendations for choice of binder formulations and treatment of off-gas condensates are discussed.

Environmental Pollution↗

PubMed1993

Overview and implications of U.S. sanitary landfill practice.

This paper is a summary of observations and trends regarding landfill practice based on a fifteen state, four-and-a-half month tour of facilities and professionals involved in municipal solid waste management, supplemented by 25 years of experience in the field. Modern landfills tend to be well designed and operated, with an emphasis on containment of waste and products of decomposition through liner systems and cover design, plus good operating practice. Forces leading to our concept of modern landfills are based on a history of inadequate landfills and their impacts, and on long-term liability issues, but also stem from a lack of responsibility by the public and their representatives for handling their own waste. While modern landfills incorporate many improvements over previous facilities, the driving forces shaping landfill design now and in the future are unfortunately not based on sound technical and managerial principals and could lead to future problems. The trend to drier landfills, thereby prolonging decomposition, is of special concern in this regard.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Effect of water resource development and management on lymphatic filariasis, and estimates of populations at risk.

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a debilitating disease overwhelmingly caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, which is transmitted by various mosquito species. Here, we present a systematic literature review with the following objectives: (i) to establish global and regional estimates of populations at risk of LF with particular consideration of water resource development projects, and (ii) to assess the effects of water resource development and management on the frequency and transmission dynamics of the disease. We estimate that globally, 2 billion people are at risk of LF. Among them, there are 394.5 million urban dwellers without access to improved sanitation and 213 million rural dwellers living in close proximity to irrigation. Environmental changes due to water resource development and management consistently led to a shift in vector species composition and generally to a strong proliferation of vector populations. For example, in World Health Organization (WHO) subregions 1 and 2, mosquito densities of the Anopheles gambiae complex and Anopheles funestus were up to 25-fold higher in irrigated areas when compared with irrigation-free sites. Although the infection prevalence of LF often increased after the implementation of a water project, there was no clear association with clinical symptoms. Concluding, there is a need to assess and quantify changes of LF transmission parameters and clinical manifestations over the entire course of water resource developments. Where resources allow, integrated vector management should complement mass drug administration, and broad-based monitoring and surveillance of the disease should become an integral part of large-scale waste management and sanitation programs, whose basic rationale lies in a systemic approach to city, district, and regional level health services and disease prevention.

Elephantiasis, Filarial↗

PubMed2001

Landfills, nocturnal foraging, and risk to aircraft.

Open landfills serve as an attractant to birds, with increasing risk of bird-plane collisions. Managers are searching for methods to allow landfilling while reducing potential bird problems near airports. Some municipalities are considering nighttime landfilling as an avian deterrent, particularly where waste management facilities are located near airports. The objective of this report was to evaluate whether nighttime landfilling will result in increased risk to aircraft from birds at the Atlantic County Airport in coastal New Jersey. The risk to nearby aircraft from nighttime landfill is a function of (1) attractiveness of landfills, airports, or other habitats, (2) nocturnal behavior of gulls and other birds, (3) elevations and flight paths of birds, (4) changes in population levels of gulls and other potentially hazardous birds, and (5) harassment techniques that can deter birds from the landfills, adjacent habitat, and airports. The latter, however, can serve to move birds to locations or altitudes that pose an even greater risk to aircraft. The number of strikes is generally increasing. While most air strikes occur during the day at the Atlantic County Airport, over 12% occur at night and nearly 20% occur at dawn when any garbage remaining from nighttime landfilling would be an attractant. The peak of strikes occurs in the early fall, when young birds are learning to forage. Risk data suggests that gulls and a wide variety of other birds are active at night, and if any garbage is available they will be attracted, increasing the risk to aircraft landing at night. Some actual night dumping has been carried out since October 3 1997 without apparently attracting gulls, suggesting that careful operations with appropriate institutional controls can make nighttime dumping feasible.

Aircraft↗

PubMed1990

Medical waste. The growing issues of management and disposal.

When addressing the impact of medical waste management and regulatory controls on the health care industry, it is important to remember that as long as modern medicine continues to maintain and sustain its current quality of life and wellness standards, industry will continue to generate various byproducts that have adverse effects on both people and the environment. It is important, therefore, to carefully evaluate the impact of societal demands. Unless government, industry, environmental groups, and health care providers abandon their current adversarial relationships and work together to solve shared problems, there will be no improvement in the growing problem of medical waste. The long-term solutions to today's growing waste problems depend to a great extent on human factors and the willingness of industry, medical community, and governmental bodies to cooperate with each other, recognizing the cause-effect relationship of a continued demand for disposable products. There are many pieces to the waste management puzzle. Obviously, surgeons cannot perform surgery without exposure to blood, tissue or body fluids, and nurses cannot maintain asepsis without sterile products. Because the health care team cannot totally eliminate the source of medical waste, they must learn to more effectively manage and control it. Health care professionals must encourage industry and government to work together to develop standards for products and materials used as barriers and use more biodegradable materials. Health care facilities must learn to minimize the amount of medical waste designated as regulated or infectious. Segregating potentially infectious material from clean waste at the point of generation may reduce both volume and cost.

Humans↗

PubMed1990

Air emissions from the incineration of hazardous waste.

In the United States over the last ten years, concern over important disposal practices of the past has manifested itself in the passage of a series of federal and state-level hazardous waste clean-up and control statutes of unprecedented scope. The impact of these various statutes will be a significant modification of waste management practices. The more traditional and lowest cost methods of direct landfilling, storage in surface impoundments and deep-well injection will be replaced, in large measure, by waste minimization at the source of generation, waste reuse, physical/chemical/biological treatment, incineration and chemical stabilization/solidification methods. Of all of the "terminal" treatment technologies, properly-designed incineration systems are capable of the highest overall degree of destruction and control for the broadest range of hazardous waste streams. Substantial design and operational experience exists and a wide variety of commercial systems are available. Consequently, significant growth is anticipated in the use of incineration and other thermal destruction methods. The objective of this paper is to examine the current state of knowledge regarding air emissions from hazardous waste incineration in an effort to put the associated technological and environmental issues into perspective.

Air Pollutants↗

PubMed2003

[Introduction of manual for the management radioactive medical waste].

Societies concerned with radioactive rays and nuclear medicine have recently highlighted the necessity of managing radioactive medical waste resulting from nuclear medicine examinations. We introduce a manual that we have created and explain its use in decision-making and management practices aimed at the reduction of radioactive medical waste at hospitals that have not yet solved this problem. We hope that our manual will help in reducing this medical waste.

Japan↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The waste disposal crisis: is trash-to-steam incineration the solution?

Trash-to-stem incineration systems were seen in the late 1970s as one solution to the energy crisis. A decade later, they are being viewed as a response to the rapidly growing waste disposal crisis. However, in the interim, public fears of pollution from these systems have stemmed their popularity. Hospitals, which are confronted with the need for efficient and cost-effective methods of trash handling, must determine whether these fears are valid and, if they are not, learn how to combat them to allow trash-to-steam incineration systems a role in overall waste management strategies.

Conservation of Energy Resources↗

PubMed2003

An environmental approach for used oil management in Asian cities: a Bangkok' s experience.

This paper addresses increasing concern about the pollution threat of used oil being illegally dumped and the impact of oil on air pollution and freshwater ecosystems in Asian countries. Used oil is a very serious waste management problem. These results call for management action such as maximising the collection and recovery of used oil. The Thai government recognizes the need to recycle used oil and has been active in encouraging programs to accomplish this goal. Thus unless new approaches and incentives are developed, used oil generation may become an increasing serious problem to our environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the technical and economic feasibility, of recycling used oils. In addition, this paper briefly discusses the problems to be overcome and outlines potential mechanisms for providing the necessary disposal controls in order to maximize the protection to public health and environmental quality from potential hazards posed by used lube oil disposal.

Cities↗

PubMed2001

Infectious waste surveys in a Saudi Arabian hospital: an important quality improvement tool.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the composition by weight of the infectious waste stream, better segregate waste, reduce disposal costs, reduce the load on the hospital incinerator, identify inappropriate items having significant cost or safety implications, and provide a safer work environment for housekeepers. METHODS: Four infectious waste surveys were conducted between 1991 and 1999 that involved opening a total of 7364 bags of infectious waste. The contents of each infectious waste bag were separated into 20 different components and weighed. Inappropriately discarded items were removed and tagged with the date and hospital unit of origin. SETTING: Dhahran Health Center, a 410-bed hospital operated by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: The surveys show a continuing trend in a higher percentage of plastics and a decrease in paper due to increased use of disposables. Much of the infectious waste consisted of plastic intravenous bottles, intravenous lines, and paper wrappers for sterile instrument sets that were not infectious. Dhahran Health Center was producing a total of 1163 kg of infectious waste per day before the first survey. This was reduced to 407 kg per day after implementation of a waste segregation program in 1991 (a reduction of 65%). Incineration operation was reduced from daily to 3 days per week, with a corresponding reduction in incinerator emissions. Infectious waste from inpatient, surgical, and obstetric areas was reduced by a total of 70% between 1991 and 1999, from 2.8 kg (6.1 lb) to 0.85 kg (1.9 lb) per patient per day. This is in the range of 2 to 4 lb per patient per day that is generally reported. Numerous inappropriately discarded items were discovered during the surveys with cost or safety implications. Each survey, including the latest one of November-December 1999, has shown that further improvements are possible in the hospital's waste management program. Specific educational efforts and changes in procedures are described. CONCLUSIONS: We believe this is the first report of such an extensive analysis of a hospital's infectious waste. Many hospitals do not have the resources to conduct such detailed surveys of their waste streams. However, regardless of the method of treatment and disposal, such surveys are valuable quality improvement tools because all health care facilities want to reduce disposal costs, identify high-value items mistakenly discarded, and improve safety.

Data Collection↗