Chemical Waste

Name:
Chemical Waste
Detailed information:
Unusable by-products from many chemical and metal-processing operations, which often contain toxic or polluting materials, such as digester streams from paper manufacture, fluorides from aluminum manufacturing, mercury from chlor-alkali cells, tailings from asbestos production, and insecticidal wastes that become environmental threats if improperly disposed of. Disposal techniques approved by EPA are (1) landfill in which an impermeable barrier is placed between the waste and ground water, such as a layer of hard-packed clay; (2) incineration of organic materials plus use of specially equipped ships in which liquid wastes are incinerated at sea; (3) such chemical and biological methods as neutralization of acidic and basic wastes, oxidation, and activated sludge treatment of organic wastes. Dumping of wastes into lakes and watercourses is strictly forbidden. Storage in metal drums is inadequate because of corrosion and subsequent leakage. Federal authority to provide for control and safe disposal of hazardous wastes is provided by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), passed by the U.S. Congress in 1976.See Radioactive Waste.