Solid & Hazardous WasteSolid & Hazardous Waste

•Landfills •Incineration•Hazardous Waste•Hazardous Waste Management

What Happens to Mining Waste?What Happens to Mining Waste?

• Slag- by product that is left when the mineral part is separated from unwanted material and can be used for concrete

Sanitary LandfillsSanitary Landfills

• Land fills in Saint Louis• Location– Far enough away from population centers but

not too far (transportation cost)– Dependent on geology and climate(drainage,

rainfall, flooding)

Sanitary Landfills: DesignSanitary Landfills: Design

Landfill in Maryland Heights MO

Sanitary Landfills: DesignSanitary Landfills: Design

•Liner- prevents leachate from entering groundwater•Collection Pipes- channel leachate for treatment•Clay cover- Seals solid waste in

Problems Associated with LandfillsProblems Associated with Landfills

• Methane gas– Produced by microorganisms that break down

waste– Flammable and explosive– can be used for energy

• Contamination of surface and groundwater– Seeping through unlined or cracks in the lining

of landfills

Methane GasMethane Gas

Methane from a landfill collected and burning

Hazardous WasteHazardous Waste

• What is hazardous waste?– Dangerously reactive, corrosive, explosive, or

toxic chemicals– Can be in all states of matter: solid, liquid, gas

• How much of solid waste is hazardous?– About 1%

Types of Hazardous WasteTypes of Hazardous Waste

• Dioxins– By-products of combustion of chlorine

compounds– Source include: waste incinerators, iron ore

mills, coal combustion, – Why are they harmful• Accumulate in tissue• Cause cancer, reproductive, neurological, immune

system affected

Times Beach, MO (Route 66 State Park)Times Beach, MO (Route 66 State Park)

• Dioxin mixed with oil and sprayed on dirt roads to control dust

• Region flooded• Dangerous levels of

Dioxin found• Evacuated 1982• Dioxin cleaned up and

park opens 1999

Types of Hazardous Waste (ctd)Types of Hazardous Waste (ctd)

• PCBs– Group of industrial chemicals used in electrical

transformers, vacuum pumps, adhesives, etc. – Can damage multiple organs especially interfere

with thyroid function– Why are they dangerous?

• Resist break-down (chemical or biological)• Ocean life lives in PCB contaminated sediment and

pass the PCBs up the food chainhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0110-clam_cleanup.htm

Hazardous ManagementHazardous Management

Hazardous Waste ManagementHazardous Waste Management

• Long term storage in specialized landfills• Reduce the amount produced• Incineration• Biologically– Microorganisms break down waste into

harmless substance like water – Plants take the waste into their tissues and

then are disposed of in hazardous waste landfills

http://www.ecocycle.org/zerowastevideo/

Current ArticleCurrent Article

• Find an article from a news source (newspaper, magazine, text from newscast) can be print or digital about solid waste, hazardous waste, waste management, or the environmental impact of waste

• 1 paragraph summary• 1 paragraph your opinion (must include what

you learned)• Copy of your article• Due 1/14 Friday