Methods For Hazardous Waste Disposal

By Mattie Knight


Modern-day households contain several products some of which are very dangerous. Products are made dangerous by the ingredients they are made out of or the materials that make them. Some good examples of household products that have been categorized as hazardous include ammunition, refrigerants, paints, solvents, aerosols, electronics, caustics, certain batteries, pesticides, and automotive wastes among others.

Safety of the products given above is only guaranteed when they are in good condition. However, once they lose functionality or expire, they become a threat to health and must be eliminated. Doing this correctly is very important. The center of discussion in this writing is hazardous waste disposal. The article discusses some of the most commonly used methods in the world and how efficient they are.

Proper disposition of wastes eliminates or at least minimizes the danger they pose to the environment, human beings, and animals. On the other hand, grave danger is likely to result when improper disposal is exercised. For instance, harmful materials poison underground and rain water when they seep into the soil or come in contact with gutters respectively. Soil can also be contaminated and its suitability for agriculture affected.

Different methods of disposal for various materials are available. Among the most commonly applied ones are recycling, incineration, landfills, use of cement, and pyrolysis. Recycling is encouraged a lot as an eco-friendly option that can safely reduce threat while remaining economical. As products lose the ability to remain useful for the purpose they were originally designed for, they are put to new uses. It should be understood that not every product can be recycled. Some must just be disposed

Another widely employed technique of getting rid of wastes is incineration. Very high temperatures are used to destroy the materials inside a chamber. The chamber used is called an incinerator or an incineration chamber. Ash is the usual end result. Ash can be disposed easily without being harmful to the environment or people.

A lot of harmful gasses are emitted into the environment as the materials burn, and that has always raised concern. However, with recent advancements in technology, incinerators have been developed with capabilities of preventing emission of harmful gasses. In addition, such incinerators can generate energy from the combustion process to power other systems. Pyrolysis is similar to incineration only that the process occurs in an inert environment to prevent combustion.

Hazardous materials have traditionally been disposed in landfills before better methods emerged and that changed. New methods have been adopted because of the seepage of harmful materials into underground water, which occurs in landfills. This kind of pollution is irreversible. However, some places still use this method although to a low level.

Hazardous materials can also be treated and disposed using cement effectively. Cement stabilizes and solidifies the material for easier disposal. Usually it change the characteristics of the waste, reduces its toxicity, and reduces contamination. The use of this method is limited though.




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