The Storage and Transportation of Spill Cleanup Waste - Research Paper Example

?The storage and transportation of spill cleanup waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Introduction The ‘Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)’ was enacted in the year 1976 in United States. This act was established in order to solve the problem of solid and hazardous municipal and industrial waste generated throughout the country. The RCRA mostly deals with the storage, transportation and removal of the hazardous waste. RCRA even establishes a structure for managing non-hazardous waste. The main aim of RCRA is to protect the health of human being and the environment from the danger created by the waste disposal. This act also helps in preserving energy through waste reprocessing and eliminating the hazardous waste as quickly as possible. The act ensures that the waste is properly managed to protect public health and the environment1. RCRA mainly edges on hazardous waste management with respect to storage and transportation. In RCRA the role of the industry is to obey Federal and State waste management rules so that the disposal of the waste does not harm the health and environment. Public participation in the awareness of the waste management program is very important. The main activity of public is to monitor and report the condition caused by waste management resulting in a threat to health and safety. The term ‘hazardous waste’ means ‘solid waste or combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical , chemical or infectious characteristics’ may increase the mortality rate and create both health and environmental hazard by transporting, storing or disposing improperly. RCRA takes help of Environment Policy Act (EPA) to identify the hazardous waste2. This paper will discuss the origin, purpose, aims, and the works of RCRA act putting maximum emphasis on the storage and transportation of chemical spill and the clean up waste under the RCRA. The RCRA and waste management The RCRA involves ten subtitles. Subtitle C consists of hazardous waste supplies and regulates the hazardous waste generators and transporters and treatment, storage and disposal facilities. RCRA act imposes criminal penalty for the workers or employees who violate this law. The employees while working should be careful about the hazardous waste management issues and should ensure that all the environmental regulations are followed. The organization where the employees work can also be subject to civil penalty. The main aim of RCRA is to protect the people from hazards of waste disposal by cleaning up the waste that has been created by spill or any leakage. Under RCRA, hazardous waste program deals with the waste from its origin till its disposal. RCRA acts main focus is on recycling and safe disposal of the industrial waste. RCRA also regulates the treatment, storage, and removal of hazardous waste. RCRA disposes hazardous waste not only from industries but from hospitals, universities, and other entities3. Battery acids, pharmaceutical waste, and other chemical waste are examples of hazardous waste. EPA sanctioned states in United States to function their own hazardous programs including generators, transporters, and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs)4. Storage Hazardous wastes are stored in a container. The storage of waste in these containers should be according to the regulations laid down by the RCRA. It deals with the storage and transportation of the hazardous waste. The container should be in good condition. Proper inspections of these containers have to be done. RCRA first identifies the materials that are used to make the container. Then it decides on the type and the quality of waste that would be stored in the container. Oil spill is a serious problem which causes great devastation to flora and fauna. Oil spill effects in many ways distort the ecological balance. Oil spill is assumed to be a hazardous waste. Mostly oil is stored in the underground storage tanks (USTs). Above ground oil is also stored in the tanks (AST) under the regulation of the EPA. UST not only stores oil but also hazardous waste. Oil and harmful gas are usually transported through oil and gas pipelines in the United States. Oil spill occurs mostly every year but small amount of oil spill causes more harm to the environment5. Post Cold War it was found that in the military sites across the country, spent munitions and unexploded weapons are littered around causing enormous pollution to the environment. The chemicals that are emitted from these weapons are all hazardous in nature. According to the Federal Facilities Compliance Act (FFCA) which was formed in the year 1992, the military weapons are marked as hazardous waste under RCRA, and safe storage and transportation of these weapons should be regulated under RCRA. Solid waste under RCRA is identified as ‘any discarded material’. Material are either disposed or stored carefully before being eradicated completely. According to the EPA, unused military armaments are similar to the unused business products which are stored by the customers. When disposing of these products is clearly stated then the work of RCRA begins. Under RCRA, all abandoned products are not considered to be waste supervision therefore does not follow the EPA regulation. According to the Munitions rule, the weapons which ground on the firing range, cannot be considered solid waste, hence it cannot be hazardous waste. If any weapon land outside the firing range or transported outside the range or disposed inside the range, then it will be subject to RCRA regulatory scheme. EPA as directed by RCRA is responsible for amending hazardous waste generators, transporters, and handling, storage, and clearance facilities so that it can safeguard public health and environment from pollution and other diseases created by pollution. EPA has claimed that standard of Department of Defense (DOD) storage and transportation of hazardous waste is equal to the standard of the RCRAs regulation. RCRA regulations will not be applicable till the military transportation and storage service fails to meet the terms with the DOD and Department of Transport (DOT) standards6. Transportation The Department of Transportation (DOT) under RCRA controls the transport of waste materials. RCRA Subtitle D deals with the development of plans to direct harmless industrial solid waste and defines criteria for solid waste disposal facilities and stops the open dumping of solid waste7. Hazardous wastes are stored by the Underground Storage Tanks (UST). Department of Transportation (DOT), under RCRA deals with the transport of the hazardous waste in the United States. A transporter cannot allow hazardous waste from the generator till it is escorted with a clear EPA identification number. Under RCRA, the transporter should deliver the whole mass of hazardous waste to the anticipated recipient of waste. If the waste is not delivered for any specific reason then the transporter should communicate with the generator for further instructions. During transportation if any leakage of hazardous waste takes place, then the transporter should provide a notice to the National Response Centre .A written report should be given to the Director of DOT. Oil spill is a hazardous waste. Several oil spills have occurred in last few decades. To clean up the oil spill several things are used like oil booms, vacuum trucks and surface skimmers. The ill effects of the environment caused by the oil spill have led to seek international help to prevent and control the oil spill. For example, several shipping industries are located in the Gulf of Aqaba. There is a risk of major oil spill in the Gulf so serious preventive measures are taken to protect the marine habitant. The physical attributes of the Gulf is favorable for maintaining political liaisons between the nations adjoining the Gulf. It is important to study the physical characteristics of the water to determine the volume of oil spread. The Gulf is very deep and narrow and stretches up to 160 kilometers. Jordan coastline is linked with the Gulf. Strict laws are enforced by the RCRA in the gulf to eradicate the regular release of engine oils and counterweight water polluted with oil. Under the instructions of RCRA, vessels and tankers are redesigned properly to prevent the oil spill into the Gulf. An emergency team comprising of well trained staff with specialized machines should be ready to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf. Few features instructed by RCRA that are important to consider while cleaning up the oil spill are the weather condition, location and the sea temperature. Oil can be removed by the pumping machine if it is located close to the seashore. Sorbent material is used to clean up the spilled oil and prevents it from spreading further. This method is largely used throughout the world. Dispersants give a final touch to remove oil pollution from the sea. Sinking sorbent is used to transport the floating oil on the surface of the sea to the bottom of the ocean. This process safeguards from the decline of the marine life and sea birds. Oil spill is the major risk in the Gulf of Aqaba and it can occur due to the rupture of the fuel tanks of a ship if collided with the ground. Jordan coastline comprises of recreational beaches for the tourist. Jordan sea property can be damaged by the oil spill if no immediate measures are taken to remove it. Gulf has two emergency units to handle the oil spill both offshore and onshore. Under RCRA, the oil spill is removed from the sea and stored and transported to a refiner. Sometimes the oil is stored in drums which are exclusively meant for the EPA waste under the RCRA Subtitle C.8 RCRA though a very prominent and efficient program to protect the people and the environment against hazardous waste , still it earns criticisms because of some of the flaws in the act. RCRA requires extensive amount of paper work including minute details of works covered by RCRA regulations. This incorporation of details and EPA’s slow action in evaluating for permits evokes great frustrations among the corporate managers. The duration of permits is limited by RCRA is ten years. It takes near about four years to acquire a permit from the EPA. The people who require the permit may get bored due to this long process of waiting for permits. This prolong process may create unnecessary burden to the reputed companies who spent their efforts and resources to waste handling by obtaining the permit from the RCRA. Though the reputed companies wait for the permission from the RCRA, the other less reputed companies get a chance to avoid this prolonged regulatory process. These less reputed companies dispose of their waste in an illegal process which causes hazards to the society and environment. According to the United States, hazardous waste is a global problem. Scarcity of sites or places to remove the hazardous or non- hazardous waste has encouraged new developing companies in United States to dispose their waste by shipping to the other developing countries as instructed by the RCRA act. These wastes are shipped to the places like Caribbean, the South American countries of Guyana, many countries in Africa and many other sites throughout the country. In the year 1988 to 1990, Philadelphia’s shipment of ash spent two years travelling different countries like “Bahamas, Bermuda, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guinea-Bissau”9 to dump its waste. Third world countries have turned to a dumping ground where hazardous waste from the developed countries is dumped causing environmental problems. In United States appropriate environmental policies should be formed to overcome these problems with flexible handling of the hazardous waste. According to the views of the environmentalist, industries should develop innovative program and processes in disposing hazardous waste. RCRA program provides a very reasonable cost to the businessmen which discourage them to adopt any innovative ideas regarding hazardous waste management. Industrialist should behave in a responsible way in handling the waste generated from their industries and should not take advantage of the Third World countries by dumping their waste. Most of the third world countries agree to accept hazardous waste because of monetary need. Congress should give more attention and importance to change the policies of RCRA. Along with the expansion of negotiation and agreement with the other countries, the problems related to waste handling will exceed the barriers of RCRA in the future. RCRA regulations are very similar to that of a CERCLA because both these programs concentrate on the protection of human health and the environment from the hazardous waste. CERCLA stands for ‘The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act’ formed by Congress in the year 1980. CERCLA is famously known as Superfund. Both RCRA and CERCLA focus on the same thing but their dogmatic approach is different. RCRA deals with the waste management to protect public health and the environment from the hazardous waste. CERCLA mostly deals with the mismanagement that occurs from the release of hazardous waste in the environment. Though RCRA, concentrate on the procedures of handling and destroying the waste, still risk judgment plays a pivotal role in performing many supporting task particularly dealing with hazardous waste rules under RCRA Subtitle C. Risk assessment is used to establish specific waste substance as hazardous waste. Risk assessment needs to assess the hazards created by waste streams and the methods require for destroying the waste in the disposing sites. RCRA programs related to the hazardous waste are extremely risk based. Main feature of the risk assessment is to decide whether a waste substance is a hazardous waste or not. According to the RCRA structure, hazardous waste is a solid waste. These solid wastes characteristically increase the mortality rate or some serious illness. If these solid waste are not treated, stored, transported or destroyed properly then it can create hazards to the human health and the environment10. Conclusion RCRA solves the problem of solid and hazardous municipal and industrial waste that is generated throughout the country. The RCRA has been formed by United States to deal with the hazardous waste that is emitted from the industries. RCRA mostly concentrates on the storage, transportation of the waste till it is disposed properly. The main aim of RCRA is to safeguard the lives of people and nature from this hazardous waste. RCRA regulation is applicable in all type of industries dealing with hazardous waste from universities to factories. This paper also states the qualities and flaws of the RCRA. RCRA is very strict and rigid in its process and heavy penalty is bestowed upon the people or any organization if found guilty of not obeying the laws of RCRA. References 1. “25 Years of RCRA”, EPA, 2002, accessed on July 18, 2011 from: http://www.epa.gov/wastes/inforesources/pubs/k02027.pdf 2. Chemical risk assessment: selected federal agencies’ procedures, DIANE Publishing, 2001 3. “Khain Sea Waste Export Episode (KHAIN)”, n.d. accessed on July 19, 2011 from: http://www1.american.edu/TED/khain.htm 4. Latham, Joshua, The Military Munitions Rule and Environmental Regulation Of Munitions, n.d, accessed July 19, 2011 from: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bcealr/27_3/04_FMS.htm 5. National Risk Management Research Laboratory (U.S) EPA, Waste research strategy, Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing, 1999 6. “RCRA Statute, Regulations & Enforcement”, U.S Environmental Protection Agency, 2011, accessed on July 19, 2011 from: http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/civil/rcra/rcraenfstatreq.html 7. Sandler, Deborah. Protecting the Gulf of Aqaba, Washington: Environment Law Institute, 1993 8. Technologies and management strategies for hazardous waste control, Darby: Dianne, n.d. 9. “Waste”, EPA, 2011, accessed on July 18, 2011 from: http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/topics/waste.html Read More