HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS:

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HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS

• POLLUTION AND PREVENTION

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Toxicology And Chemical Hazards

• Toxicology is the study of the harmful effects of
  chemicals on human and environmental health.
• Toxic chemicals might have an affect that is
• Acute
• Chronic
• And even might have to potential to be
  carcinogenic

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• Dose Response and Threshold
• The dose is the level of exposure multiplied by
  the length of time over which exposure has
  occurred
• The response is the acute or chronic effect or
  development of tumors
• Threshold Level the level below which no ill
  effects are observed.
• Above this level, the effect of a substance
  depends on both the concentration and the
  duration of exposure to it.
• Higher levels may be tolerated if the exposure
  time is short.
• It is not the absolute amount but the dose that
  is important

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• The Nature of Chemical Hazards HAZMATS
• The EPA categorizes substances on the basis of
  the following hazardous properties.
• Ignitability
• Corrosivity
• Reactivity
• Toxicity
• Containers in which HAZMATs are stored and
  vehicles that carry HAZMATS are required to
  display the placard that identifies the hazard.

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• Sources of Chemicals Entering the Environment
• Many products we use every day are products of
  chemical technology.
• Chemical waste and by-products are inevitable in
  production processes
• TOXIC Release Inventory
• Chemicals can enter the environment at every
  level of industry and in homes
• Emergency Planning and Community Right to know
  Act of 1986 requires industries to report the
  location and quantities of toxic chemicals stored
  on each site to state and local governments and
  to report releases of toxic chemicals to the
  environment
• TRI does not cover small businesses such as dry
  cleaners,

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• Gas stations or household hazardous waste.
• The TRI is disseminated on the Internet and
  provides an annual record of releases of almost
  650 designated chemicals
• The report tells the total production related
  toxic wastes
• Releases to the air
• Releases to the water
• Releases to land disposal sites and underground
  injection
• Total environmental releases

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• The threat from Toxic Chemicals
• Heavy Metals
• The most dangerous heavy metals are lead,
  mercury,. Arsenic, cadmium, tin, chromium,. zinc
  and copper
• Used in metal plating, or metal working
• Also in batteries and electronics
• Also used in pesticides and medicines
• The oxides of heavy metals often have bright
  colors so they are used in pigments, glazes, inks
  and dyes
• They are toxic b/c the ions are soluble in water
  and may be readily absorbed. They may inhibit
  the actions of certain enzymes., No way for the
  body to get rid of them

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• Organic Compounds petroleum derived and
  synthetic organic compounds are the chemical
  basis for all plastics, synthetic fibers,
  solvents, pesticides.
• Synthetic organics came into production in the
  1950s.
• The dirty dozen
• The halogenated hydrocarbons
• This includes the chlorinated hydrocarbons used
  in plastics,. Pesticides, solvents, electrical
  insulation
• All are toxic and are known carcinogens. They
  are endocrine disruptors at a very low level
• PERC
• Perchloroethylene
• Used as a dry cleaning solvent and in many
  industrial cleaning applications
• Evaporates easily and can enter ground water b/c
  it does not bind to soil particles
• Human exposure occurs esp. in connection with dry
  cleaning businesses

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• MTBE
• Methyl tertiary butyl ether
• An oxygenate added to ¼ of the gasoline sold in
  the U.S.
• Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is a synthetic
  chemical that has been historically added to
  gasoline as a fuel oxygenate, increasing the
  efficiency of the combustion of the fuel.
  Previously, the federal Clean Air Act required
  the addition of certain levels of oxygenate to
  gasoline in order to reduce emissions of carbon
  monoxide. The oxygenate mandate was subsequently
  removed by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005.
  The USEPA predicts that in response to the Energy
  Policy Act of 2005, essentially all U.S. refiners
  are expected to eliminate the use of MTBE in
  gasoline in 2006 or 2007. In addition, in 2005
  the New Jersey legislature passed legislation
  that prohibits the sale of gasoline that contains
  more than 0.5 MTBE in the State effective on
  January 1, 2009. Even though the oxygenate
  mandate has been removed, it appears that MTBE is
  being replaced by ethanol in gasoline sold in New
  Jersey in order to meet both fuel octane and
  Reformulated Gasoline standards. Reformulated
  Gasoline is required in New Jersey to address
  emissions of air pollutants that form low level
  ozone pollution and to reduce emission levels of
  air toxics.

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• It is being found increasingly in wells and
  surface waters.
• This is because of gasoline used in water craft
  and wherever underground gasoline storage tanks
  develops leaks
• Gives water a nasty odor
• Several states have moved to ban the chemical
  (see above)

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• Involvement with Food Chains
• Heavy metals and nonbiodegradable synthetic
  chemicals accumulate in organisms. This is
  called bioaccummulation and biomagnification
• Minamata
• A horrific disease, first observed in cats, later
  in people, caused by a chemical company releasing
  waste containing Hg into the water where the
  villagers fished. Here the Hg was bioaccumulated
  by bacteria then biomagnified as it moved up the
  food chain to the fish. The cats were affected
  first b/c they fed on fish scraps. By the time
  the situation was brought under control, 50
  people had died and 150 had suffered bone and
  nerve damage.

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A History of Mismanagement

• Methods of Land Disposal
• From the beginning of the industrial age, waste
  vapors were exhausted up smokestacks, and waste
  liquids into sewer systems. Any human ailment
  was attributed to the price of progress.
• Mad as a Hatter people who made hats in the
  1800s were exposed to Hg poisoning in the
  production process.

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• Deep Well injection
• Drill a well thousands of feet below groundwater
  into a porous geological formation or brine.
• Wastes are isolated as they are injected.
• The well is sealed to prevent wastes from backing
  up
• Currently there are 163 wells in operation mostly
  in the Gulf Coast region.
• this method has declined over the years
• A good method b/c it has greater potential for
  keeping toxic wastes from contaminating the
  hydrologic cycle and the food web.

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• Surface Impoundments
• These consist of excavated ponds into which
  liquid wastes are drained and held.
• Often used to impound wastewater treatment prior
  to discharging.
• Currently there are approx 18,000 industrial
  surface impoundments
• 2/3 contain hazardous chemicals with carcinogenic
  and other human health concerns.
• Mostly from chemical, paper, concrete and the
  petroleum industry
• Most only a few meters above groundwater

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• More than 20 x 106 live within 1.2 miles of
  an industrial impoundment
• 2-5 were judged to pose possible risk to human
  health, 24 found to pose a risk to the
  environment
• Landfills
• Commonly wastes are put in a concentrated liquid
  or solid form, put into drums, collected and then
  treated in accordance with their chemical and
  physical characteristics.
• This might include stabilization and
  neutralization of sludges, soils, liquids,
  powders. These are put in a properly lined
  landfill.
• This is reasonably safe and referred to as a
  secure landffill

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• Unfortunately, early land disposal was not
  regulated. Deep wells had wastes directly
  injected into groundwater, abandoned quarries
  were sometimes used as landfills with no
  additional precautions. Surface impoundments had
  no seals or liners.
• Considerable amounts of waste failed to get to
  any disposal facility at all
• Midnight Dumping and Orphan Sites
• In the absence of regulation, hazardous wastes
  mysteriously appeared in abandoned warehouses,
  vacant lots, or municipal landfills.
• Some companies stored waste onsite then abandoned
  the property and the wastes.

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Valley of the Drums

• Hazardous chemicals left on remote or unoccupied
  properties by unscrupulous haulers. This is a
  site in Kentucky, a Superfund site.

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• Scope of the Mismanagement Problems
• Love Canal
• Near Niagara fails, NY
• Area occupied by a school and houses on top of a
  chemical waste dump.
• Surface began to collapse
• People began to experience health problems, birth
  defects and miscarriages
• In 1978 President Carter signed an emergency
  declaration to relocate hundreds of people.

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• Occidental Petroleum eventually spent more than
  233 million on the cleanup and subsequent
  lawsuits.
• Many other cases of private well contamination
  caused by careless disposal were discovered only
  after people experienced illnesses.
• The problems concerning toxic chemical wastes can
  be divided into three areas
• Clean up the messes already created
• Regulate the handling and disposal of wastes
  currently being produced
• Reduce the quantity of hazardous waste produced.

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Cleaning up the Mess

• Assuring Safe Drinking Water
• To assure drinking water supplies congress passed
  the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974
• EPA sets standards to protect the public health.
• Includes allowable levels of 83 specific
  contaminants.
• If a site has chemicals above the allowable
  levels, the water supply should be closed
• The act was amended in 1986 and EPA now has
  jurisdiction over groundwater and sets MCLs for
  90 contaminants.
• b/c of concerns over drinking water many have
  turned to drinking bottled water.

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• Bottled water is considered a food and is
  regulated by the FDA. FDA standards for water
  specify that it only be as safe as tap water.
  People are paying a premium for water that might
  not be any better than tap water.
• Groundwater Remediation
• A developing and growing technology
• Involves drilling wells, pumping out the
  contaminated groundwater, purifying it, and
  reinjecting it back into the ground.

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• Superfund for Toxic Sites The Comprehensive
  Environmental Response, Compensation and
  Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) a major federal
  program aimed at cleaning up abandoned chemical
  waste sites.
• Funding went from 300 million per year in 1980s
  to 2 billion in 1995.

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• The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
  Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),
  commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by
  Congress on December 11, 1980. This law created a
  tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and
  provided broad Federal authority to respond
  directly to releases or threatened releases of
  hazardous substances that may endanger public
  health or the environment. Over five years, 1.6
  billion was collected and the tax went to a trust
  fund for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled
  hazardous waste sites. CERCLA
• established prohibitions and requirements
  concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste
  sites

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• provided for liability of persons responsible for
  releases of hazardous waste at these sites and
• established a trust fund to provide for cleanup
  when no responsible party could be identified.
• The law authorizes two kinds of response actions

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• Short-term removals, where actions may be taken
  to address releases or threatened releases
  requiring prompt response.
• Long-term remedial response actions, that
  permanently and significantly reduce the dangers
  associated with releases or threats of releases
  of hazardous substances that are serious, but not
  immediately life threatening. These actions can
  be conducted only at sites listed on EPA's
  National Priorities List (NPL).
• CERCLA also enabled the revision of the National
  Contingency Plan (NCP). The NCP provided the
  guidelines and procedures needed to respond to
  releases and threatened releases of hazardous
  substances, pollutants, or contaminants. The NCP
  also established the NPL.
• How Cumberland County Stacks up

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• Setting Priorities
• Not every site can be cleaned up all at once
• Sites are identified.
• If a threat for human health does exist, measures
  are immediately taken to protect the public.
  This might include temporary isolation
• If groundwater contamination exists, remediation
  measures are taken immediately
• The worst sites are put on a National Priorities
  List.
• http//www.cqs.com/super_nc.htm

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• Cleanup Technology
• Bioremediation contaminated soil is often
  contaminated with toxic organic compounds that
  are biodegradable. Sometimes they do not degrade
  b/c the soil lacks organisms, oxygen or both. In
  Bioremediation, organisms and oxygen are injected
  into the contaminated zone. The organisms will
  die when all the pollutants are gone.

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• Plant Food
• When the soil contaminants are heavy metals and
  nonbiodegradable organic compounds,
  phytoremediation has been used successfully.
• Plants stabilize the soil, prevent further
  movement of contaminants by erosion
• Contaminants are extracted by the plants through
  uptake through the soil
• Plants are then removed and treated as toxic
  waste.
• Can only be used were the contaminants arent
  toxic to plants
• Sunflowers will capture uranium
• Poplar trees will soak up dry-cleaning solvents
• Ferns will capture arsenic

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• Evaluating Superfund
• Over 44,000 sites have been given Superfund
  status. Of these, 33,000 did not pose a
  significant public health or environmental
  threat.
• 11,300 sites remain on the active list.
• Some of the worst are on military bases
• Who Pays?
• the polluter pays is the principle CERCLA works
  on
• Over 70 of the cleanup costs have come from the
  so-called responsible parties.

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• Critics
• Industries claim that they are unfairly blamed
  for pollution that reaches back to activities
  that were legal before the enactment of CERCLA.
• Many feel that the overly stringent standards of
  cleanup are costing large sums of money without
  providing any additional benefit to public
  health, need to find a balance between costs and
  benefits

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• Brownfields
• highly successful CERCLA development.
• These are abandoned, idled or underused
  industrial and commercial facilities where
  expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real
  or perceived environmental contamination.
• One of the most successful brownfields programs
  is in Massachusetts, which has provided a 30
  million brownfields redevelopment fund managed by
  MassDevelopment.
• Many sites lie in economically disadvantaged
  communities.
• Rehab contributes jobs and exchanges a functional
  facility for an unsightly blight on the
  neighborhood

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• Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST)
• Putting tanks under ground diminishes the risk of
  explosions and fires
• Underground tanks were tradititonally made of
  bare steel, they had a life expectancy of about
  20 years before they began leaking and
  contaminating groundwater
• It is easy for small leaks to go undetected

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• USTS
• Built and monitored so that leaks may be detected
  early
• When leaks are detected remediation mustbegin
  within 72 hours
• All USTS must be upgraded with interior lining
  and cathodic protection
• New tanks must be provided with the same
  protection if they are steel
• Many service stations have turned to fiberglass
  tanks. These do not corrode

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• There is a LUST trust fund, financed by a .1 cent
  per gallon tax on motor fuel. This pays for
  federal activities involved with oversight and
  cleanup.
• All states are required to have UST programs
• States have reported that leaking USYs are the
  most common source of groundwater contamination

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Management of Current Hazardous Wastes

• The Clean Air and Water Acts
• These acts provide for the limiting of discharges
  into water and air. We dont want to create more
  Superfund sites.
• Discharge permits are a way of monitoring who is
  discharging what.
• Standards get stricter and stricter as technology
  for pollution control improve
• If water is discharged into municipal sewer
  systems, water is required to be pretreated.
• Certain amounts of wastes are still illegally
  discharged

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• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
• This was created when problems became evident in
  the 1970s regarding the disposal of wastes on
  land.
• Passed in 1976
• Any company producing hazardous wastes in the
  U.S. is under the regulations of these three
  major environmental acts

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• Requirement that all disposal facilities be
  sanctioned by permit.
• Permitting process requires that the facilities
  have all the safety features including monitoring
  wells
• The result of this was that most old facilities
  shut down and some became Superfund sites.
• Second, the RCRA requires that toxic waste be
  pretreated to convert the waste into a form that
  will not leach. This might include
  bioremediation, or incineration (maybe in a
  cement kiln)

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• Bioremediation may involve systems similar to
  secondary sewage treatment. At the end of the
  process there might be nothing to landfill.
• The third major feature is to require cradle to
  the grave tracking of all hazardous wastes.
  Anyone involved in transport is responsible for
  the material

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Reduction of Accidents and Accidental Exposure

• DOT regulations
• Transportation is an area that is prone to
  accidents
• Regulations are made to reduce the risk of spill
• Trucks carrying hazardous materials have to
  display HAZMAT signs
• The carriers might only be able to transport
  HAZMATS during certain hours

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• Worker Protection, OSHA act and the workers
  Right to Know
• In the past is was not unusual to require workers
  to perform jobs that were dangerous, exposing
  people to hazardous chemicals .
• This law requires businesses, industries, and
  laboratories to make available both information
  regarding hazardous materials and suitable
  protective equipment.
• One form is the MSDS, this must accompany the
  shipping, storage and handling of over 600
  chemicals
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• Community Protection and Emergency Preparedness
  SARA, Title III
• In 1984 a chemical accident in Bhopal India
  caused the release of 30-40 tons of Methyl
  isocyanate/. 600,000 people were exposed to the
  fumes. The official death stands at 11,500 but
  unofficial estimates range much higher.
• There were many injuries and chronic problems
  resulting
• Likely happened b/c Union Carbide scaled back
  safety and alarm systems in order to cut costs.
• Most people had little to no idea how to treat or
  protect themselves

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• EPCRA Rules
• This requires companies that handle in excess of
  5 tons of any hazardous material to provide a
  complete accounting of storage sites, feed
  hoppers and so on.
• This info goes to a local emergency planning
  committee.
• The task of the committee is to draw up scenarios
  for accidents involving the chemicals on site and
  to have a contingency pplan for every case.
• The Toxic Substances Control Act
• Before manufacturing a chemical in bulk,
  manufactures must submit a pre-manufacturing
  report to the EPA

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• In this report, the potential environmental and
  human health impacts of the substance are
  assessed including those which may derive from
  the ultimate disposal of the chemical.
• The manufacturer may be required tot test the
  effects of the product on living things
• The product may end up restricted or kept off the
  market if tests dont go well.
• Each chemical is kept in aqn inventory of
  chemicals with indications of potential risks.
• Currently, there are over 80,000 chemnicals on
  the inventory

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Broader Issues

• Environmental Justice and Hazardous Wastes
• Federal Response
• It has been found that waste sites and other
  hazardous facilities are ore likely to be located
  in towns and neighborhoods where most of the
  residents are non-Caucasian.
• The wastes are generated primarily by affluent
  industries and the affluent majority.
• The response was Executive Order 12898 which
  focuses federal agency attention on environmental
  justice.

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• International EJ
• The Basel Action Network prevents international
  trade involving toxic waste shipments.
• Pollution Prevention for a Sustainable Society
• Green Chemistry
• Find nonhazardous substitutes for hazardous
  materials. The dry cleaning industry is
  exploring water based cleaning.
• Clairol switched from water to foam balls for
  flushing pipes during the manufacture of hair
  products reducing wastewater by 70

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• Reuse cleaning up and recycling solvents and
  lubvricants.
• Some military bases have been able to distill
  solvents and reuse them instead of discarding
  them
• TRI data indicates that fewer hazardous chemicals
  are being disposed of.
• You the Consumer
• Reduce or avoid products containing harmful
  chemicals
• Store safely and dispose of correctly paints,
  stains, varnishes, batteries, pesticides, motor
  oil, oven cleaners and more
• Many communities hold HHW collection days
• Consider green products

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• Four ways to address the problems of chemical
  pollution
• Pollution prevention
• Recycling
• Treatment (breaking down or converting the
  Material to harmless products)
• safe disposal
• Minimum of waste..sustainabililty