Industrial waste

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Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a

] Most countries have enacted legislation to deal with the problem of industrial waste, but strictness and compliance regimes vary. Enforcement is always an issue.

Classification of industrial waste and its treatment

Hazardous waste, chemical waste, industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste are classifications of wastes used by governments in different countries. Sewage treatment plants can treat some industrial wastes, i.e. those consisting of conventional pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Industrial wastes containing toxic pollutants or high concentrations of other pollutants (such as ammonia) require specialized treatment systems. (See Industrial wastewater treatment).^[3]

Industrial wastes can be classified on the basis of their characteristics:

• Waste in solid form, but some pollutants within are in liquid or fluid form, e.g. crockery industry or washing of minerals or coal
• Waste in dissolved and the pollutant is in liquid form, e.g. the dairy industry.

Environmental impact

Many factories and most power plants are located near bodies of water to obtain large amounts of water for manufacturing processes or for

Many less-developed countries that are becoming industrialized do not yet have the resources or technology to dispose their wastes with minimal impacts on the environment.^[6] Both untreated and partially treated wastewater are commonly fed back into a near lying body of water. Metals, chemicals and sewage released into bodies of water directly affect marine ecosystems and the health of those who depend on the waters as food or drinking water sources. Toxins from the wastewater can kill off marine life or cause varying degrees of illness to those who consume these marine animals, depending on the contaminant. Metals and chemicals released into bodies of water affect the marine ecosystems.^[7]

Wastewater containing nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) often causes eutrophication which can kill off existing life in water bodies. A Thailand study focusing on water pollution origins found that the highest concentrations of water contamination in the U-tapao river had a direct correlation to industrial wastewater discharges.^[8]

Solid and hazardous waste

Solid waste, often called

Water pollution

One of the most devastating effects of industrial waste is water pollution. For many industrial processes, water is used which comes in contact with harmful chemicals. These chemicals may include organic compounds (such as solvents), metals, nutrients or radioactive material. If the wastewater is discharged without treatment, groundwater and surface water bodies—lakes, streams, rivers and coastal waters—can become polluted, with serious impacts on human health and the environment. Drinking water sources and irrigation water used for farming may be affected. The pollutants may degrade or destroy habitat for animals and plants. In coastal areas, fish and other aquatic life can be contaminated by untreated waste; beaches and other recreational areas can be damaged or closed.^{[12]: 273–309  [13]}

Management

This section needs expansion with: Overview of waste management practices globally. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Thailand

In Thailand the roles in municipal solid waste (MSW) management and industrial waste management are organized by the Royal Thai Government, which is organized as central (national) government, regional government, and local government. Each government is responsible for different tasks. The central government is responsible for stimulating regulation, policies, and standards. The regional governments are responsible for coordinating the central and local governments. The local governments are responsible for waste management in their governed area.^[14] However, the local governments do not dispose of the waste by themselves but instead hire private companies that have been granted the right from the Pollution Control Department (PCD) in Thailand.^[15] The main companies are Bangpoo Industrial Waste Management Center,^[16] General Environmental Conservation Public Company Limited (GENCO),^[17] SGS Thailand,^[18] Waste Management Siam LTD (WMS),^[19] and Better World Green Public Company Limited (BWG).^[20] These companies are responsible for the waste they have received from their customers before releasing it to the environment, burying it.

United States

The 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) provides for federal regulation of industrial, household, and manufacturing solid and hazardous wastes in the United States.^[11][21] RCRA aims to conserve natural resources and energy, protect human health, eliminate or reduce waste, and to clean up waste when needed.^[21] RCRA first began as an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, and in 1984, Congress passed the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) which strengthened RCRA by:^[22]

• Eliminating land disposal—land disposal means placing waste on or in land (e.g. injection wells, landfills, etc.), and the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) program (under HSWA) forbids untreated hazardous waste from land disposals, and requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set specific treatment standards that must be met before hazardous waste can be subject to land disposals. The LDR program also has a dilution prohibition, which asserts that hazardous waste cannot be diluted down by the handler as a means to avoid satisfying the treatment.^[22][23]
• Waste minimization—the goal of waste minimization is to make sure that the amount of hazardous waste that is produced, and its toxicity levels, is as diminished as possible, and the EPA does this through source reduction and recycling. Source reduction (or pollution prevention (P2)) trims production of hazardous wastes right at its source, and is the EPA's first step in material management with recycling being second.^[22][24][25]
• Amplifying the EPA's authority regarding corrective action—corrective action is when treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) must oblige with inquiring hazardous releases into ground and surface water, soil, and air, and clearing it up. Under the HSWA, the EPA can necessitate corrective action at permitted and non-permitted TSDFs.^[22][26]

Furthermore, the EPA uses Superfund to find sites of contamination, identify the parties responsible, and in the occurrences where said parties are not known or able to, the program funds cleanups.^[27] Superfund also works on figuring out and applying final remedies for cleanups. The Superfund process is to: 1) collect necessary information (known as the Remedial Investigation (RI) phase); 2) assess alternatives to deal with any potential risks to the environmental and human health (known as the Feasibility Study (FS) stage); 3) determine the most suitable remedies that could lower the risks to more adequate levels.^[27] Some sites are so contaminated because of past waste disposals that it takes decades to clean them up, or bring the contamination down to acceptable levels, thus requiring long-term management over those sites. Hence, sometimes figuring out a final remedy is not possible, and so, the EPA has developed the Adaptive Management plan.^[27]

The EPA has issued national regulations regarding the handling, treatment and disposal of wastes. EPA has authorized individual state environmental agencies to implement and enforce the RCRA regulations through approved waste management programs.^[28]

State compliance is monitored by EPA inspections. In the case that waste management guideline standards are not met, action against the site^[

The 1972 Clean Water Act is a broad legislative mandate to protect surface waters (rivers, lakes and coastal water bodies).[30] A 1948 law had authorized research and development of voluntary water standards, and had provided limited financing for state and local government efforts. The 1972 law prohibited, for the first time, uncontrolled discharges of industrial waste, as well as municipal sewage, into waters of the United States. EPA was required to develop national standards for industrial facilities and standards for municipal sewage treatment plants. States were required to develop water quality standards for individual water bodies. Enforcement is mainly delegated to state agencies. Major amendments to the law were passed in 1977 and 1987.^[31]

See also

• Chemical waste
• Environmental remediation
• Environmental racism
• Hazardous waste
• List of solid waste treatment technologies
• List of waste management companies
• List of waste management topics
• Recycling
• Soil pollution
• Tailings (mining waste)

References

1. ISBN 9781438126333
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2. ^ "Industrial Waste Management: Waste Stream Statistics". Recover Inc. 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
3. ^ Introduction to the National Pretreatment Program (Report). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2011. pp. 1–1, 1–2. EPA 833-B-11-001.
4. ^ "How We Use Water". EPA. 2018-02-05.
5. ^ "Cooling Water Intakes". EPA. 2020-05-14.
6. doi:10.22059/POLL.2020.295451.735
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7. ^ Wastes in Marine Environments. Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 1987. p. 22.
8. ^ Gyawali at al. (2012). "Effects of Industrial Waste Disposal on the Surface Water Quality of U-tapao River, Thailand" (PDF). 2012 International Conference on Environment Science and Engineering. 32: 5.
9. ISBN 978-81-224-1839-2
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10. ^ "Defining Hazardous Waste: Listed, Characteristic and Mixed Radiological Wastes". EPA. 2020-07-16.
11. ^
    Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 94–580
    Approved 21 October 1976.
12. ISBN 9781119304500
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13. ^ Denchak, Melissa (2018-05-14). "Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know". Our Stories. New York: Natural Resources Defense Council.
14. ^ Jiaranaikhajorn, Taweechai. "Waste and Hazardous Substances Management Bureau" (PDF). Pollution Control Department, Thailand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
15. ^ "Pollution Control Department Statement, Thailand". Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Archived from the original on 2014-11-11.
16. ^ Visvanathan, C. "Hazardous and Industrial Solid Waste Management in Thailand - an Overview" (PDF). www.faculty.ait.ac.th/visu/. Asian Institute of Technology Thailand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
17. ^ "Genco Background". General Environment Conservation Public Company Limited (GENCO). Retrieved 22 November 2014.
18. ^ "About SGS". SGS (Thailand) Limited. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
19. ^ "About Waste Management Siam Ltd.(WMS)". Waste Management Siam Ltd. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
20. ^ "About BGW". Better World Green Public Company Limited (BWG ). Retrieved 22 November 2014.
21. ^ ^{a b} US EPA, OMS (2014-11-10). "Regulatory and Guidance Information by Topic: Waste". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
22. ^ ^{a b c d} US EPA, OLEM (2015-08-18). "History of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
23. ^ US EPA, OLEM (2015-11-25). "Land Disposal Restrictions for Hazardous Waste". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
24. ^ "Waste Minimization" (PDF). Microsoft Word. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
25. ^ "Frequent Questions | Waste Minimization | Wastes | US EPA". archive.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
26. ^ US EPA, OLEM (2016-01-22). "Learn about Corrective Action". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
27. ^
    PMID 17533822
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28. ^ ^{a b c} "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Overview". EPA. 2020-10-29.
29. ^ Brown; et al. (June 1977). "Reassessing the History of U.S. Hazardous Waste Disposal Policy - Problem Definition, Expert Knowledge and Agenda-Setting". Risk: Health, Safety and Environment (1990-2002). 8: 26.
30. Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 92–500
    October 18, 1972.
31. ^ Copeland, Claudia (2016-10-18). Clean Water Act: A Summary of the Law (PDF) (Report). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congressional Research Service. RL30030.