Hazardous MaterialsHazardous MaterialsProduction to Destruction

Occupational Safety and Health Administration– The toxicity of a substance is its ability to cause

harmful effects. – All chemicals can cause harm. – When only a very large amount of the chemical can

cause damage, the chemical is considered to be relatively non-toxic. When a small amount can be harmful, the chemical is considered toxic.

Physical Physical v. v.

Chemical HazardChemical HazardPhysical is a danger of fire, explosion, etc.

that a material can cause. This is much easier to control and measure.

Chemical Hazard is the danger the material itself poses to humans/environment due to its existence.

Toxic v. HazardousToxic v. Hazardous The toxicity of a substance is the potential of that

substance to cause harm, and is only one factor in determining whether a hazard exists. The hazard of a chemical is the practical likelihood that the chemical will cause harm. A chemical is determined to be a hazard depending on the following factors: – toxicity: how much of the substance is required to

cause harm, – route of exposure: how the substance enters your body– dose : how much enters your body

Toxic v. HazardousToxic v. Hazardous

– duration: the length of time you are exposed, – reaction and interaction: other substances you

are exposed to, and – sensitivity: how your body reacts to the

substance compared to others

Modes of TransmissionModes of Transmission

Skin ContactInhalationIngestionEye Contact

Health AffectsHealth AffectsAcute – Meaning they act immediately like

producing a cough, watery eyes, nausea, etc.

Chronic Affects – Meaning the effect they have is long term and sometimes cumulative. X-ray exposure, noxious cleaning chemicals, etc.

What form do hazardous What form do hazardous materials take?materials take?

SolidLiquidGasVaporDustFumeFiberMist

How are we protectedHow are we protected

Workers must have access to MSDS sheets of materials they work with

Trucks are placardedWarning Labels on ContainersRivalry between EPA and OSHA keeps

everyone on their toes

How does using HM impact How does using HM impact everyone?everyone?

Insurance ratesInjuries/DeathCleanupEnvironmental DamageEvacuationProduct LossTraffic Delays

Costs on Highways OnlyCosts on Highways Only

2,484 Accidents/yr Accidents = $1.2 B/yr

– Includes: losses of product emergency vehicles Insurance Deaths and cleanup

What to do with HMWWhat to do with HMW

IncinerateLandfillChemically TreatResource RecoveryDeep Injection WellsExport

Problems with disposalProblems with disposal

Costly, in most cases the cost of fines for release are much less expensive than cost of proper disposal

Lack of SpaceEnvironmental Racism

What is the US doing?What is the US doing? Cercla – Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation And Liability Act of 1980

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Superfund Program taxes oil refineries and

hazardous materials producers and uses these to finance cleanup of these sites once they are unusable.

National Priorities List rates these. Not surprisingly this is not enough to pay for

pollution/cleanup

What is the US doing?What is the US doing?

Transporters of waste and materials are charged a fee

– This money is used to fund grants for states to train Hazardous Emergency Response Teams and develop planning for such emergencies

Countries that address HM Countries that address HM and Wasteand Waste

These are mostly taxes/fees for dumping hazardous wastes

FranceSpainBelgium among others

What is the world community What is the world community doing?doing?

Basel Convention (ESM - environmentally sound management)

– US has not ratified

HMWHMW

Hazardous waste taxes are a statistically and economically significant deterrent to interstate waste transport, that taxes are being imposed by large-capacity and large-import states, and that therefore these taxes have had a decentralizing effect on the" national pattern of hazardous waste transport and disposal.

SourcesSources

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ http://www.osha.gov http://www.epa.gov http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=226069 http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/epp/93/93c.html http://hazmat.dot.gov/files/registration/0304/regbrch2004.pdf http://www.europa.eu.int