Hazardous waste is generally waste that has potential or significant hazards to the environment or public health. This could be in the form of solid wastes, liquid wastes, gaseous wastes or radioactive materials, check out GHS. Any type of hazardous waste poses a danger to the public and could cause serious damage to the environment if not managed properly. The adverse effects of hazardous waste can range from minor environmental effects to severe consequences. This is why companies that produce, manage, handle or store this dangerous waste must follow strict waste management processes in order to protect the public from hazard.
A hazardous waste management program is a system in place to regulate the storage, handling, transport, recycling and disposal of these wastes. This system aims to limit the risks posed by hazardous waste and to ensure its safe storage, treatment and disposal. This is one of the major recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). Both of these international bodies have identified hazardous waste as a major cause for concern because of the threat it poses to the environment and human health. They have also called for a global co-ordinated effort to effectively manage and contain the waste.
Controlling hazardous waste is a very large issue requiring comprehensive and coordinated response. This is where a hazardous waste management program comes into play. It is a systematic process that involves the careful evaluation of the status of hazardous wastes in a facility, their potential dangers to the environment and the probability of their waste being used again. This would determine the amount of waste that can be disposed off, the location of the waste, the way it can be disposed off and the frequency of the disposal. Environmental contamination due to hazardous wastes occurs in both commercial and residential settings. In addition, government organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state hazardous waste management programs have been established to address environmental issues relating to hazardous waste.
Governments at national, regional and local level are taking steps to mitigate the effects of hazardous waste by developing regulatory frameworks and establishing financial assurance regulations for companies disposing off their hazardous waste. The management of hazardous waste can be traced back to the early 70s when the Federal Clean Air Act was passed. The Act established the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA, which is responsible for regulating all aspects of hazardous waste. EPA determines the safe storage and transportation of the wastes and sets the criteria for regulated entities to determine whether they are in compliance with the Act. All companies that produce, store or transport hazardous waste need to register with EPA in order to transport or store hazardous waste.
Since then, many companies have chosen to establish themselves as authorized operators under the Act in order to handle and dispose of hazardous wastes. With the increase in the production of different hazardous wastes, the scope of activities performed by companies handling them also widened. With the increase in the number of hazardous wastes, the problem of controlling the disposal of them also became more challenging.
Controlling the disposal of wastes by companies has become more challenging due to the emergence of a variety of hazardous waste materials. EPA states that different wastes may cause different environmental threats. Some of these include respiratory and reproductive health risks; ozone layer depletion; global warming; water quality and pollution; and security of the environment. Based on these concerns, the disposal of waste may cause environmental harm. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazardous_waste