WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS WASTE?

 Waste management is a challenging task, especially when it involves the management of hazardous waste.

 Hazardous wastes are those that, as the name indicates, offer dangerousness, risk to health and / or the environment.

 To be classified as I, the waste must have at least one of the following characteristics: flammability, corrosivity, reactivity, toxicity, pathogen city

 THE 3 TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE:

 Biological Waste

 They are wastes that contain infectious agents. Like viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, bacilli. The biological risk occurs through pathogenic microorganisms that, in contact with other living beings, can cause innumerable diseases. Many professional activities favor contact with such risks. This is the case of the food industries, hospitals, public cleaning (garbage collection), laboratories, etc.

 Tips for the correct disposal of this waste:

• Cotton, gauze, procedure gloves, tape and bandages should be disposed of in specific bins and covered with white bags
• Needles, scalpel blades, medicine bottles and ampoules (sharps); they must be discarded in specific collectors and also in yellow colors.
• Vaccine bottles with expired expiration date, with unused content, empty or with product remains must be sent to the Health Departments that made the distribution, kept in containers with resistant lids and perforations, ruptures and leaks with identification of the content. The same goes for needles and syringes.
• After treatment, the residues must be packed in white bags, containing the universal biohazard symbol of a size compatible with the quantity.

 The most used legal method for the treatment of this type of waste is incineration in an autoclave oven licensed for such procedure.

 Chemical Waste

 This group includes several products such as: rejected substances and chemicals (expired or unused), batteries, lamps, thermometers, batteries, among others.

 Tips for the correct disposal of this waste:

• Toxic inorganic residues and their aqueous solutions - Inorganic salts of toxic metals and their aqueous solutions must be previously diluted to concentration levels that allow direct disposal in the sink under running water.
• The residues that will be stored for later collection and disposal / incineration, must be collected separately in liquid-resistant, resistant collecting containers, with screw caps to prevent spills and closed to avoid gas evaporation.
• Organic or inorganic residues should be deactivated in order to transform small amounts of reactive chemicals into harmless derivatives, allowing their risk-free disposal. This work must be carried out with care, by specialized people
• In addition to the substance identification symbol, a self-adhesive label, filled in graphite containing the following information, must be affixed to the packaging containing these residues: Laboratory of origin, qualitative content; classification as to nature and warnings.
• The related organic or inorganic residues must be separated, conditioned, according to specific procedures and forms and appropriate to the category to which each belongs. On the source producing the waste and on its packaging, there must be international symbols established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Products, both from the United Nations (UN), appropriate to each case.

 These residues, depending on the concentration and types of substances, can be treated in effluent treatment plants - ETEs, by incineration and other methods. Some types like used lamps and lubricants for example can be largely recycled.

 Radioactive Waste

 This group may contain both low and high radioactivity residues. Low-level hazardous wastes are those that are generated in research laboratories such as tools, gloves, protective clothing and medical materials. And those with high radioactivity can be equipment and those produced in nuclear plants more precisely in the reactors.

 Tips for the correct disposal of this waste:

• Do not mix liquid radioactive waste with solids.
• Use special containers, labeled and appropriate to the nature of the radioactive product in question.
• Collect materials such as needles, pipette tips and other sharp objects, contaminated by radiation, in specific containers, with radioactivity signaling
• Containers must be identified with: Isotope present, type of chemical product and concentration, volume of content, date of disposal, laboratory of origin and the technician responsible
• In the event of a spill of radioactive liquids, absorbent papers or sand may be used, depending on the amount spilled. This will prevent it from spreading. These must be disposed of together with the other radioactive waste.
• Personnel responsible for the collection of radioactive waste must wear protective clothing and disposable gloves. These will be disposed of after use, too, as the radioactive waste.

 The disposal of radioactive waste is quite complex due to the dangerous it offers. There are still no economically viable treatment processes for this type of waste, so most generators send what they generate to locations prepared to receive and store this waste indefinitely, avoiding possible accidents. Radioactive waste becomes an environmental liability and must be monitored continuously.

 Hazardous waste must be managed with great care, as irregular disposal results in serious problems with inspection agencies, severe penalties for the generator and everyone involved in the process. But, mainly environmental, public health and social impacts that can be irreversible.

Real Also: Financial Management: A guide with the best tips and practices

 

Real Also: 5 Steps to Starting a Business from Scratch (And Achieve Incredible Success)

 

Real Also: Waste Sorting: First step towards recycling