A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the

environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws (see Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act) hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed
wastes. [1]

Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known or tested to exhibit a hazardous trait
such as:

• ignitability (i.e., flammable)

• reactivity
• corrosivity
• toxicity

Listed hazardous waste are materials specifically listed by the EPA or State as a hazardous
waste. Hazardous wastes listed by EPA fall into two major categories:

• process wastes from general activities (F-listed) and from specific industrial processes
(K-listed)
• unused or off-specification chemicals, container residues and spill cleanup residues of
acute hazardous waste chemicals (P-listed) and other chemicals (U-listed)

These wastes may be found in different physical states such as gaseous, liquids, or solids.
Furthermore, a hazardous waste is a special type of waste because it cannot be disposed of by
common means like other by-products of our everyday lives. Depending on the physical state of
the waste, treatment and solidification processes might be available. In other cases, however,
there is not much that can be done to prevent harm.

Characteristic wastes

Characteristic Hazardous Wastes are defined as wastes that exhibit the following characteristics:
ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, toxicity, infectious or pathogenic.

[edit] Ignitability

Ignitable wastes can create fires under certain conditions, are spontaneously combustible, or have
a flash point less than 60 °C (140 °F). Examples include waste oils and used solvents. For more
details, see 40 CFR §261.21. Test methods that may be used to determine ignitability include the
Pensky-Martens Closed-Cup Method for Determining Ignitability, the Setaflash Closed-Cup
Method for Determining Ignitability, and the Ignitability of Solids.

[edit] Corrosive

Corrosive wastes are acids or bases (pH less than or equal to 2, or greater than or equal to 12.5)
that are capable of corroding metal containers, such as storage tanks, drums, and barrels. Battery
acid is an example. For more details, see 40 CFR §261.22. The test method that may be used to
determine corrosivity is the Corrosivity Towards Steel (Method 1110A) (PDF).
[edit] Reactivity

Reactive wastes are unstable under "normal" conditions. They can cause explosions, toxic fumes,
gases, or vapors when heated, compressed, or mixed with water. Examples include lithium-sulfur
batteries and explosives. For more details, see 40 CFR §261.23. There are currently no test
methods available.

[edit] Toxicity

Toxic wastes are those containing concentrations of certain substances in excess of regulatory
thresholds which are expected to cause injury or illness to human health or the environment. For
more details see [3]

[edit] Listed wastes

Listed hazardous wastes are generated by specific industries and processes and are automatically
considered hazardous, based solely on the process that generates them and irrespective of
whether a test of the waste shows any of the "characteristics" of hazardous waste. Examples of
listed wastes include:

• many sludges leftover from electroplating processes.

• certain waste from iron and steel manufacturing
• wastes from certain cleaning and/or degreasing processes

Hazardous wastes are incorporated into lists published by the Environmental Protection Agency.
These lists are organized into three categories:

[edit] The F-list (non-specific source wastes)

This list identifies wastes from common manufacturing and industrial processes, such as
solvents, that have been used in cleaning or degreasing operations. Because the processes
producing these wastes can occur in different sectors of industry, the F-listed wastes are known
as wastes from non-specific sources. (See 40 CFR 261.31)

[edit] The K-list (source-specific wastes)

This list includes certain wastes from specific industries, such as petroleum refining or pesticide
manufacturing. Certain sludges and wastewaters from treatment and production processes in
these industries are examples of source-specific wastes. (See 40 CFR 261.32)

[edit] Discarded wastes (P-List and U-List)

P-List and U-List wastes are actually sublists of the same major list applying to discarded wastes.
These wastes apply to commercial chemical products that are considered hazardous when
discarded and are regulated under the following U.S. Federal Regulation: 40 C.F.R. 261.33 (e)
and (f). P-List wastes are wastes that are considered "acutely hazardous" when discarded and are
subject to more stringent regulation. Nitric oxide is an example of a P-list waste and carries the
number P076. U-Listed wastes are considered "hazardous" when discarded and are regulated in a
somewhat less stringent manner than P-Listed wastes. [Acetone] is an example of a U-Listed
waste and carries the number U002.

RACTICES OF HANDLING AND MANAGEMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTE

There are various concepts of Handling and Management of Hazardous

Wastes. The usage of those concepts varies from country to country and

from region to region. The experts in the field of the management of

hazardous wastes have gone ahead to four ‘RS’ against the earlier THREE ‘Rs’

Hierarchy. Now the expanded forms of these four ‘Rs’ as considered by

environmentalists are: -

Reduce- Reuse- Recycle – Re-think. The Hierarchy of four ‘Rs’ points towards

some fundamental flaws and hence a thorough and effective system of

handling and management of hazardous wastes must be applied in the

current situations. The popularly applied practices of handling and

management of hazardous waste during current age are briefly mentioned

below-

A. Reduction at Source: The word source means the place of origin – of

the hazardous Waste. The ‘reduction at source’ means, decreasing or

reducing the mass of waste by reducing its production, at the source of its

origin. In fact, the best way of elimination of hazardous waste is not to

generate it in the first place. In other words-

 Reducing the volume of waste at the site of its production is called as Source

Reduction. The reduction of Hazardous Waste at source may be done either

by minimizing its production at first place or by replacing it by less toxic to

non- toxic materials. Examples: Improved integrated circuits, replacement of

toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons (1970s) by less toxic glycol ethers (1980s)

and replacement of glycol ethers by low toxicity ethers (1990s).

B. Recycling: The process of recovery or reuse of usable materials out of

discarded wastes is called as recycling. For example about 15 per cent of

Sulphuric acid is recycled in chemical manufacturing. During early days, all

the sulphur needed for the production of sulphuric acid was taken out of

mines directly. But, now with the prevailing tendencies of recycling,

sulphuric acid manufacturing industries are using sulphur from smelters,

refineries etc.Recycling is the process of recovery of used matter for further

use through different methods like shredding, Magnetic Separation of

metals, air classification, Screening, washing etc. Bottles, cans, news

papers, card boards, and other items are recycled today to minimise waste.

This process lessens the load at incinerators and landfills.

C. Treatment: Various physical, chemical, and biological processes are

employed for neutralising the hazardous effects of chemicals. These

processes are called as treatment. Let us discuss these processes of

handling and management of hazardous wastes one by one.

(i). Physical Treatment: The physical treatment of a hazardous waste

means to alter physical states of wastes so as to minimise, or neutralise

their hazardous effects. This type of treatment incorporates activities both

on micro and mega levels. At micro level the processes involved basically

relate to separation of different types of wastes like liquid wastes and solid

wastes. Some of these processes may be floatation, filtration, evaporation,

stripping, screening, sedimentation and even, centrifugation. At mega level

some of the popularly known processes are prolonged storage of the

hazardous waste (so as to neutralise its toxicity or hazardousness);

lagooning, and sludge drying. The prolonged storage of some nuclear or

radiological wastes is done in view of making them harmless on the basis of

the knowledge of their half life. The process of lagooning is the process and

activity of constructing a shallow and protected body of wastes created by or

near an industrial or waste site.

Another method of handling and disposal of hazardous waste is

solidification. It involves melting solid hazardous waste and mixing it with

a binder. The binder is a substance that eventually hardens the mixture of

wastes into an impenetrable mass. An important method treatment of

radioactive wastes is turning it into a glass through a process known as

vitrification.

(ii).Chemical Treatment: Treatment of a hazardous waste by some

specific chemical to neutralise its hazardous effects before releasing it into

the environment, is called as chemical treatment For example, the

application of sodium hydroxide to treat acid wastes at integrated circuit

plants is a case which follows this rule. Now a day hydrochloric acid wastes

are treated with lime which produces harmless calcium chloride. The

sulphuric acid wastes can be treated with ammonia wastes forming

ammonium sulphate which is a fertilizer.

(iii). Biological Treatment: The treatment of hazardous wastes involving

biological agents for the neutralisation, decomposition, disintegration, and

digestion of hazardous wastes is called as biological treatment of hazardous

wastes. Composting, vermi-composting, manuring and sanitary land filling

are some of the biological processes of hazardous waste treatment.