Hazardous Waste Management and Health Risks presents a systematic overview of evaluating solid and hazardous waste management practices. The book introduces readers to the basic principles of hazardous waste management and progresses into related topics that allow managers to assess environmental quality. These topics include heavy metal pollution, reproductive biomarkers as signals of environmental pressure and health risks, and environmental contamination in an international perspective. With an emphasis on sustainable development throughout the text, a zero-waste strategy as an alternative way to manage hazardous waste is suggested in a dedicated chapter. This reference book is intended as an introductory guide for managers taking waste management training courses and students involved in degree courses related to environmental engineering and management.
Hazardous waste in the environment is one of the most difficult challenges facing our society. The purpose of this book is to provide a background of the many aspects of hazardous waste, from its sources to its consequences, focusing on the risks posed to human health and the environment. It explains the legislation and regulations surrounding hazardous waste; however, the scope of the book is much broader, discussing agents that are released into the environment that might not be classified as hazardous waste under the regulatory system, but nonetheless pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. It provides a background of some of the major generators of hazardous wastes, explains the pathways by which humans and wildlife are exposed, and includes discussion of the adverse health effects linked to these pollutants. It provides numerous case studies of hazardous waste mismanagement that have led to disastrous consequences, and highlights the deficiencies in science and regulation that have allowed the public to be subjected to myriad potentially hazardous agents. Finally, it provides a discussion of measures that will need to be taken to control society's hazardous waste problem. This book was designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences, including students, professionals, and general readers interested in the topic. - Provides information about sources of and health risks posed by hazardous waste - Explains the legislation and regulations surrounding hazardous waste - Includes numerous case studies of mismanagement, highlights deficiencies in science and regulation and discusses measures to tackle society's hazardous waste problems
This is the second edition of the WHO handbook on the safe, sustainable and affordable management of health-care waste--commonly known as "the Blue Book". The original Blue Book was a comprehensive publication used widely in health-care centers and government agencies to assist in the adoption of national guidance. It also provided support to committed medical directors and managers to make improvements and presented practical information on waste-management techniques for medical staff and waste workers. It has been more than ten years since the first edition of the Blue Book. During the intervening period, the requirements on generators of health-care wastes have evolved and new methods have become available. Consequently, WHO recognized that it was an appropriate time to update the original text. The purpose of the second edition is to expand and update the practical information in the original Blue Book. The new Blue Book is designed to continue to be a source of impartial health-care information and guidance on safe waste-management practices. The editors' intention has been to keep the best of the original publication and supplement it with the latest relevant information. The audience for the Blue Book has expanded. Initially, the publication was intended for those directly involved in the creation and handling of health-care wastes: medical staff, health-care facility directors, ancillary health workers, infection-control officers and waste workers. This is no longer the situation. A wider range of people and organizations now have an active interest in the safe management of health-care wastes: regulators, policy-makers, development organizations, voluntary groups, environmental bodies, environmental health practitioners, advisers, researchers and students. They should also find the new Blue Book of benefit to their activities. Chapters 2 and 3 explain the various types of waste produced from health-care facilities, their typical characteristics and the hazards these wastes pose to patients, staff and the general environment. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the guiding regulatory principles for developing local or national approaches to tackling health-care waste management and transposing these into practical plans for regions and individual health-care facilities. Specific methods and technologies are described for waste minimization, segregation and treatment of health-care wastes in Chapters 6, 7 and 8. These chapters introduce the basic features of each technology and the operational and environmental characteristics required to be achieved, followed by information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of each system. To reflect concerns about the difficulties of handling health-care wastewaters, Chapter 9 is an expanded chapter with new guidance on the various sources of wastewater and wastewater treatment options for places not connected to central sewerage systems. Further chapters address issues on economics (Chapter 10), occupational safety (Chapter 11), hygiene and infection control (Chapter 12), and staff training and public awareness (Chapter 13). A wider range of information has been incorporated into this edition of the Blue Book, with the addition of two new chapters on health-care waste management in emergencies (Chapter 14) and an overview of the emerging issues of pandemics, drug-resistant pathogens, climate change and technology advances in medical techniques that will have to be accommodated by health-care waste systems in the future (Chapter 15).
Incineration has been used widely for waste disposal, including household, hazardous, and medical wasteâ€"but there is increasing public concern over the benefits of combusting the waste versus the health risk from pollutants emitted during combustion. Waste Incineration and Public Health informs the emerging debate with the most up-to-date information available on incineration, pollution, and human healthâ€"along with expert conclusions and recommendations for further research and improvement of such areas as risk communication. The committee provides details on: Processes involved in incineration and how contaminants are released. Environmental dynamics of contaminants and routes of human exposure. Tools and approaches for assessing possible human health effects. Scientific concerns pertinent to future regulatory actions. The book also examines some of the social, psychological, and economic factors that affect the communities where incineration takes place and addresses the problem of uncertainty and variation in predicting the health effects of incineration processes.
This reference presents reviews and case studies of hazardous waste management in a selection of cities. The overarching themes of the compiled topics include 1) the problems of healthcare waste management, 2) case studies of hazardous waste mismanagement, 3) health risks associated with environmental waste, issues in environmental health and 4) grassroots environmentalism.The volume initially presents reviews and case studies from developing countries, including countries in South America (Argentina), Africa (Algeria and Nigeria), and Asia (India). The latter chapters of the book focus on environmental issues in Campania, a region in Italy. These chapters also provide an insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste management practices in this region.Risks and Challenges of Hazardous Waste Management is an insightful reference for management trainees, professionals and researchers associated with waste management and environmental health firms. Readers will gain insights into current issues and practices in the respective industries. The reviews and case studies presented in the reference are also useful to professionals involved in risk assessment studies.
This third edition updates and expands the material presented in the best-selling first and second editions of Basic Hazardous Waste Management. It covers health and safety issues affecting hazardous waste workers, management and regulation of radioactive and biomedical/infectious wastes, as well as current trends in technologies. While the topics
Hazardous waste management is a complex, interdisciplinary field that continues to grow and change as global conditions change. Mastering this evolving and multifaceted field of study requires knowledge of the sources and generation of hazardous wastes, the scientific and engineering principles necessary to eliminate the threats they pose to people and the environment, the laws regulating their disposal, and the best or most cost-effective methods for dealing with them. Written for students with some background in engineering, this comprehensive, highly acclaimed text does not only provide detailed instructions on how to solve hazardous waste problems but also guides students to think about ways to approach these problems. Each richly detailed, self-contained chapter ends with a set of discussion topics and problems. Case studies, with equations and design examples, are provided throughout the book to give students the chance to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatment and containment technologies.
Prudent Practices in the Laboratory-the book that has served for decades as the standard for chemical laboratory safety practice-now features updates and new topics. This revised edition has an expanded chapter on chemical management and delves into new areas, such as nanotechnology, laboratory security, and emergency planning. Developed by experts from academia and industry, with specialties in such areas as chemical sciences, pollution prevention, and laboratory safety, Prudent Practices in the Laboratory provides guidance on planning procedures for the handling, storage, and disposal of chemicals. The book offers prudent practices designed to promote safety and includes practical information on assessing hazards, managing chemicals, disposing of wastes, and more. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory will continue to serve as the leading source of chemical safety guidelines for people working with laboratory chemicals: research chemists, technicians, safety officers, educators, and students.
Rapid global urbanization and increases in living standards in recent decades have led to changes in the household hazardous waste (HHW) generation characteristics due to increases in buying power and easier access to products that are convenient but not always safe. In recent years, the amount of diversified hazardous materials and/or potentially hazardous materials, such as cleaning products, medicines, personal care products, packaging and container products, phthalates, and antibacterial agents, poses a serious threat to the environment and public health. As a result developed countries have adopted well-functioning policy measures and innovative technologies to deal with HHW. On the other hand, developing countries have weak institutional structures and poor policy performance and have adopted ad hoc approaches to manage HHW. The book contains five chapters covering topics of household hazardous waste management and exposure assessment. This book will be useful to many research scientists, solid and hazardous waste managers, administrators, librarians, and students in the scope of development in solid and hazardous waste management program including sources of household hazardous waste, exposure assessment, and government policies on waste generation and treatment and processing of HHW.
