Human Health and Solid Waste

1. Human Health and Solid Waste By: Sarah Nelson, Celine Debacker, Sydney Ginn, Abby Maiwald, and Shauna Shahangian

2. Risks and Hazards • Risk- the possibility of suffering harm from a hazard causing injury, death, disease or loss • It is usually expressed by a mathematical probability. • Risk Assessment- the scientific process of estimating how much harm a particular hazard can cause to human health or the environment • Risk Management- deciding whether or how to reduce a particular risk to a certain level and at what cost • Types of Hazards: • Biological- over 1,400 pathogens including bacteria and protozoa • Chemical- harmful chemicals in the environment • Physical- fire, earthquake, flood, tornado, etc. • Cultural- societal effects such as smoking, drinking, and poverty

3. Biological Hazards • Nontransmissible Disease- not caused by living organisms and does not spread between people -e.g. Asthma, Malnutrition, and Emphysema • Transmissible Disease- an infection cause by a pathogen in the form of a bacterium, virus, or parasite that the body cannot fight before it interferes with its functioning • Epidemic- an outbreak of an infectious disease in an area or country • Pandemic- a global epidemic • Viral Diseases- The world’s most widespread and dangerous viruses are influenza, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B • Conservation Medicine is a field attempting to identify links between wildlife and humans and slow or prevent the spread of diseases in this manner. • HIV prevention- HIV is a deadly virus that is spread through sexual contact and blood. It can be prevented through education, use of protection, and by making testing and drugs more available. • Malaria is a virus spread by mosquitoes and infects many people in poor African countries.

4. Chemical Hazards • Chemical hazards are found mostly in the forms of mutagens (chemicals or radiation that can cause mutations), teratogens (chemicals that can cause birth defects or harm to a fetus), or carcinogens (chemicals or radiation that can cause cancer). • Some chemicals can either block or mimic human hormones and disrupt the endocrine system. • Toxicology is the science that examines the effects of harmful chemicals while toxicity is the measure of how harmful a substance really is. • An acute effect is an immediate or rapid reaction to an exposure while a chronic effect is a permanent or long-lasting consequence.

5. Risk Analysis • Risk analysis involves identifying hazards and evaluating their associated risks. • Smoking cigarettes is the most preventable major cause of suffering and early death in the world among adults.

6. Integrated Waste Management • Integrated Waste management: strategies for both waste reduction and waste management • First priority: Change process and input controls • Second Priority: Reuse/repair products (recycle) • Third Priority: Treat waste and change output controls

7. Solutions: Reducing Solid Waste • Refuse: to buy items that we really don’t need • Reduce: consume less and live a simpler and less stressful life • Reuse: rely more on items that can be used repetitively • Repurpose: use something for another purpose instead of throwing it away • Recycle: buy items made from recycled material

8. Recycling • Primary recycling (closed loop): materials are turned into new products of the same type • Secondary recycling: recycled materials converted into entirely different products • Advantages: • Reduces air and water pollution • Saves energy • Helps protect biodiversity • Disadvantages: • Does not save landfill space • Reduces profits from landfills and incinerators

9. Incineration • Advantages: • Reduces trash volume • Low water pollution • Sale of energy reduces cost • Disadvantages: • Expensive • Some air pollution • Difficult to find sites because of citizen opposition • Sanitary Landfills • Advantages: • No open burning • Little odor • Low operating costs • Disadvantages: • Noise and traffic • Air pollution • Groundwater contamination Various ways of disposal: Incinerator: boil water to make steam for heating water, or for production of electricity Open dump: holes in ground where garbage is deposited and covered with soil Sanitary landfills: solid wastes are spread out in thin layers, compacted, and covered with a fresh layer of clay or plastic foam

10. Hazardous Waste • Hazardous waste- any solid or liquid material that’s toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive enough to explode or release toxic fumes • RCRA- cradle to grave tracking • CERCLA(Superfund)- identifies abandoned hazardous waste sites

11. Converting toxic waste into less hazardous substances • Physical- filtering, distilling, or precipitating harmful chemicals • Chemical- use a series of chemical reactions to convert into less harmful material (ie. cyclodextrin, nanomagnets) • Biological- bioremediation using bacteria and enzymes • Disposal • Incineration • Plasma arc • Storage • Deep underground wells • Surface impoundments

12. Lead and Mercury • Lead- doesn’t break down, causes neurological damage • Mercury- teratogen, may be inhaled, bio accumulated in fish and passed to humans • Lead poisoning • Prevention: • Phase out leaded gasoline worldwide • Phase out waste incineration • Ban use of lead solder • Control: • Sharply reduce lead emissions from old and new incinerators • Replace lead pipes and plumbing fixtures containing lead solder • Mercury Pollution • Prevention: • Phase out waste incineration • Remove mercury from coal • Convert coal to liquid or gaseous fuel • Control • Reduce mercury emissions from coal-burning plants • Tax each unit of mercury emitted by coal-burning plants

13. Key terms • Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded material that is neither a gas nor a liquid • Hazardous/toxic waste: threatens human health or the environment because it is toxic, chemically active, corrosive, or flammable • Municipal solid waste (MSW): wasted produced directly by homes and workplaces • Industrial waste: waste produced indirectly by mines, factories, refineries, food growers, and business that supply people with goods and services • Electronic waste (E-waste) • Preconsumer waste: waste generated in the manufacturing process • Postconsumer waste: generated by the consumer use of products • Composting: copy nature to recycle biodegradable organic wastes • Leachate: chemical cocktail at the bottom of a dump