Recognizing Hazards and How People May Be Exposed to Contaminants

1. Recognizing Hazards and How People May Be Exposed to Contaminants by Jennifer Williams Alaska Tribal Waste and Response Assistance Program Coordinator Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals 907-250-3826

2. Outcome Participants will be able to: Identify hazardous substances. Identify products and materials that may contain hazardous substances. Identify how people may be exposed to contaminants. Locate resources to identify health risks associated with the hazardous substances.

3. Hazardous Substances Lead Mercury Cadmium Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Petroleum Products Solvents Ethylene Glycol Acids, Ammonia, Sodium Hydroxide

4. Lead: Where is it? Lead Acid Batteries TV screens and computer monitors Other electronics Paint Weights Ammunition Lead solder Lead pipes Building demolition with lead-based paint Vehicle: wheel weights, battery cables Hazardous during use, in open dump, or when burned?

5. Mercury: Where is it? Batteries Thermometers Fluorescent Lights Necklaces Thermostat Switches and Probes Switches and Relays Children’s light up shoes Barometer and Blood Pressure Gauges Hazardous during use, in open dump, or when burned?

6. Tilt type of mercury switch which conducts electricity and used in many appliances. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Thermostat Tilt Switch from a Thermostat

7. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Mercury Tilt Switch Thermostat contains two switches (one tilts when too hot, other when too cold) Mercury Tilt Switch Thermostat with glass ampule containing mercury (tips left or right for contact)

9. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Tilt Switch Example Light Switch (tilts a chamber, where mercury tips onto or off a pair of electrical contacts)

10. Chest freezers and refrigerators manufactured prior to 2000, may have a mercury tilt switch incorporated in the light socket and relays. http://www.newmoa.org/

11. Tilt switches are ideal for monitoring and control devices and applications. They are used in familiar products such as clothes irons, kitchen appliances, cell phones, alarms, and washing machines. They are used in mining operations, test and lab equipment, heavy equipment, industrial, marine, and medical equipment.

12. Float switches monitor liquid levels and are most frequently used in sump pumps. They are also found in bilge pumps, boilers, sewage treatment plants, and pumping stations.

13. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Thermostat Probes or flame sensors consist of a bulb attached to a gas-control valve by a tube containing mercury (used to prevent gas from flowing when the pilot light of the appliance is off). Used in older gas-fired appliances: clothes dryers, space heaters, water heaters, stoves, and furnaces.

14. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Relay - the mercury makes and breaks electrical contacts (this relay was meant to switch industrial three-phase power) Blood Pressure Monitor contains at least a cubic inch of mercury

15. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Metal Halide Bulbs Metal halide lamps are the brightest light available and are found in several HID applications.

16. Metal Vapor Lamps High Pressure Sodium

17. Fluorescent Lamps

18. Fluorescent, HID (high intensity discharge) lamps such as Mercury Vapor, High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide, and Neon all contain mercury in a metallic as well as vapor form. Alternatives to older model fluorescent lamps are labeled as low-mercury lamps and often can be recognized by their green end caps or green lettering.

19. (c) 2010 Theodore Gray, periodictable.com Fever Thermometer Barometers

20. Hood and trunk convenience light switches (a sealed metal pellet) http://www.switchout.ca/

21. don’t attempt to remove mercury switch capsules from sensor module Anti-lock Braking System G-Force sensor module (two or three mercury switch capsules) http://www.switchout.ca/

22. Since the late 1990s North American battery manufacturers have reduced mercury content in batteries by 95%. The use of mercury in alkaline batteries has been eliminated except for button cells.

23. Nickel-cadmium (NiCad) Batteries Slick colored papers and magazines Tires Cigarettes Electronics Plastics Cadmium: Where is it? Hazardous during use, in open dump, or when burned?

24. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) : Where are they? Capacitors Old TVs & Refrigerators Electrical Transformers Electrical Equipment Old Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures Electrical Appliances w/ PCB Capacitors Hydraulic Fluids Hazardous during use, in open dump, or when burned?

25. Native Village of Venetie PCB Transformers

26. Native Village of Venetie PCB Transformers

27. PCB Transformers

28. New Ballast Old Ballast Electrical ballasts to power fluorescent light fixtures manufactured prior to and during 1979 contain PCBs. www.rd.com

29. Petroleum Products Kerosene Crude Oil Jet Fuel Gasoline Range Oil Tanks/Spills Home Heating Oil Diesel Fuel Used Oil (DO NOT MIX WITH SOLVENTS) Hazardous during use, in open dump, or when burned?

30. Vehicle & Machine Waste Parts-cleaner Petroleum-based products, solvents

32. Other Waste with Hazardous Substances Oil-based Paints solvents (ethylene, toluene, PAHs) heavy metals (cadmium, chromium) flammable (potentially explosive) Paint Thinner, Turpentine petroleum-based solvents acetone, toluene, xylene, mineral spirits, methyl ethyl ketone, methylene chloride Solvent-contaminated rags

33. Refrigerator Manufactured Prior to 1995

34. Ethylene Glycol: Where is it? Ethylene glycol is used to make antifreeze and de-icing solutions for ATVs, snow machines, cars, airplanes, and boats Hydraulic brake fluid Also found in inks used in stamp pads, ballpoint pens, and print shops Hazardous during use, in open dump, or when burned?

35. Unknowns Many villages have metal drums and 5-gallon buckets with unknown liquid contents. These drums generally contain waste-oil, glycol, solvents or a combination of unknowns. These drums require testing by trained individuals to be properly labeled and handled prior to removal.

36. Other Waste with Hazardous Substances Clinical Waste: EPA’s Guide to Hazardous Waste Management at Tribal Health Care Clinics Honey Buckets / Disposable Diapers Ash Construction and Demolition Debris Pesticides PBDEs - Flame Retardant Chemicals

37. Common Cleaning Products Common cleaning products such as bleach, disinfectants, and other common household cleaners contain solvents, acids, and other ingredients that can harm you. Bleach (calcium & sodium hypochlorite) Ammonia Do Not Mix Bleach and Ammonia Do Not Mix Bleach and Acids (vinegar, some glass cleaners, dish detergents, drain cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners)

38. Household Hazardous Wastes • Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients…such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients and require special care when you dispose of them. • www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/hhw.htm • Doesn’t Include Wastes From • Businesses, Government, or Schools.

39. Hazardous Waste Management Varies Depending on Who Generates the Waste

40. Hazardous Waste Management Varies Depending on Who Generates the Waste For more information on regulation of Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste, and Household Hazardous Waste contact: Ted Jacobson, RurAL CAP 865-7363 Doug Huntman, ADEC, 269-7642 Terry Berger, Mat-Su Borough, 746-2826

41. How Are People Exposed to Contaminants? Environmental Health: The theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling, and preventing those factors in the environment that can potentially adversely affect the health of present and future generations. Understanding how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease. Understanding the impact of environmental contaminants on human health.

42. Exposure Pathway 2. Way to Travel 3. Point of Exposure 1. Source 5. Receptor population, people exposed 4. Route of exposure

43. Sources of Exposure Dump (what is being dumped that could be transported by water or other media to a point of exposure or immediately become the route of exposure) • Car, boat, ATV batteries • Button-cell batteries, fluorescent lights • Old drums • Transformers, light ballasts • Electronics Burning at the dump, home, or school (what is being burned that could be transported to a point of exposure or immediately become the route of exposure) • Plastics (PVC pipes, vinyl, toys, binders) • Electronics

44. Media - Transport Mechanisms Air Surface Water Water Soil Biota - Animal and Plant Life Sediment Ground Water www.epa.gov/greatlakes/atlas/glat-ch4.html

45. Air Transport PCBs, dioxins, and heavy metals such as mercury and lead can all travel long distances and locally.

46. Contaminated Groundwater Pollutants can seep into groundwater, making it unusable and no longer safe to drink. Ground water can be polluted by seepage through landfills, septic tanks, and leaky fuel tanks. www.epa.gov/superfund/students/clas_act/haz-ed/ff_05.htm

47. Soil to Water Transport . www.epa-prgs.ornl.gov/radionuclides/soilgw.shtml

48. Soil-gas Vapor Intrusion Volatile chemicals in contaminated soil or ground water may allow gas to migrate through subsurface soils affecting the indoor air quality of areas buildings. Most common are fuel-related. www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/ask_treehugger_6.php

49. Water Transport through Wetlands Beachwood Historical Alliance

50. Sediment Transport Sediment resuspension. PCBs, dioxins, and many heavy metals do not dissolve well in water, therefore, absorb onto sediments or organic particles that are suspended in water. www.epa.gov/greatlakes/atlas/glat-ch4.html