Recently in Waste Management Category

In an ongoing effort to increase recycling in California, support environmental education and keep litter out of our waterways, the American Chemistry Council (ACC)  joined LA City Councilman Ed Reyes and representatives of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps on the banks of the LA River to announce a $100,000 contribution from ACC's Plastics Division, Progressive Bag Affiliates and Plastic Foodservice Packaging Group to the LA River Keepers program.

LA River Keepers Program

This program, developed in partnership with the Los Angeles Community Development Department and the Bureau of Sanitization, works to restore and revitalize sections of the LA River.

Remove and Recycle Litter and Debris from LA River

"Thanks to this new partnership , the LA River Keepers program will be able to continue its efforts to remove and recycle litter and debris from the LA River and promote environmental education, as well as provide ongoing opportunities for job skills training for our area youth," said Bruce Saito, Executive Director of the LA Conservation Corps.

The LA River Keepers' vision lies in the premise that the Los Angeles River environment is an excellent location for training, education and green job skill development through classroom and outdoor environmental restoration projects.

"This generous donation from the American Chemistry Council pumps much-needed dollars into two of the City's most valuable resources--our youth and our environment," said Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, who spearheaded the City's Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan to transform the concrete-corseted L.A. River into a continuous greenbelt linking communities.

The L.A. River Keepers, mostly inner-city young adults, pick up trash, remove bulky items and provide an ongoing presence at the River as it undergoes revitalization. 

The LA River Keepers provides these service projects:

• watershed education
• native plant landscaping
  
• weekly restoration work including removal of debris and illegal dumping,
• removal of graffiti
• recycling,
  
• fire hazard and fuel reduction
  

"The LA River Keepers program will help increase recycling, improve environmental education, and keep litter out of our waterways, which are goals we all share," said Sherri McCarthy, Manager, State Affairs, American Chemistry Council. "We're very pleased to support this program and to help increase awareness of the many plastics that can be recycled in Los Angeles."

Recycling Programs to Collect Plastic Debris

The LA Conservation Corps is the latest partner to join the statewide recycling awareness campaign, "Plastics. Too Valuable to Waste. Recycle.(SM)," which has found success in a variety of areas. The campaign began in 2008 when representatives from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, ACC and Keep California Beautiful (KCB) launched a recycling program that placed - and continues to maintain - hundreds of permanent and seasonal recycling bins at State Parks sites in the Los Angeles and Central Coast areas. The program soon spread to State Parks beaches in the San Diego, Monterey and Santa Cruz areas, the City of Woodland, California, and to California highway rest stops through its new partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). 

About the LA Conservation Corps:

The LA Conservation Corps was founded in 1986 with the primary mission to provide at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success through job skills training, education and work experience with an emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community. Over the past 24 years, the Corps has grown into the largest urban conservation corps in the nation with a full-time staff of over 150 employees serving over 17,000 young people each year

About the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division:
The American Chemistry Council, whose members include major plastics manufacturers, recognizes the importance of keeping plastics out of the marine environment best management practices. 

Web Site: http://www.2valuable2waste.com/

Chemicals used in wood preservation are coming under environmental and health related attacks and new approaches for a greener chemical approach are underway.

The US Department of Agriculture carries on extensive research about wood -- how to grow it, how to engineer it to conserve it, and how to protect it over the lifetime of the building or application -- and what happens to the chemicals infused into the wood after the used wood is discarded in landfills. The Forest Products Laboratory is the research arm of the USDA that tests wood, wood products, and the chemicals used in wood for construction purposes.

Greening Consumer Electronics:
Moving Away from Bromine and Chlorine

Two leading environmental organizations, Clean Production Action and ChemSec, have released a new report showing companies that are leading the electronics industry by moving away from chemicals that can lead to health and environmental problems. features seven companies who have engineered environmental solutions that negate the need for most -- or in some cases all -- uses of brominated and chlorinated chemicals. This includes eliminating brominated flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can create dioxin, a human carcinogen, during the burning of e-waste. 

The best time to clean up "brownfields" that are dead because of toxic pollutants -- is not not use toxic chemicals or processes in the first place.  But how?  It's not easy to green manufacturing, especially high performance gadgets at low prices.  But it is possible.

ALSO NEEDED, consumer support :  Need to know how to recycle your electronics (TVs, computers, phones) safely?  Try Electronics Takeback Coalition.

The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)

The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) is the national non-profit, non-partisan association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders. The purpose of ECOS is to improve the capability of state environmental agencies and their leaders to protect and improve human health and the environment of the United States of America.

 

Their belief is that state government agencies are the keys to delivering environmental protection afforded by both federal and state law.

The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) is an affiliated work group of states  seeking to speed the acceptance of new technology, primarily by reviewing and certifying  cleanup technology for use in new jurisdictions. ITRC is a state-led coalition working together with industry and stakeholders to achieve regulatory acceptance of environmental technologies. ITRC consists of 50 states, the District of Columbia, multiple federal partners, industry participants, and other stakeholders, cooperating to break down barriers and reduce compliance costs, making it easier to use new technologies, and helping states maximize resources. ITRC brings together a diverse mix of environmental experts and stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to broaden and deepen technical knowledge and streamline the regulation of new environmental technologies.

ERIS is the host for ITRC, which conducts training and reviews technology applications, providing state officials in new jurisdictions with a level of comfort as to the efficacy of new technology. ERIS and ITRC do not have separate staff, but use ECOS staff on a reimbursable basis.

ECOS has steadily increased the base level of practical research regarding state environmental agencies. This year was no exception. Here are some examples:
 
Restoring Budgets for "Core Programs" ECOS is working to convince Congress (and US EPA) to restore the cuts to the State and Tribal Assistance Grants that have occurred since 2005. Nearly all the cuts to EPA's budget have been passed on to the States, which implement 96% of the delegated programs such as clean air, clean water, waste and drinking water protection. ECOS members believe these cuts threaten our ability to protect the environment. ECOS again this year (2008) presented an alternative budget to Congress. In 2009, we worked with US EPA to present state budget needs for the 2011 budget period.
 
Mercury

ECOS is particularly interested in reducing the presence of mercury in the environment because continued mercury pollution poses a growing threat to human health and the environment. In 2001, ECOS and other partners founded the Quicksilver Caucus (QSC) to pool resources, and to explore and pursue methods for reducing mercury in the environment. The removal of mercury from the environment remains a priority for state environmental agencies. In 2009, the QSC continues to help provide a forum for dialogue between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental agencies to facilitate facility compliance with the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Rule.

Currently, the QSC is exploring ways to preclude use of mercury in thermostats and thermometers, and is exploring ways to recover and better manage mercury already contained in such products.

Dental Mercury Amalgam Waste Management White Paper

In April 2008, the QSC released the Dental Mercury Amalgam Waste Management White Paper, which explores successes and lessons learned from early dental amalgam mercury management programs. The QSC also held a webinar on the topic of dental amalgam mercury programming and state and local efforts to reduce loading of amalgam mercury to water systems via use of separator machinery. The webinar highlighted the White Paper the Quicksilver Caucus published earlier in the year, along with various states' experiences with the subject, as outlined in case studies also recently published by the Caucus. The QSC is working to develop mercury total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for waterbodies, taking into account the contributions of air and waste programs. Currently, the QSC is also considering pursuing more work in the field of management of mercury from compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).

Environmental Information Management

States need to tell the public and USEPA about the quality of the environment in each State. In the past five years, over 40 States and USEPA have initiated projects to modernize their information systems to support their complementary roles in environmental protection. Because of outdated and inefficient information systems, the States and USEPA began to modernize -- with many leaning towards integrated systems.

The One Stop Reporting Program provided a solid foundation for the development of an integrated environmental information network to improve environmental decision-making and enhance access to environmental information among States and USEPA.

Since 2002, State and federal partners have expended tremendous effort to create the National Environmental Information Exchange Network (Exchange Network) -- a revolutionary way to exchange environmental information between partner organizations.

The meaning of greening

The term green chemistry was first coined in 1998 by Yale professor Paul Anastas and John Warner of the Warner Babcock Institute in their book "Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice." They defined it as "the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products."

The green chemistry movement is beginning to take hold at UC Berkeley. An important recent step was a 2008 report commissioned by the California EPA entitled "Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California," which includes among the authors Drs. Michael Wilson and Megan Schwarzman, research scientists in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. The wide-ranging report outlines some of the major environmental, health, and economic impacts of California's current approach to regulating chemicals.

Over 100 synthetic chemicals and pollutants have been found in umbilical cord blood, breast milk, and adult tissues, and, according to the report, many of these chemicals are "known or probable human carcinogens, reproductive or neurological toxicants, or all three."

Thousands of new chemicals are introduced to the marketplace each year and global chemical production is doubling every 25 years.

The report highlights the need for comprehensive policy solutions to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of releasing these chemicals into the environment.

Read more at the Berkeley Science Review

SOURCE:
Green Chemistry
Chemists clean up their act (view PDF)
by Lee Bishop and Mitch Anstey

The USPS' Domestic Mail Manual, C023, as well as Department of Transportation (D.O.T.)  have certain requirements and restrictions for mailing or shipping hazardous pharmaceuticals to patients (i.e. consumer commodities that are hazardous). 

USPS also has regulations pertaining to mailing sharps, biological specimens, and other healthcare related materials.

Visit the USPS web site and reference the Domestic Mail Manual at (http://pe.usps.gov/) for more information.

Editor's Note:  Maybe the solution is to use less toxic substances in our everyday life! 

The Department of Transportation (DOT), along with other agencies, regulates the transportation of hazardous materials (including certain medical wastes) under 49 CFR Parts 171-180. The regulations cover five areas:

(1) hazardous materials definition/classification;

(2) hazard communication;

(3) packaging requirements;

(4) operational rules; and (5) training. Biohazardous wastes are classified as a Class 6 DOT hazard.

The Hazardous Materials Information Center can be contacted at ((800) 467-4922) or (202) 366-4488.

Visit the HAZMAT web site at http://hazmat.dot.gov/hazhome.htm for additional information.

Waste management is big business in today's green job world. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is central to jobs that help green our communities by properly disposing of wastes that can cause environmental pollution and contamination. If you want a job that makes a tremendous difference -- you might look into waste management, and hazardous waste management in the healthcare field.

Hospitals, doctors offices, clinics, and residential facilities all need waste management -- and especially waste management that will create a new level of green stratgies that save energy, save our air, land and water resources.

Here is a breakdown of healthcare Recource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) components to get you started thinking about how you can green your job if you're already in healthcare or waste management...and how you can help organizations green their upstream impact by reducing the original use of toxic materials that end up in the waste stream.

Entities that generate hazardous waste are subject to Federal standards applicable to generators of hazardous waste (e.g., hazardous waste manifest, pre-transportation, recordkeeping and reporting, etc). RCRA contains unit-specific standards for all units used to store, treat, or dispose of hazardous waste.

Most RCRA requirements are not industry-specific but apply to any company that generates, transports, treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste. Below are some important RCRA regulatory requirements that apply to healthcare facilities: Identification of Solid and Hazardous Wastes (40 CFR Part 261) establishes the standard to determine whether the material in question is considered a solid waste and, if so, whether it is a hazardous waste or is exempted from regulation.

Standards for Generators of Hazardous Waste establishes the responsibilities of hazardous waste generators including obtaining an EPA identification number, preparing a manifest, ensuring proper packaging and labeling, meeting standards for waste accumulation units, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Generators can accumulate hazardous waste on site for up to 90 days (or 180 days depending on the amount of waste generated) without obtaining a permit. If the waste must be transported more than 200 miles away for recovery, treatment, or disposal, the generator may accumulate the waste for up to 270 days.

Standards for Transporters of Hazardous Waste apply to persons transporting manifested shipments of hazardous waste within the United States. Transport requires an EPA identification number, a hazardous waste manifest, compliance with Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements, and proper recordkeeping.

Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs) are regulations prohibiting the disposal of hazardous waste on land without prior treatment. Under the LDRs program, materials must meet treatment standards prior to placement in a RCRA land disposal unit (landfill, land treatment unit, waste pile, or surface impoundment). Generators of waste subject to the LDRs must provide notification of such to the designated TSD facility to ensure proper treatment prior to disposal.

Used Oil Management Standards impose management requirements affecting the storage, transportation, burning, processing, and re-refining of used oil. For parties that merely generate used oil, regulations establish storage standards. A party considered a used oil processor, re-refiner, burner, or marketer (one who generates and sells off- specification used oil directly to a used oil burner), must meet additional tracking and paperwork requirements.

Typical Physical Features to Inspect under RCRA

Inspection and auditing is an important part of a green job because "green" carries with it the need to document and report levels of use, cleanup, and compliance with laws and regulations.  Think about these locations that need to be audited, and how green jobs can be shaped to manage these facilities and resources for lower impact on our environment... and patients... and healthcare workers.

• Universal waste storage area;
• Used oil storage areas;
• Vehicle maintenance facilities;
• Battery storage areas;
• Building maintenance and repair shops;
• Laboratories;
• Bulk storage tank farms;
• Transfer terminals;
• Secondary containment structures;
• Tank peripheral piping, manifolds, filling and dispensing areas;
• Dispenser pumps and check valves;
• Tank sumps, manway areas;
• Leak detection equipment;
• Overflow alarms or other audible and visual alarms, sight gauges;
• Fill ports, catchment basins;
• Oil/water separators;
• Cleanup equipment (e.g. absorbent materials, fuel recovery pumps, personal protective gear);
• Hazardous waste generation sites (x-ray, chemotherapy, morgue, pathology);
• Waste storage areas;
• Satellite accumulation points;
• Vehicles used for transport;
• Container storage areas; and
• Shop activities.

SOURCE: EPA has an extensive directory of information and resources by industry sector at: www.hercenter.org/links

One of the basic knowledge areas for a green job is "compliance" with regulations that shape all responsibilities and activities.  This is especially true when the employer handles toxic substances such as healthcare facilities often do. The Clean Water Act is one of the basic compliance regulations that a green job seeker should familiarize themselves with.  Closely connected are:

Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) mandates that EPA establish regulations
to protect human health from contaminants in drinking water.  The law authorizes EPA to
develop national drinking water standards and to create a joint federal-state (or federal-tribal)
system to ensure compliance with these standards.  The SDWA also directs EPA to protect
underground sources of drinking water by controlling underground injection of fluid wastes. Visit the web site at www.epa.gov/ogwdw for additional information.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) aims to manage the
disposal of waste from municipalities and industries.  It regulates facilities that generate,
transport, treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste. Under RCRA, most healthcare facilities
are hazardous waste generators. RCRA hazardous waste regulations are in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 40, Parts 260 to 280. A series of hazardous waste evaluation
flowcharts are available on EPA Region 2's web site at http://www.epa.gov/region02/healthcare/.



Clean Water Act

The primary objective of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA), is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's surface waters.

Pollutants regulated under the CWA are classified as either "toxic" pollutants (priority pollutants); "conventional" pollutants, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), fecal coliform, oil and grease, and pH; or "nonconventional" pollutants, including any pollutant not identified as either conventional or priority.

The CWA regulates both direct (those that discharge directly to waters of the United States) and indirect dischargers (those who discharge to POTWs). The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program (CWA Section 402) controls direct discharges into navigable waters. NPDES permits, issued by either EPA or an authorized state (EPA has authorized 45 states, one territory, and no tribes to administer the NPDES program), contain industry-specific, technology-based and water-quality-based limits and establish pollutant monitoring and reporting requirements. A facility that proposes to discharge into the nation's waters must obtain a permit prior to initiating a discharge. A permit applicant must provide quantitative analytical data identifying the types of pollutants present in the facility's effluent. The permit will then set forth the conditions and effluent limitations under which the facility may discharge.

The healthcare industry is subject to various provisions of the CWA including:

• Wastewater Discharges - NPDES Effluent Limitations and Guidelines for Direct Dischargers (guidelines for direct discharging hospitals with more than 1,000 occupied beds) and General Pretreatment Standards.
• Stormwater Permits: Municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4), such as those from hospitals, and construction activities are subject to stormwater permitting requirements.
• Oil Pollution Prevention Requirements: Hospitals that have a total aboveground oil storage capacity exceeding 1,320 gallons or an underground storage capacity exceeding 42,000 gallons are subject to spill prevention control and countermeasure (SPCC) plan requirements.

EPA's NPDES web site http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes provides technical and regulatory information about the NPDES permit program that controls water pollution by regulating point sources (e.g., pipe, ditch) that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States.

For detailed information on numeric limitations, contact your EPA Regional pretreatment coordinator. Contact information can be found at the following web site. http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/contacts.cfm?program_id=0&type=NPDES

The stormwater program is part of the NPDES program and is designed to prevent the discharge of contaminated stormwater into navigable waters. See the web site at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=6

EPA's oil spill program web site, http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/, provides information about EPA's program for preventing, preparing for, and responding to oil spills that occur in and around inland waters of the United States. If a hospital uses or stores oil it may be subject to the Spill Prevention Control Countermeasure (SPCC) rule.

Typical Records an EPA Inspector May Ask to Review under the Clean Water Act

• Industrial User permit (IU permit) for discharges to the local municipality (indirect discharge). Most hospitals are indirect dischargers.
• Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan. The plan is to prevent any discharge of oil into or upon navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.
• Phase II stormwater permits under the NPDES program for public hospitals located in an urbanized area.
• NPDES construction stormwater permits (Phase I and Phase II) are also required for any construction activity greater than 1 acre for any hospital located in urban or rural areas.
• NPDES general permit for discharging directly to a water body (direct discharge).

EPA's Office of Water operates a Water Resource Center with a 24-hour voice mail system for publication orders or reference questions at (202) 566-1729, or the Wetlands Helpline ((800) 832-7828). Visit the Office of Water web site (http://www.epa.gov/water/) and the NPDES web site (http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/) for additional material.

The EPA offers a detailed overview of options that healthcare organizations -- and othes -- can use to reduce or eliminate many hazardous wastes. Here is a partial list published by the EPA.

Solvents

Collect and recycle solvents.

Selected pharmaceuticals

Identify RCRA listed and characteristic pharmaceuticals. Implement inventory control and management options. As a product management strategy, use a reverse distribution company for unused/unexpired product returns. Monitor auto dispensing machines for expired pharmaceuticals. Dispose of residual amounts of liquid properly.

Ethylene oxide (EtO)

Minimize use of EtO where possible.

Mercury-containing equipment or compounds

Discontinue use of mercury-containing instruments and chemicals. Notify suppliers/vendors of NO MERCURY policy. Send mercury-containing products for reclamation (retorting).

Lead-containing equipment

Identify lead-containing supplies and equipment, particularly in radiology areas, and designate for reuse, recycling or hazardous waste disposal. Note: Much lead-shielding material, when no longer suitable for use in intended purpose, can be adapted for other uses within the radiology department.

Hazardous chemicals

Implement chemical purchasing, inventory and management systems in laboratory settings, plant operations, boiler areas, paint, electric and plumbing shops, and other areas. Label and store waste in accordance with RCRA regulations. Use secondary containment measures for storage of hazardous chemicals and storage of hazardous chemical wastes.

Develop appropriate facilities to store hazardous chemical wastes. Have spill preparedness systems in place, secondary containment, neutralizing agents, and other resources to minimize problems associated with managing hazardous materials and wastes.

Seek less harmful alternatives through environmentally preferable products from such places as the Sustainable Hospital Project (www.sustainablehospitals.org)