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CHARACTERIZATION OF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE FROM MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AND NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Citation:
Rathje, W., D. Wilson, V. Lambou, AND R. Herndon. CHARACTERIZATION OF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE FROM MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AND NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/4-87/025.
Description:
There is a growing concern that certain constituents of common household products, that are discarded in residential garbage, may be potentially harmful to human health and the environment by adversely affecting the quality of ground and surface water. A survey of hazardous wastes in residential garbage from Marin County, California, and New Orleans, Louisiana, was conducted in order to determine the amount and characteristics of such wastes that are entering municipal landfills. The results of the survey indicate that approximately 642 metric tons of hazardous waste are discarded per year for the New Orleans study area and approximately 259 metric tons are discarded per year for the Marin County study area. Even though the percent of hazardous household waste in the garbage discarded in both study areas was less than 1 percent, it represents a significant quantity of hazardous waste because of the large volume of garbage involved.