You are here:
WASTE DERIVED PRODUCTS AS A SOURCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION
Impact/Purpose:
This task will initially seek to collect and centralize current knowledge on waste derived products by the type of material that was recycled (i.e. plastics); provide some literature-based estimate of the total quantity of the respective waste product in use today; identify the manufacturing/waste site; identify waste product distribution sites; and finally, identify the actual location (state/countries) of product reuse. The reason that a particular recycled product is succeeding commercially will also be discussed. Once information has been gathered products will be prioritized based on quantities produced, media impacted, and level of anticipated risk such that a decision to focus on one or two products can be made.
Once priority products are selected, future tasks will focus on evaluating the applicability of single media, or if appropriate, multimedia models to evaluate the impact of leaching of components from the waste derived product(s) into the environment. If necessary, the available model(s) will be improved, simplified, and then tested as required for future implementation. The Ecosystems Research Division has worked with multimedia modeling problems for many years and this expertise will be of great value. The current task will also establish computerized data bases to support the selected model(s). The intended final product will be a model to calculate exposure assessments based on soil contaminant levels; water drainage patterns; soil resuspensions due to wind; etc.
Description:
The sale of reusable waste from industrial and municipal activities can potentially lower the overall cost of manufacturing and reduce the amount of material sent to waste sites for disposal. Marketed finished products that contain, either partially or wholly, are called waste derived products (WDP). The use of these products is in direct support of the OSWER Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) program. An important consideration in the use of WDP is the possibility of the introduction of contaminants being transported back into the environment as a result of this otherwise worthwhile activity. It is stated in the publication "Beyond RCRA: Waste and Materials Management in the Year 2020" produced by the RCRA Vision work group (EPA530-R-02-009, April 2003), "With respect to materials currently classified as wastes but destined for reuse or recycling, this (potentially harmful substances going "along for the ride") has been, and remains, one of the most difficult challenges of the current RCRA program." Currently, there are no standard protocols in place to estimate the likelihood and consequences of contamination leaching from these products. Therefore, as EPA directs resources to assist in implementation of RCC, ORD will evaluate waste-derived products to ensure that materials that would otherwise require waste disposal are not resulting in other environmental issues.
The production of WDPs has already become a component of waste management planning. The EPA desires to develop screening procedures to evaluate the overall safety of the use of all such products to human health and the environment. To date, most of the research has been done in response to waste products that have been added to fertilizer. However, new waste derived products are constantly being introduced and such products are being used in numerous ways, not just as fertilizer micronutrients.