Inappropriate Waste Disposal Research Articles

Soil Transmitted Helminths and Associated Factors among Schoolchildren in Government and Private Primary School in Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

Soil transmitted helminth infections are among the most common human infections. They are distributed throughout the world with high prevalence rates in tropical and sub-tropical countries mainly because of lack of adequate sanitary facilities, inappropriate waste disposal systems, lack of safe water supply, and low socio-economic status. A comparative cross sectional study was conducted from December 2011 to June 2012 to determine and assess the prevalence of soil transmitted helminths and their associated factors among government and private primary school children. Stool samples were collected from 369 randomly selected children and examined microscopically for eggs of soil transmitted helminth following McMaster techniques. Soil samples were collected from different parts of the school compound and microscopic examination was performed for eggs of the helminths using sodium nitrate flotation technique. The overall prevalence rate of soil transmitted helminth infections in private and government schools was 20.9% and 53.5% respectively. T. trichiura was the most common soil transmitted helminth in both schools while hookworm infections were identified in government school students only. Type of school and sex were significantly associated with soil transmitted helminth. Soil contamination rate of the school compounds was 11.25% with predominant parasites of A. lumbricoides. Higher prevalence of soil transmitted helminth infection was found among government school students. Thus, more focus, on personal hygiene and sanitary facilities, should be given to children going to government schools.

Industrial experience with waste coprocessing and its effects on cement properties

There is growing concern regarding the inappropriate disposal of industrial wastes. The impossibility of adequately treating certain wastes and the desire to eliminate any environmental risk has led the industry to apply different techniques to meet these challenges. The use of waste coprocessing in cement furnaces as a substitute for a portion of the fuel can provide energy gains without changing the gas emissions and the quality of the produced clinker. This study aims to describe the effects of a mixture of wastes coprocessed in an industrial rotary kiln on cement properties. The leaching and solubilization tests proved that the analyzed elements presented in the cement are not transferred to the environment. The cement compressive strength tests conducted showed that coprocessed cement achieved the minimum values specified by the Brazilian Standard Association. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 33: 956–961, 2014

Healthcare waste disposal: an analysis of the effect of education on improving waste disposal

Inappropriate disposal of clinical waste has a considerable environmental and financial impact. Other studies have shown substantial opportunities for improvement in healthcare waste disposal. This study aims to show these opportunities through a clinical waste audit and to gain a greater understanding into approaches required for successful waste disposal behaviour change. A clinical waste audit was conducted in an eight-bed intensive care unit in Melbourne. A baseline audit was followed by a questionnaire and education (in-services and signage). A follow up audit was performed to analyse the effect of education. Results of the initial clinical waste audit showed 41% clinical waste, 44% general waste and 14% sharps waste. Post-education, clinical waste was slightly greater than general waste and sharps waste had markedly decreased to 3.5%, however, study limitations were present. The marked decline in sharps waste appears to mainly be due to the clarification of a misnomer regarding disposal of glass. Questionnaires showed a lack of knowledge but a desire to learn, and a preference for learning through signage and in-services. The study shows that more than one in-service and increased signage is needed for successful behaviour change. This supports findings that active staff involvement is essential to achieve sustainable waste management.

Studies on Foreign Body Ingestion and their Related Complications in Ruminants Associated with Inappropriate Solid Waste Disposal in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was carried out in Veterinary Clinics, Gondar town, Ethiopia from November 2011 to April 2012. Totally 416 ruminants were recorded in the clinics in which 36 clinical cases (34 bovine and 2 sheep) were operated for rumen problem. The overall prevalence of foreign bodies' was 8.6%. The non-penetrating foreign bodies have higher prevalence than penetrating foreign bodies. The commonly recovered non-penetrating foreign bodies were plastics (36.6%), followed by sack thread (26.8%), rope (16.9%), leather (15.5%) and hair (4.2%). The penetrating foreign bodies were wires (51.9% commonly occurred), followed by nail (37.0%) and needles (11.1%). The common clinical symptoms observed were recurrent bloat (34.8%), suspended rumination (17.4%), scanty feces (10.9%), anorexia (8.7%), rough hair coat (6.5%) and distended abdomen (21.7%). Outcome of this rumenotomy studies were significantly associated with relation to the quantities of foreign bodies recovered. Out of 36 animals operated 24 were well recovered, 4 faced postoperative complication and 8 died. Adult female animals were more affected than younger and male. The present study revealed that inappropriate solid wastes disposed in the study area not only pollute the environment but also have adverse effects on healthy ruminants. In conclusion, detection of the foreign bodies in fore stomach suggested as health risk to ruminants. Therefore, appropriate solid waste disposal system need to implement in the study area to prevent health risk of ruminants and also to protect the environment.

Investigation into River Sediments Toxicity as a Result of Inappropriate Waste Disposal

Sediments of the São Francisco River basin (Brazil) were investigated to determine the environmental consequences of incorrect disposal of wastes generated by a zinc industry. Surface sediments were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and chemically analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Total organic carbon (TOC), acid volatile sulfides (AVSs), and simultaneously extracted metals (SEMs) were also determined. AVS/SEM procedure was employed to assess the bioavailability of the metals in sediments. XRD analyses indicated that the main phases in the sediments were kaolinite and quartz. The total concentration of Zn and Pb, near the old industrial discharge point, indicated high levels of contamination according to the sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). According to the AVS/SEM criteria, despite the high levels of zinc and lead in the sediments, the toxicity resulting from these metals is unlikely in most of the samples. However, in one of the samples, collected near the old industrial discharge point, the toxicity is uncertain—according to the USEPA criteria.

不適正処理廃棄物の山を対象とした改善対策による放出ガス抑制効果

産業廃棄物の不適正処理でできた廃棄物の山において，廃棄物の一部撤去，ならびに覆土や通気管の設置等の対策を実施し，その前後6年間の調査からメタンガス放出量の削減効果を概算した。地表面からのガスフラックス計測には静置式閉鎖型チャンバー法を用いたが，改善後に設置した通気管はその周辺の砕石部を含めて直径30cm以上となったため，既存の計測方法では対応できなかった。そこで，現地で大型のチャンバーを組み立て，レーザーメタン計を用いる簡便な計測手法を開発した。調査結果から，改善前後のメタンガス放出量は25～150L/minから3.8～9.5L/minにまで減少し，改善後の放出量の内訳は通気管周辺からが大部分であった。改善措置 (対策工) により，崩落の危険を回避できたことに加え，メタンガス放出量も削減でき，周辺への危険性や地球温暖化の寄与率を低下させる効果が得られた。ただし，改善後も内部にメタン等のガスが存在しており，当該地における堆積廃棄物の安定化は進行中である。

Development of disassembling module design system for ship-breaking planning

Presently, a large number of ships at the end of their life cycle are scrapped in developing countries. This can have severe implications for safety and the environment, due to unsafe scrapping methods and inappropriate disposal of waste. Presently, despite an increase in the number of ships, there are still no specific guidelines on how to scrap substandard ships. Hence, safe and environmentally friendly ship-breaking processes are strongly desired. This paper proposes a planning system for a suitable ship-breaking process that considers worker safety and environmental as well as economical issues. This system comprises three parts: This paper demonstrates and discusses an example of breaking-process planning on an actual ship structure. The proposed system also provides the profiles of breaking blocks and the process flow of ship-breaking.

Action research for improvement of inappropriate disposal and separation of household waste in apartments

Action research for improvement of inappropriate disposal and separation of household waste in apartments

Sustainable construction in rural Guatemala

Waste management is a significant problem in Guatemala, as elsewhere in the developing world. The inappropriate disposal of solid waste produces pollution and places the environment and human health at...

Introduction to the special SERRA issue on “Risks, Uncertainties and the Environment”

Risks exist in every aspect of our lives. We face a great deal of risks in our living environment. Qualitative models have proven effective for managing risks in environmental contexts worldwide. This special issue of Stochastic Environmental Research & Risk Assessment (SERRA) intends to present the-state-of-the-art approaches and experiences on how to assess and manage ecological and human information on environmental and health risks. Due to the threats that go with natural disasters, Ron Hayes, the president of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) stated in 2009 that they were the biggest challenge that risk managers face (McDonald 2009). Natural disasters by definition are surprises, causing a great deal of damage and inconvenience by the nature and the environment. Other key areas related to risks and environment are water pollution, ground pollution—contamination of soils, noise pollution where it impacts on neighbouring land-users, various pollutions in the landscape, waste management inappropriate waste disposal, traffic management air quality and noise quality on transport routes, etc. Environmental risks seem to create a paradox for our modern society system: on the one hand we see our life expectancy and general health improved dramatically; on the other hand, we have surprises and fears from various environmental systems. Some things we do counterproductive that could lead to unintended such as revolutions, terrorist attacks, and wars. Some things nature does to us, e.g., volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornados (Tan and Enderwick 2006; Ranjan 2006). Water, land and air pollution is a mixture of chemical emissions, including combustion products, volatile chemicals, particulates, which all have effect on human health. More recently, the H1N1 virus has sharpened the awareness of the public and public health response systems world-wide. We have developed lowpollution, low-cost electricity through nuclear energy, but this technology has caused environmental disasters, such as at Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Russia. We have built massive chemical plants to produce low cost chemicals, but chemical releases such as at Bhopal, India, have caused great damage to human health and well-being. We are very pleased to see completion of this special issue of Stochastic Environmental Research & Risk Assessment (SERRA) presenting the-state-of-the-art approaches and experiences on how to assess and manage ecological and human information on environmental and health risks.

Assessing farmers' practices on disposal of pesticide waste after use

Common practices of farmers on disposal of pesticide waste after use were surveyed in five regions of the rural area of Pieria in northern Greece using a structured questionnaire administered via personal interviews. Concerning leftover spray solutions, most farmers reported that they normally re-spray the treated field area until the spraying tank is empty (54.9%) or they apply the leftover spray solutions to another crop listed on the product label (30.2%). A minority of the farmers (4.3%) mentioned that they often release the leftover spray solutions near or into irrigation canals and streams. As regards rinsates generated from washing the application equipment, most farmers reported that they release the rinsates over a non-cropped area (45.7%) or they drop the rinsates near or into irrigation canals and streams (40.7%). Moreover, a great proportion of the farmers stated that they dump the empty containers by the field (30.2%) or they throw them near or into irrigation canals and streams (33.3%). Burning the empty containers in open fire (17.9%) or throwing the empty containers in common waste places (11.1%) was also reported. Several farmers stated that they continue to use old pesticides for spraying (35.8%). Training programs which raise awareness of farmers of the potential hazards of pesticide use and particularly of the proper management of waste products, recycling programs and collection systems for unwanted agricultural chemicals to prevent inappropriate waste disposal, as well as improving packaging of pesticides to minimize waste production are essential for promoting safety during all phases of pesticide handling.

Global sensitivity analysis for a numerical model of radionuclide migration from the RRC “Kurchatov Institute” radwaste disposal site

Today, in different countries, there exist sites with contaminated groundwater formed as a result of inappropriate handling or disposal of hazardous materials or wastes. Numerical modeling of such sites is an important tool for a correct prediction of contamination plume spreading and an assessment of environmental risks associated with the site. Many uncertainties are associated with a part of the parameters and the initial conditions of such environmental numerical models. Statistical techniques are useful to deal with these uncertainties. This paper describes the methods of uncertainty propagation and global sensitivity analysis that are applied to a numerical model of radionuclide migration in a sandy aquifer in the area of the RRC “Kurchatov Institute” radwaste disposal site in Moscow, Russia. We consider 20 uncertain input parameters of the model and 20 output variables (contaminant concentration in the observation wells predicted by the model for the end of 2010). Monte Carlo simulations allow calculating uncertainty in the output values and analyzing the linearity and the monotony of the relations between input and output variables. For the non monotonic relations, sensitivity analyses are classically done with the Sobol sensitivity indices. The originality of this study is the use of modern surrogate models (called response surfaces), the boosting regression trees, constructed for each output variable, to calculate the Sobol indices by the Monte Carlo method. It is thus shown that the most influential parameters of the model are distribution coefficients and infiltration rate in the zone of strong pipe leaks on the site. Improvement of these parameters would considerably reduce the model prediction uncertainty.

Investigating the Mechanism of Uranium Removal by Zerovalent Iron

Environmental Context.Groundwater is the water that fills the spaces between sand, soil, and rock below the water table. It discharges into ecologically sensitive wetlands and is used as drinking water or in agriculture and industry. Inappropriate waste disposal and poor land management can contaminate groundwater and may minimize its use for decades. The common method for pumping contaminated groundwater to the surface for treatment is costly and labour intensive. Zerovalent iron is a new, more cost-effective method of groundwater remediation. Abstract. Zerovalent iron (ZVI) has been proposed as a reactive material in permeable in situ walls for groundwater contaminated by metal pollutants. For such pollutants that interact with corrosion products, the determination of the actual mechanism of their removal is very important to predict their stability in the long term. From a study of the effects of pyrite (FeS2) and manganese nodules (MnO2) on the uranium removal potential of a selected ZVI material, a test methodology (FeS2–MnO2 method) is suggested to follow the pathway of contaminant removal by ZVI materials. An interpretation of the removal potential of ZVI for uranium in the presence of both additives corroborates coprecipitation with iron corrosion products as the initial removal mechanism for uranium.

Stochastic multimedia risk assessment for a site with contaminated groundwater

There exist many sites with contaminated groundwater because of inappropriate handling or disposal of hazardous materials or wastes. Health risk assessment is an important tool to evaluate the potential environmental and health impacts of these contaminated sites. It is also becoming an important basis for determining whether risk reduction is needed and what actions should be initiated. However, in research related to groundwater risk assessment and management, consideration of multimedia risk assessment and the separation of the uncertainty due to lack of knowledge and the variability due to natural heterogeneity are rare. This study presents a multimedia risk assessment framework with the integration of multimedia transfer and multi-pathway exposure of groundwater contaminants, and investigates whether multimedia risk assessment and the separation of uncertainty and variability can provide a better basis for risk management decisions. The results of the case study show that a decision based on multimedia risk assessment may differ from one based on risk resulting from groundwater only. In particular, the transfer from groundwater to air imposes a health threat to some degree. By using a methodology that combines Monte Carlo simulation, a rank correlation coefficient, and an explicit decision criterion to identify information important to the decision, the results obtained when uncertainty and variability are separate differ from the ones without such separation. In particular, when higher percentiles of uncertainty and variability distributions are considered, the method separating uncertainty and variability identifies TCE concentration as the single most important input parameter, while the method that does not distinguish the two identifies four input parameters as the important information that would influence a decision on risk reduction.

Setting information priorities for remediation decisions at a contaminated-groundwater site

Many sites of contamination due to inappropriate disposal of hazardous materials or wastes have been found. These sites have the potential of damaging the environment and human health and thus need to be evaluated as to whether and what actions should be initiated. In the decision on whether a contaminated site should be subject to management, the knowledge concerning important parameters that would influence the decision will be beneficial to planning of data collection to support the decision. This paper presents a case study of contaminated site located in northern Taiwan, where the groundwater is contaminated by chlorinated hydrocarbons including trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). A site-specific multimedia risk assessment is performed to estimate the total risk resulting from the contamination. In addition, Monte Carlo simulation, rank correlation coefficients, and decision criteria are combined to develop a methodology for assessing the important of parameters in terms of their influence on the decision. It is found that TCE concentration, vegetable yield, deposition interception fraction of vegetables, and plant surface loss constant, are the four parameters important to the decision-making of the case problem.

Using bioindicators based on biodiversity to assess landscape sustainability

Although not new, the use of bioindicators is an innovative approach for assessing various types of environmental mismanagement, including pollution, high input farming, inappropriate disposal of wastes, contamination, etc. This approach uses biological organisms (including invertebrates, the focus of this volume) and biodiversity as tools to assess ongoing situations in the environment. Although lab work is needed, bioindicator-based studies rely extensively on field assessment of a few or limited number of taxa. Sampling, statistics and species identification form a large part of these studies, and must be supported by knowledge of the basic biological and ecological features of the organisms and landscape under study. Computerized open databases offering images and multiple entering accessions are expected to improve the current identification and analysis methods based on manuals, books and two-dimensional figures. Bioindicator-based studies have the potential to make a major contribution to optimizing different farming systems, input practices, new crops, rotation, etc., and to influence political policies governing landscape management, urban and industrial areas; landscape reclamation and transformation. In particular, laws aimed at reducing environmental contamination and at remediating high input farming must take into consideration environmental benefits that can be assessed using bioindicators; evaluations of new genetically engineered crops must consider biodiversity as a value and bioindicators as tools that can help in reaching decisions about their environmental impact.

Waste management in semi-urban areas of India: appropriate technological strategies to overcome financial barriers

The public health-and environmental pollution problems due to inadequate treatment and inappropriate disposal of liquid and solid wastes generated in small and medium towns (referred to as semi-urban areas) of India receive insufficient attention. A field study of four towns -in the State of Tamil Nadu was conducted to evaluate the current waste management practices in such semi-urban areas (SUAs). The study reveals that financial barriers for waste management arise due to a combination of policy and technological constraints. Based on the results of a preliminary waste characterization study and other observations made during the field study, reed bed channels and a semi-mechanized aerobic windrow composting process for the treatment of wastewater and municipal solid wastes, respectively, are recommended as appropriate technological options. The recommended technologies ntilize existing arrangements for waste disposal, and aid an integrated resource recovery and reuse strategy that takes advantage of the geographic location and socioeconomic characteristics of SUAs to achieve lower waste management costs. Financial viability of the recommended technological approach is demonstrated through a comparative evaluation of competing treatment systems, and an estimation of costs and recoverable benefits resulting from waste reuse.