Scrap Metal Yard Research Articles

Co-occurrence of and risk factors for Cryptosporidium and Giardia in brown rats from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A rodent survey was conducted in different landscape units of the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina) to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Rattus norvegicus and to, ultimately, assess the biotic, environmental and meteorological factors that explain the variations of the likelihood of infection for both parasites in an urban environment. The results of this study revealed a ubiquitous presence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in R.norvegicus within an urban environment with the likelihood of infection depending on environmental and meteorological conditions for both parasites. The overall prevalence was greater for Cryptosporidium (p=50.4%) than for Giardia (20.3%). The prevalence for both parasites separately was higher in parks compared to shantytowns and scrap metal yards. Generalized Linear Mixed Models revealed that the occurrence of these parasites separately, at an individual level, was positively related with rainfall variables and that the effect of temperature depended on the landscape unit. The similarities in the transmission modes, which are affected by common extrinsic factors, may facilitate the co-occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in urban rats. Rattus norvegicus is recognized as a good model for epidemiological studies and the results of this work suggest that, from an epidemiological point of view, the probability of contact with infectious oocysts and cysts of these parasites can be modulated through environmental management and healthy behaviour towards risk factors. The information presented here will be useful to improve the understanding of the dynamics of zoonotic diseases within urban environments and to contribute to the decision-making of new and effective prophylactic measures.

Transformation and the Satisfaction of Work

This article suggests a new conceptual framework for understanding why some types of work are experienced in more satisfying ways than others. The analysis is based on research in an Indian scrap metal yard, where work entails disassembling things that other people no longer want. In spite of the demanding conditions of the labor and the social stigma attached to it, employees express satisfaction with the work process. This observation raises questions about theories of labor, which see satisfaction as arising from work that is creative, skilled, and task-based. The article argues that transformation is a social process that should be used as the primary analytic for explaining work satisfaction. Theories of creativity, skill, and task are secondary analytics that describe subsets of transformative action.

Informal processing of electronic waste at Agbogbloshie, Ghana: workers' knowledge about associated health hazards and alternative livelihoods.

This study was conducted to investigate the electronic waste workers' knowledge about the potential health hazards associated with their work as well as the livelihood alternatives that they would prefer if they were given the opportunity. A qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted to gather empirical information on e-waste workers' knowledge about the potential hazards associated with their work and the livelihood alternatives to e-waste recycling with a sample consisting of twenty all-male electronic waste workers at the Agbogbloshie scrap metal yard in Accra, Ghana. Electronic waste workers at Agbogbloshie were found to be exposed to a variety of injuries and illnesses. The workers' knowledge of the association between their health status and their work was generally poor. Apart from the physical injuries, they did not believe their work played any negative role in their health conditions. They preferred occupations such as farming or professional driving located in the northern region of Ghana to be closer to their families. The study concludes that the low knowledge level of the workers on the hazards that are associated with their work has implications for them accepting technologies to protect them and the natural environment from contamination. It is therefore imperative for any intervention to consider the current low level of knowledge and actively educate the workers to raise their awareness level, taking into account the provision of opportunities for workers to acquire applicable skills for future employment in other fields.

Immobilisation of Cu, Pb and Zn in Scrap Metal Yard Soil Using Selected Waste Materials.

Immobilisation of heavy metals in a 30-year old active scrap metal yard soil using three waste materials, namely coconut tree sawdust (CTS), sugarcane bagasse (SB) and eggshell (ES) was investigated. The contaminated soil was amended with amendments at application rates of 0%, 1% and 3% (w/w). The effects of amendments on metal accumulation in water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) and soil metal bioavailability were studied in a pot experiment. All amendments increased biomass yield and reduced metal accumulation in the plant shoots. The bioconcentration factor and translocation factor values of the metals were in the order of Zn>Cu>Pb. The addition of ES, an alternative source of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), has significantly increased soil pH and resulted in marked reduction in soil metal bioavailability. Therefore, CTS, SB and ES are promising low-cost immobilising agents to restore metal contaminated land.

Concentrations of railway metal theft and the locations of scrap-metal dealers

Metal theft has become a substantial crime problem in many areas. In response, several countries have introduced legislation to regulate scrap-metal recycling yards. However, at present there is little evidence to support this use of the market reduction approach (MRA) in preventing metal theft. The present study sought to test the underlying assumption of the MRA that the presence of a market for stolen property (in this case provided by scrap yards) drives thefts in a local area. This study tested for a spatial association between the locations of scrap yards and those of metal thefts. The density of industry, local burglary rate and road-accessibility of an area were controlled for. Metal thefts from railway lines in England were shown to be significantly more common in areas with more scrap-metal yards, high road accessibility and high population density. The results support the use of the MRA in relation to metal theft.

Infection levels of the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta in rat populations from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Ecological studies on zoonotic parasites are crucial for the design and implementation of effective measures to prevent parasite transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate factors such as season, landscape unit, rat sex and rat body length, affecting the abundance of the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta, a parasite of synanthropic rats, within an urban environment. A parasitological survey was undertaken on 169 rats from landscape units such as shantytowns, parklands, industrial-residential areas and scrap-metal yards in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The overall prevalence of H. diminuta was 21.3%, although the occurrence of this species in rats was not homogeneous. The abundance of H. diminuta, using a zero-inflated negative binomial model, was correlated with rat body length. In shantytowns, abundance levels were higher than other landscape units, largely due to differences in individual environmental characteristics and rat assemblages. The populations of arthropod intermediate hosts could be subjected to seasonal fluctuations and the degree of urbanization. Shantytowns are overcrowded urban marginal settlements with most inhabitants living in precarious conditions and supporting large populations of rats, thereby increasing the risk of zoonotic infection.

Chemical stabilization of scrap metal yard contaminated soil using ordinary portland cement: Strength and leachability aspects

In this study, the strength development and lechability aspects of metal-contaminated soil treated with ordinary portland cement (OPC) were investigated. The soil was collected from a scrap metal yard within the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Metal composition analysis indicated that the predominant metals present in the soil were iron (42,194 mg/kg), aluminium (8874 mg/kg), zinc (690 mg/kg), lead (428 mg/kg), copper (107 mg/kg) and chromium (52 mg/kg). The contaminated soil was treated with OPC using cement-to-dry soil ( C/ S d) ratios of 0.5, 1 and 2. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by performing unconfined compressive strength (UCS) as well as crushed and whole block leaching (WBL) tests on the treated soil. The treatment results were compared to the solidified waste acceptance criteria which were compiled based on the regulatory waste disposal limit at a disposal site in the United Kingdom and the maximum concentration of contaminants for toxicity characteristic of solid wastes from United States Environmental Protection Agency. Results indicated that chemical stabilization of metal-contaminated soils using OPC was effective for prevention of metal leaching from both disintegrated samples subsequent to years of weathering (crushed block) and intact samples (whole block) into the environment.

Chronic Oil Spills At Junk Yards Make Future Brownfields1

ABSTRACT Chronic oil spills at junkyards are being overlooked, but they can cause serious economic and environmental problems. Long considered non-hazardous, motor oils, automobile fluids, industrial waste oils and solid wastes are spilled daily at scrap metal yards across the nation. These chronic spills can carry heavy metals and toxic wastes off site through surface drains, soil penetration, and track out. Intermixed with oil, these wastes are complex and costly to clean up. Superfund cleanup actions at former junkyards are only part of the economic burden to the public. Quality of life and property value problems add to the host community's roadblocks to redevelopment, and also to their list of brownfields. Relaxed attitudes in handling liquid and solid wastes at these sites, along with ignorance of environmental rules, seem to be at the root of the problem. It is suggested that local agencies get involved in monitoring waste management practices, as well as try outreach efforts to educate junkyard operators in oil spill prevention and waste management.

A survey of metal levels in street dusts in an inner London neighbourhood

Dust samples were collected from various roads situated in the Globetown Neighbourhood area of East London. The samples were analyzed for lead, copper, nickel, manganese, iron, and aluminium by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results indicate that lead levels in roads designated as busy are significantly greater than residential roads. The highest lead levels, though, were found in the vicinity of a car repair workshop. Iron levels in the vicinity of scrap metal yards are significantly higher than levels in residential roads. Aluminium levels, a putative indicator of crustal contributions to dust metal burdens, are significantly greater in residential roads and in the vicinity of scrap metal yards compared to busy roads. Manganese, nickel, and copper in dust levels are evenly dispersed throughout the area. Finally, the results indicate that possible ‘hot spots’ exist which have dusts containing excessively high levels of particular metallic elements.

Norm: The New Hot Wastes

Concerned about the threat of contamination from illegally dumped radiopharmaceuticals earlier this year, the managers of a Pennsylvania landfill increased the sensitivity of the radiation detector used to scan incoming wastes. To their surprise, the first shipment to set off the alarm contained nothing but concentrated brine sludge a mineral waste produced by oil and gas drilling. sludge, which arrived in April, contained significant levels of two radium isotopes. In July, a batch of paper mill wastes tripped the radiation alarm at a scrapmetal yard in Pittsburgh. mill's operators and Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Resources (DER) are still puzzling over the source of the uranium in the mill wastes. Both cases involved naturally occurring radioactive materials, collectively known by the acronym NORM. Geologists have recognized for decades that could contaminate equipment and wastes at nearly any mineral-extraction site. But because mining engineers suspected that the risk of finding anywhere but in the residues, or tailings, of uranium and phosphate mining was small, no one systematically sought it elsewhere. Over the past three years, however, a number of incidents have raised concerns that is ubiquitous usually in small, diffuse quantities in many industries traditionally regarded as nonnuclear. Indeed, regulators and waste managers now use the term primarily to describe contaminants produced by such industries. Because neither waste shipper involved in the Pennsylvania incidents was aware that its goods contained contamination, the shipments were apparently quite legal, says James G. Yusko, a health physicist in DER's Pittsburgh office, who investigated both incidents. Still, these shipments proved about as welcome-and perhaps as innocuous-as a kiss from someone with halitosis. But nobody's laughing off. Some NORM-contaminated sites and equipment may pose a real health hazard. Moreover, the growing number of related incidents poses political, legal and financial headaches for everyone who encounters NORM, from state officials and industrial-waste generators to waste-treatment operators and metal smelters. One widely touted remedy for those headaches involves the development of new regulations. The American public continues to press for increasingly stringent environmental and public health regulation, observes Linda S. Wennerberg, a regulatory analyst with Arthur D. Little, Inc., in Cambridge, Mass. This sentiment is especially strong in the areas of radioactive material and waste management. According to a draft preliminary risk assessment for diffuse that the Environmental Protection Agency began circulating in May, NORM materials are not covered by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and are generally not specifically covered by most existing [federal] regulations. Although they are covered by some state regulations, there are presently no universally applicable regulations for materials. As such, NORM management represents a gap in the federal regulatory structure, and is currently one of the complex, interdisciplinary regulatory issues emerging in the 1990s, Wennerberg says.

Heavy metal contamination near scrap metal yards and car breakers yards

An investigation was made of the levels of selected heavy metals in the vicinity of (a) scrap metal yards, and (b) a car breaker's yard. Road dust samples taken near to the scrap metal yards were analysed for cadmium, copper, lead and zinc. The analysis of these samples showed a correlation between the degree of contamination and the type of scrap handled. It was apparent that yards which handled lead scrap made a significant contribution to environmental contamination albeit in a localised area. Surface water run-off within the yards together with the movement of vehicles to and from these premises distributed contaminants throughout the immediate neighbourhood. Total levels of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc, and also ‘available’ copper and zinc were analysed both within and close to a car-breakers yard. The results showed elevated contaminant levels within the site. There was however a distinct reduction in these values as the distance from the site boundary increases.