National Academies Press: OpenBook

Hazards: Technology and Fairness (1986)

Chapter: Another Alternative: Incineration

« Previous: The Case for Transfer Stations
Suggested Citation:"Another Alternative: Incineration." National Academy of Engineering. 1986. Hazards: Technology and Fairness. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/650.
×
Page 183

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

ECONOMIC, LEGAL, AND PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE 183 CLEANUP AND MANAGEMENT original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. quantity generators—who each produce only half a drum per month—to cost- effectively dispose of their waste, we will see increased illegal and improper waste disposal. This will become more evident now that federal law requires small-quantity generators to manifest their waste, even for disposal in the municipal landfill. Landfill operators will be reluctant to accept the waste they have been handling for years, now that they know it is hazardous and that they must sign a manifest for its receipt. Multipurpose Facility The need for a network of permanent transfer stations in Florida is only part of the long-term solution. All states, including Florida, must manage as much waste as they can within their own borders. This holds true for the cities as well. In addition to transfer stations, Florida needs a central multipurpose facility for the storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous waste. We do not know how large or exactly what the components of such a facility will be. Commercial hazardous waste landfills are banned in Florida because of the state's high water table and porous soils. Our county assessments will be used to help answer these questions. We plan to hire a consultant to analyze the assessments, which should be completed in 1986 for all of the state's 67 counties. The consultant will make recommendations, based on analysis of the hazardous waste stream, on the types of technology needed at the facility. In 1987, we will have definite answers on exactly what we need to properly manage and dispose of the state's hazardous waste. Another Alternative: Incineration Incineration on land or at sea may have promise for Florida's hazardous waste management efforts in the future, so long as proper safeguards and strict monitoring are employed. For obvious reasons, as we saw in Baldwin with the proposed incineration of PCBs, public acceptance is slow. Consider another example: A company has proposed to operate a hazardous waste incinerator ship in the Gulf of Mexico and to build a dockside terminal and waste storage facility near Mobile, Alabama, where the ship is to be based. The proposal has met strong local opposition in Mobile, as well as concern from many Gulf states, for a variety of environmental reasons. The firm is awaiting the outcome of EPA rule hearings before deciding its next move. We understand the public's concern over such projects. Technical issues, such as temperature maintenance and control of the burn, have to be consid

Next: CONCLUSION »
Hazards: Technology and Fairness Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $55.00
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

"In the burgeoning literature on technological hazards, this volume is one of the best," states Choice in a three-part approach, it addresses the moral, scientific, social, and commercial questions inherent in hazards management. Part I discusses how best to regulate hazards arising from chronic, low-level exposures and from low-probability events when science is unable to assign causes or estimate consequences of such hazards; Part II examines fairness in the distribution of risks and benefits of potentially hazardous technologies; and Part III presents practical lessons and cautions about managing hazardous technologies. Together, the three sections put hazard management into perspective, providing a broad spectrum of views and information.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!