Profiling hazardous waste generation for management planning

Results of a survey of the hazardous wastes generated by the industrial sector of the United States' economy are presented. Although data availabilityA method is also presented for building the results of waste generation surveys into hazardous waste management models. This requires the creation of a     

Hazardous waste generation and management in China: a review

Associated with the rapid economic growth and tremendous industrial prosperity, continues to be the accelerated increase of hazardous waste generation in China. The reported generation of industrial hazardous waste (IHW) was 11.62milliontons in 2005, which accounted for 1.1% of industrial solid waste (ISW) volume. An average of 43.4% of IHW was recycled, 33.0% was stored, 23.0% was securely disposed, and 0.6% was discharged without pollution controlling. By the end of 2004, there were 177 formal treatment and disposal centers for IHW management. The reported quantity of IHW disposed in these centers was only 416,000tons, 65% of which was landfilled, 35% was incinerated. The quantity of waste alkali and acid ranked the first among IHW categories, which accounted for 30.9%. And 39.0% of IHW was generated from the raw chemical materials and chemical products industry sectors. South west China had the maximum generation of IHW, accounted for 40.0%. In addition, it was extrapolated that 740,000tons of medical wastes were generated per year, of which only 10% was soundly managed. The generation of discarded household hazardous waste (HHW) is another important source of hazardous waste. A great proportion of HHW was managed as municipal solid waste (MSW). Hazardous waste pollution controlling has come into being a huge challenge faced to Chinese environmental management.     

Risk and human performance: Measuring the potential for disaster

As Dougherty points out, the task of understanding the human contribution to safety and risk has been delayed too long. To begin to take human performance questions seriously in risk analysis requires sophisticated causal modeling of human behaviour in the context of different tasks and performance aids, empirical research to understand the sources of errors, especially cognitive error types, and empirical research to understand how changes in the person-machine system impact on error types.     

Estimating the potential for twenty-first century sudden climate change

I investigate the potential for sudden climate change during the current century. This investigation takes into account evidence from the Earth's history, from climate models and our understanding of the physical processes governing climate shifts. Sudden alterations to climate forcing seem to be improbable, with sudden changes instead most likely to arise from climate feedbacks. Based on projections from models validated against historical events, dramatic changes in ocean circulation appear unlikely. Ecosystem-climate feedbacks clearly have the potential to induce sudden change, but are relatively poorly understood at present. More probable sudden changes are large increases in the frequency of summer heatwaves and changes resulting from feedbacks involving hydrology. These include ice sheet decay, which may be set in motion this century. The most devastating consequences are likely to occur further in the future, however. Reductions in subtropical precipitation are likely to be the most severe hydrologic effects this century, with rapid changes due to the feedbacks of relatively well-understood large-scale circulation patterns. Water stress may become particularly acute in the Southwest US and Mexico, and in the Mediterranean and Middle East, where rainfall decreases of 10-25% (regionally) and up to 40% (locally) are projected.     

Harnessing lignocellulosic waste for energy storage and generation for off-grid rural areas

In developing countries, there is constant concern regarding ways to achieve a sustainable socioeconomic growth in a dynamic, globalized environment. This is a multifaceted problem which is so complex that conventionally it is addressed inappropriately, due to the conflict between economic, technical, and social objectives. Studies have indicated that one of the limiting factors for rural development is related to energy access. In this study, a robust methodology is proposed, based on complementary experimental approaches, so as to produce biochar and assess biomass energy storage capacity. As a case study, Colombian grape crop waste was investigated, in order to identify its capacity for energy storage and generation, by means of pyrolysis. Raw materials were analyzed through proximate and ultimate analyses, higher heating value, thermogravimetry, and morphology analysis, using petrographic examination. Results showed that raw materials had a high level of variance in physicochemical properties. Biochar was produced from grape waste through the devolatilization process, at both 600 and 800 °C, in a tubular reactor. The biochar produced through pyrolysis was characterized by higher energy storage capacity and low property variance. Finally, using these experimental results, the biomass was assessed for electric power generation. It was found that waste from one hectare could produce power for approximately four families. This investigation demonstrates the importance of performing various experimental analyses in order to evaluate and understand the energetic potential of lignocellulosic waste. It is believed that this approach produces valuable insights, which are useful for appropriate system process designs, and operations for energy production from lignocellulosic waste.     

Estimating the air emissions of chemicals from hazardous waste landfills

This paper sets out to develop a comprehensive landfill cover vapour transport model capable of assessing the diffusive and convective transport mechan magnitude of the environment impact of an insecure chemical waste landfill on the surrounding air quality. An algorithm is presented for obtaining crud     

Logistic model-based tool for policy-making towards sustainable waste management

The aim of this paper is to introduce a novel approach which supports facility planning in the field of waste management. Only 23 % of municipal solid waste (MSW) was thermally treated in the EU 27 in 2011. The increased exploitation of its potential for energy recovery must be accompanied by massive investments into highly efficient and reliable incineration technologies. Therefore, the challenge is to be efficient and use the technology to its optimal level. Feasibility studies of all plants providing a service for a region create a large and complex task. Gate fee (the charge for waste processing in the facility) represents one of the most crucial input parameters for the assessment. The gate fee is driven by configuration of the technology, competition, market development, environmental taxation and costs of waste transport to satisfy the plant’s capacity. Valid prediction of the gate fee thus presents a demanding task. In this paper, first, an advanced tool called NERUDA is introduced, which addresses logistic optimization and capacity sizing. The key idea is to focus on the problem of competition modelling among waste-to-energy plants, landfill sites, and mechanical–biological treatment plants producing refuse-derived fuel. Then, the main theoretical concepts are discussed, followed by the development of a suitable mathematical model. The goal is to obtain a minimized cost of MSW treatment for waste producers (municipalities). The application of the developed tool is demonstrated through a case study, where uncertain parameters entering the calculation are handled by a repetitive Monte Carlo simulation based on real-world data.     

Estimating the accident potential of an Ontario driver

To run a "demerit point" program, one uses routinely available information about drivers to identify those who are most likely to have an accident in the near future. On the basis of a four-year record for a large sample of Ontario drivers, we have examined several tools for the identification of such drivers and investigated how they perform. Each driver is thought to have an expected number of accidents, m. In a group of drivers with common traits (such as age, gender, record of convictions and accidents) the ms have a mean E(m) and a variance VAR(m). Estimates of E(m) and VAR(m) for all combinations of traits can be obtained within the framework of a multivariate statistical model. The same estimates can then be used to judge how well a model identifies drivers who have a large m. In such a multivariate model it is important to use data about previous accidents and convictions. However, the accuracy with which the m of a driver can be estimated is not improved much by distinguishing between offence type or between accidents as being "at fault" or "not at fault". Without much loss in estimation accuracy, one may attach a weight 1 to a conviction and 2 to an accident. Model performance is described in tangible terms: how many accidents are recorded by the drivers identified by a model, what proportion of identified drivers are "false positives," how many drivers with high m remain unidentified. We conclude that by using a multivariate statistical model one can do substantially better than by using a demerit point scheme in which points are assigned to offenses on the basis of their perceived seriousness. However, even when the best model is used to identify a large group of drivers, many will be false positives.     

灾后重建项目的管理决策研究

强烈地震给人民生命财产带来重大损失,灾后重建工作任务急且十分繁重。管理者需要对重建工作做出全面科学的决策,按照以人为本、科学规划、统筹兼顾、分步实施、自力更生、国家支持、社会帮扶的方针,对投入的巨大人力、物力资源进行合理分配,以实现其最大效益。文章运用系统建模思想和统筹计划方法对这一问题进行了理论探讨,从灾后重建的全局角度出发,建立了重建项目的优先排序和满足资源总限量的项目决策数学模型,在理论上为重建工作的合理统筹规划提供了支持,以期对决策者有所启迪和帮助。     

Discussions about safety criteria and guidelines for radioactive waste management

In Japan, the clearance levels for uranium-bearing waste have been established by the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC). The criteria for uranium-bearing waste disposal are also necessary; however, the NSC has not concluded the discussion on this subject. Meanwhile, the General Administrative Group of the Radiation Council has concluded the revision of its former recommendation 'Regulatory exemption dose for radioactive solid waste disposal', the dose criteria after the institutional control period for a repository. The Standardization Committee on Radiation Protection in the Japan Health Physics Society (The Committee) also has developed the relevant safety criteria and guidelines for existing exposure situations, which are potentially applicable to uranium-bearing waste disposal. A new working group established by The Committee was initially aimed at developing criteria and guidelines specifically for uranium-bearing waste disposal; however, the aim has been shifted to broader criteria applicable to any radioactive wastes.     

Indian programme on radioactive waste management

The primary objective of radioactive waste management is protection of human health, environment and future generation. This article describes, briefly, the Indian programme on management of different radioactive wastes arising in the entire nuclear fuel cycle adhering to this objective.     

Involvement in emergency supply chain for disaster management: a cognitive dissonance perspective

An integrated process, interlinked operation and interoperable communication network amongst operating agencies are critical for developing an effective disaster management supply chain. The traditional managerial problems observed across disaster management operations are: non-cooperation among members, disrupted chain of commands, misuse of relief items, lack of information sharing, mistrust and lack of coordination. This study aims to understand the issues affiliated with negative attitude towards disaster management operations using theory of cognitive dissonance. A qualitative investigation was undertaken across 64 districts in Bangladesh. Five constructs were examined for their influences on attitude and behavioural intention of members participating in government emergency supply chain for disaster management. The results indicate that administrative conflict, political biasness and professional growth have significant effects on attitude. Impact of insecurity is non-significant on attitude. This research offers substantial theoretical contribution to the cognitive dissonance theory in the context of disaster management supply chain.     

Nuclear waste management: shifting the paradigm

In planning the management of nuclear waste, the U.S. has emphasized performance assessments and compliance with regulations, and has under-utilized processes for facilitating public understanding and public acceptance. A paradigm shift is needed. Motivation for this viewpoint comes from the author's five years of service on the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) and from his experience in assessing risks associated with the Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons complex.     

Knowledge generation in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster

Scientometrics - A disaster is a crisis situation that causes significant harm to humans, the environment, the economy, and impacts upon society’s ability to cope both during the event and...     

The evolution of the natural disaster management system in Taiwan

Abstract

Taiwan is vulnerable to many natural hazards that cause major economic losses. This paper examines the evolution of the natural disaster management system in Taiwan and finds that this system has progressed from an ad‐hoc agency to a full government agency and the evolution had very strong relationship with the occurrence of mass disasters at that time. The first fundamental disaster management law‐the Disaster Prevention & Response Act (DPRA) was promulgated in 2000. It especially encourages the application of hazard mitigation technologies to reduce disaster losses. However, the operation of the disaster management system has continued to experience many problems in the past five years. Much still remains to be done to develop a mature disaster management system in Taiwan.     

The role of clean technology research in disaster debris management

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy -     

Methodology for implementing power plant efficiency standards for power generation: potential emission reduction

Some methods of generating power such as power generation through coal, natural gas, oil result in inevitable emissions of greenhouse gases. While power generation is necessary due to its increasing demand, it is important for power companies to generate their power in an efficient manner to reduce its effect on the environment. One of the most effective ways of tackling inefficiency issues is through the implementation of efficiency standard. While there exist a lot of studies addressing the topic of energy efficiency standards, there are very few papers that deal specifically with efficiency standard for power generation plant. This paper presents methodology for the implementation of power plant efficiency standard; as mandatory or voluntary regulatory instrument, that may be implemented by the government to control greenhouse emissions from power plants. It is hoped that through its implementation, power companies shall become more conscious of their efficiency and emission quality, hereby encouraging the adoption of more efficient energy sources and latest available technologies. In this paper, methods of calculating greenhouse intensity value and its corresponding allowable ranges have been demonstrated. Case study on a 10-year-old base-load multi-fuel-fired power plant in Malaysia has shown that the power plant is in conformance to the power plant efficiency standard, with an actual greenhouse intensity of 859.4461 kgCO₂/MWh sent-out, well within the allowable range of greenhouse intensities for that power plant which is between 760 and 890 kgCO₂/MWh sent-out. It has also been demonstrated that older power plants are allowed to have higher values of greenhouse intensity. Benefits of utilising natural gas and operating the power plant at full load have also been shown.