FACILITY OPERATIONS

The operation at a hazardous waste facility consist of five subsystems:

1. Pre-shipment waste analysis
2. Waste receiving
3. Waste storage and preparation
4. Waste treatment
5. Residuals management
Figure 8-8 matches these subsystems with the components of the fully integrated facility depicted in
the preceding figures. It is important to note that all components operate under an umbrella of a
number of special measurtes. These special precautionary measures include security, inspections,
maintenance, training, incident prevention, emergency planning, savety, monitoring, and auditing.

Pre-Shipment Waste Analysis

A waste analysis plan is a critical part of a facility. The plan specifies the parameters for
which each waste will be analyzed, the sampling and analytical methods to be used, and frequency
of analysis. Before a faciity treats, stores, or disposes of a waste, it must profile the waste, including
a detailed chemical and physical analysis of a representative sample of the waste (see Fig.8.9).
Commercial facilities require this full characterization prior to shipment by the generator.
Representative sampling of an waste shipment is conducted upon arrival at the facility to verify that
the composition of the shipped waste matches the fully characterized waste. The purpose of the full
characterization before shipment is to satisfy the following requirements:
1. Determine if the wate is acceptable for receipt at the facility in terms of (a) the facility's
permit and (b) the capability of the facility to treat or dispose of the waste.
2. Identify the inherent hazards of the waste so that appropiate precautions can be taken during
its handling and storage at the facility to prevent incidents.
3. Deternine the physical characteristics and chemical constituens of the waste to allow
selections of effective easte processing and disposal methods.
4. Select the verification parameters to be tested upon arrival at the facility. These parametes
would ensure that each shipment of waste is the same type as the fully characterized waste.
5. Select any treability parameters to be tested that could vary so as to influence how waste
processing would be programmed.
6. Develop an estimate of the cost of treatment or disposal.

Waste Receiving
Waste shipments typically arrive by truck at a facility's gatehouse. Upon accepting the
waste, the facility signs the manifest and sends a copy o the generator. At the point, the facility
shares liability with the generator and the transporter. Thus, it is ctitical that the pre-shipment waste
analysis been completed and the shipment scheduled. Without prior scheduling of the incoming
shipment or if the shipment is improperly documented, the gatehouse will refuse entry of the truck.
Scheduled and properly documented shipments are directed to the receiving station where
any packaging is checked, the loaded truck is weighed, and representative samples are collected for
testing the verification parameters. The waste may arrive as bulk liquids in a tank truck,
containerized liquids or sludges in drums, bulk shipments of contaminated soil in dump trucks, or
by a number of other methods. Collecting a representative sample can pose a difficult task
considering that a waste may be in multiple use previously established procedures for each situation
to ensure the collection of a representative sample.
Upon collection pf the sample, the laboratory analyzes a portion for the verification
parameters and retains the remainder for subsequent testing of trearability parameters. Upon
verification of the waste shipment, the truck is directed to an unloading area where it is emptied and
then reweighed before it leaves the facility.
The mere “emptying” of a truck can pose a difficult challenge if the waste has stratified, a
container has leaked, or a solidification reaction has occurred. It is important that facilities have
planned procedures and are prepared with special equipment to resolve such problems. The truck
may need to be decontaminated to remove any trace residues.

Waste Storage and Preparation

upon unloading, the wastes are moved into storage that can consist of tanks or
impoundments for bulk liquids, hoppers for solid and sludges, or pads and warehouses for
containers. The objectives of storage and preparation are fourfold: (a) store the waste safely before
introduction as feed into the system of unit treatment and disposal processes, (b) provide adequate
accumulation time during periods when treatment and disposal process systems are out of service,
(c) facilitate mixing, blending, and repackaging of waste as deemed necessary, and (d) allow stage
input of various waste with reagents to the subsequent unit treatment processes.
An obviously important safety consideration is fire prevention and protection. The storage of
certain types of hazardous waste requires automatic alarms and possibly sprinklers. The facility
must provide adequate water supply for extinguishing fires plus the capability to collect and store
fire water runoff. The storage or treatment of any water-reactive waste necessitates an alternative
type of fire protection system.
A key issue in providing safe storage is compatibility. This has two independent
consideration:
1. The compatibility of the waste with the material used to construct the container, tank, or
liner in contact with the waste (e.g., certain solvents solvents should not be stored in plastic
containers).
2. The compatibility of the waste with other wastes stored together (e.g., containers of cyanide
waste should not be located near acid waste).
The key is so segregate incompatible wastes by placing them in separate areas constructed of
suitable materials. If stored together, incidents such as leaks could result in mixing of incompatible
wastes. Different chemical reactions could occur. Some reactions could produce excessive pressure,
thus posing fire or explosion hazards. Others could produce toxic fumes or gases. Figure 8-10
present a compatibility chart and and indicates that careful planning must be given to chemical
storage.

Example 8-1 waste compatibility. Given the following list of waste stored in containers in a
commom area, what could happen in the event of a fire in which high pressure water was used to
extinguish it? To provide safe segregation. What is the minimum number of separate storage areas
required? Does this list provide sufficient information to make this determination ?
Waste A- spent picklen liquor from a steel manufacturer
Waste B- metal-plating rinsewater from cyanide bath
Waste C- Cadmium-bearing sludges from a metal plater
Waste D- spent degreaser from an electroplater
Waste E- solvent-based paint sludges from a metal-finishing operation
Waste F- distillation bottoms from a phenolic manufacturer
Waste G- laboratory packs from a university
Waste H- pesticides with an expired shelf life
Waste I- soil contaminated with a spill of diesel fuel
Waste J- alkali cleaners
Waste K- off spec sodium product
Waste L- arsenical wastewater treatment sludges from veterinarian product manufacturer
Waste M- drum-reconditioning waste
Gambar grafik

Solution. These limited description do not characterize the wastes sufficiently for the
purposes of storage. For example, drum reconditioning wastes could include acid and alkaline
rinses, spent solvent, and paint sludges. Laboratory packs could include any of innumerable
chemical used in researc laboratories. Additional information may be obtained from the waste
profiles needed for facilities to accept these wastes. In this example, it is assumed that the waste
profiles would identify that the compatibility groups for the purpose of storage are as follows for
cach waste.
A number of events could occur if a high-pressure water hose were used in an attempt to
wxtinguish a fire among the above wastes stored together in individual containers. For example, the
force of the water stream could tip over the containers of the mineral acids and cyanides, thereby
creating highly toxic hydrogencyanide gas, which spontaneusly ignites. Similiary, acids could react
violently with alkalis, releasing heat. Violant reaction in surrounding containers could release the
non halogenated solvent, that would form an explosive mixture with air.

Using the information in fig 8-10 a total of four separate areas are needed for the compatible
storage of these wastes as follows:

Certain types of wastes will require prior mixing. For example, the concentration of waste
constituents can vary considerably because of large differences in incoming waste strength. This is
particularly true at most commercial treatment facilities. Mixing can control such variations to a
range that will not upset performance of the subsequent unit treatment processes. Some waste must
undergo other forms of preparation before feeding to the waste treatment processes. For example,
contaminated soil can contain.