US ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

US Environmental Policy

US Environmental Policy

Introduction

By-products are an inevitable feature of industrial production. As production has increased and globalized over time so has the creation and accumulation of waste materials. Greater understanding of and concern for the environmental and human health impacts of exposure to some of these waste products has made their handling, treating, transportation, trading and disposal prominent political issues. The classification of industrial waste materials as hazardous varies from country to country and some are, of course, more toxic or hazardous than others. A vast array of industrial waste materials are deemed to be hazardous (Probst, 2000, p22).

The category includes: discontinued products such as those made from PCBs; used products containing metals such as lead or mercury (see lead poisoning and mercury poisoning); used chemicals such as solvents or acids; chemicals created as by-products such as dioxin; used equipment such as the spent uranium rods from nuclear reactors or flat batteries; used fuel such as ash from coal-fired power stations and non-toxic but potentially hazardous by-products of mining such as rubble. Not all hazardous waste originates from conventional industrial production. Other sources include: waste from hospitals which may contain disease-carrying organisms; military waste such as scrapped missiles and household waste such as sewage.

In 1976 the Toxic Substances Control Act required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate potentially hazardous industrial chemicals, including halogenated fluorocarbons, dioxin, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and vinyl chloride. Other federal legislation pertaining to hazardous wastes includes the Atomic Energy Act (1954), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or Superfund Act (1986). Toxic waste treatment and control has proved to be expensive and time-consuming with more resources spent on court battles than on actual cleanup. The disposal of toxic wastes is also a topic of international concern. In 1989, some 50 countries signed a treaty aimed at regulating the international shipment of toxic wastes. In some cases such wastes are shipped to developing countries for cheap disposal without the informed consent of their governments. The often substandard shipping, storage, and treatment methods endanger human health and the health of the environment.

Discussion

Waste disposal can be by incineration, burial underground in landfill sites, or through dumping at sea. Some waste can escape disposal by being reprocessed or recycled, prompting some countries to rid themselves of it by exporting it. All disposal methods carry the potential for environmental pollution. Incineration can release carcinogenic and toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Landfill sites, which account for most household waste, can release toxins into soil and nearby water sources. Dumping at sea is the usual fate of industrial waste and this has the greatest international ramifications since it can include particularly toxic substances and can become a transboundary pollution issue. Seas and sea life can be poisoned directly in this way and humans then poisoned indirectly via water or foodstuffs (Probst, 2000, p22).

Recognition of such forms of pollution has prompted industrialized countries to develop hazardous waste management programmes ...