The Types of Hazardous Waste Materials

In the past decade, the production of hazardous wastes has drastically increased. Thus, employees as well as employers must be trained to deal with it in a safe manner. Hence, the 40 hour HAZWOPER training courses were developed to train students develop a sense of awareness with regards to safety and health.

The hazwoper training program primarily helps students, identify and categorize the different types of hazardous waste materials.

There are a large number of hazardous wastes, but here is a list of some of the common waste materials:

• Nuclear Waste: This type of waste is primarily generated from nuclear weapon technology and nuclear power plants. This particular waste has come under a lot of debate, since it is arguably the most dangerous waste created by society. This extreme danger arises from the fact that, the radioactive materials present in nuclear waste have an extremely long half life. These dangers pose both, immediate health risks and long-term risks related to increases in birth defects and cancer.

• Industrial Waste: It is evident that many solvents and cleaners used in commercial and industrial processes become hazardous wastes after their use. The EPA has specific technical groupings based on whether they come from specific or non-specific industries or processes as well as the degree of danger they pose. These include refinery waste water, wood preservation chemicals, compounds that contain dioxin. Organic chemical production and Pharmaceutical manufacturing also lead to the creation of hazardous wastes.

• Universal Waste: This particular type of waste is created from a large variety of sources. Furthermore, it consists of products that serve both personal as well as commercial use, for instance, light bulbs and batteries. Since, these products are used in such large quantities, its waste products cannot be monitored very closely. Hence, these waste products in turn create huge landfills and incinerators where their toxic components are released into the environment.

• Medical Waste: This particular type of waste can indeed be a bio hazard. The EPA however, does not strictly designate medical waste as hazardous. But, it definitely can cause health problems if it is not properly managed.

• Construction Waste: Lead pipes and certain chemicals used in maintenance all fall into this category. Hence, the construction industry needs to be aware of these hazards.

• Electronic Waste: Many electronic products contain hazardous materials that can pose problems if incinerated. Computers contain many components that fall into this category. But, its their unregulated disposal that make them a real contributor to the overall hazardous waste dilemma.