more industry produce more hazardous waste than those with little industry. Hazardous
wastes can enter the air when we burn things like batteries containing mercury or old tires.
Hazardous waste can enter the water when chemicals are dumped on the ground, or are
buried and then leak. Substances buried in the ground often leak from their containers after
a number of years. The chemicals then move through the soil until they reach groundwater.
Hazardous chemicals are especially dangerous once they reach our groundwater resources.
Sites like the one at Love Canal are now referred to asSuperfund sites. They are found
throughout the country. Many of them have been identified and cleaned up. We now have
strict laws to prevent new sites like the Love Canal site from ever forming in the first place.
In the United States, we have several laws that help control hazardous waste. The Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act requires any company that produces hazardous materials
to keep careful track of what happens to it. The government has passed special rules for
how these materials can be disposed of. Companies must ensure that hazardous waste is
not allowed to enter the environment in dangerous amounts. They have to protect their
workers from the hazards of the materials. They must keep a record of how they dispose of
hazardous wastes, and show the government that they did so in a safe way.
Individual people can also do much to control hazardous wastes. We can choose to use
materials that are not hazardous in the first place. We can make sure that we dispose of
materials properly. We can control the amount of pesticides that we use. We can make
sure to not pour toxic chemicals over the land, or down the drain or toilet, or even into the
trashcan. We can also use hazardous materials less often. We can find safer alternatives for
many of the chemicals we use. For example, we can use vinegar and water to clean windows
instead of the usual glass-cleaning chemicals.
Lesson Summary
- Hazardous wastes are dangerous to human health and the environment. They come
from many sources, such as household chemicals, gasoline, paints, old batteries, dis-
carded appliances, and industrial chemicals. - Once in the air or buried on land, they can cause human health problems or even death
and degrade the environment for other organisms. - Developed countries like the United States produce most of the world’s hazardous
waste. - We have passed laws that require careful disposal of hazardous materials and that
make their producers financially responsible for them if they pollute the environment.
Review Questions
- How does the United States Superfund Act help control hazardous wastes?
- What is the difference between corrosive and flammable?