Mark W. Milke

Disaster Waste Management: A Review Article

Depending on their nature and severity, disasters can create large volumes of debris and waste. The waste can overwhelm existing solid waste management facilities and impact on other emergency response and recovery activities. If poorly managed, the waste can have significant environmental and public health impacts and can affect the overall recovery process. This paper presents a system overview of disaster waste management based on existing literature. The main literature available to date comprises disaster waste management plans or guidelines and isolated case studies. There is ample discussion on technical management options such as temporary storage sites, recycling, disposal, etc.; however, there is little or no guidance on how these various management options are selected post-disaster. The literature does not specifically address the impact or appropriateness of existing legislation, organisational structures and funding mechanisms on disaster waste management programmes, nor does it satisfactorily cover the social impact of disaster waste management programmes. It is envisaged that the discussion presented in this paper, and the literature gaps identified, will form a basis for future comprehensive and cohesive research on disaster waste management. In turn, research will lead to better preparedness and response to disaster waste management problems.

Sulfate and metal removal in bioreactors treating acid mine drainage dominated with iron and aluminum.

Bioreactors represent an emerging technology for removing metals and sulfate commonly found in acid mine drainage (AMD). Six continuously fed anaerobic bioreactors employing organic and alkaline waste materials were operated to investigate relationships between metal and sulfate removal from AMD. Median AMD influent chemistry was 65.8mg/L Fe (49.7-113mg/L), 46.5mg/L Al (33.5-72.4mg/L) and 608mg/L sulfate (493-1007mg/L). Bioreactors containing mussel shells as an alkaline substrate amendment were more effective at removing metals and sulfate than those containing limestone. Experimental results indicated bioreactor design and operation should be dependent on treatment goals. These include 0.3mol sulfate loading/m(3)/day for sulfate removal (mean of 94.1% (87.6-98.0%), 0.4mol metals/m(3)/day for metal (mean of 99.0% (98.5-99.9%)) and partial sulfate (mean of 46.0% (39.6-57.8%)) removal and 0.8mol metals/m(3)/day for metal (mean of 98.4% (98.2-98.6%) and minimal sulfate (mean of 16.6% (11.9-19.2%)) removal. Aluminum removal efficiency was on average 1.72% (0.04-3.42%) greater than Fe during stable operating conditions.

Relationship between chemical and theoretical oxygen demand for specific classes of organic chemicals

Abstract This study examined the relationship between ThOD and COD for a database of 565 organic chemicals comprising 64 classes. A mixed beta-normal distribution was used to develop a statistically reliable method to estimate COD from ThOD for specific classes of organic chemicals. The data were divided into six groups; (1) well-correlated aromatic chemicals, (2) well-correlated non-aromatic chemicals, (3) potentially well-correlated aromatic chemicals, (4) potentially well-correlated non-aromatic chemicals, (5) other aromatic chemicals, (6) other non-aromatic chemicals. The results show there is 90% statistical confidence that COD will be within the range of: 0.96–1.0×ThOD (mean equal to 0.98) for the chemical classes in group 1; 0.92–1.0×ThOD (mean equal to 0.97) for the chemical classes in group 2; 0.80–1.0×ThOD (mean equal to 0.93) for the chemical classes in group 3; 0.75–1.0×ThOD (mean equal to 0.92) for the chemical classes in group 4. The COD for chemicals in groups 5 and 6 was either poorly correlated or could not be correlated because insufficient data were available. COD cannot be estimated from ThOD for the 43 chemical classes represented by the 288 chemicals in groups 5 and 6. Caution should be used in applying COD measurements to these chemical classes or to mixtures which consist primarily of chemicals contained in these chemical classes. In addition, a modification of the COD test may be required for individual chemicals contained in this poorly correlated group of chemical classes (e.g., modification for volatile chemicals, C. J. M. Wolff (1975) COD determination of volatile compounds, Water Res. 9, 1015).

Gas Production Parameters in Sanitary Landfill Simulators

Abstract The decomposition of shredded municipal refuse was studied in 19 drums (208 l). Gas production and composition were monitored for two years. The addition of old, anaerobically degraded refuse as a seed of anaerobic bacteria and the neutralization of the refuse were the two techniques which stimulated methane production. Yields of 80–150 l of methane per kilogram of dry, grindable, volatile solids were measured. The addition of anaerobic sewage sludge, acetate, and the initial removal of oxygen from a drum, were not stimulatory. Initially, it was the development of the methanogen population and not polymer hydrolysis which limited methane production.

Quantitative decision tools for conservation programme planning: practice, theory and potential

Conservation programme planning involves allocating a limited budget amongst different potential conservation projects. The selection of projects for funding is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and a number of competing objectives such as ecological protection, recreation and community relations. The purposes of this paper are to summarize the quantitative methods currently used in deciding which conservation projects to fund and to present a general methodology based on decision analysis that can be used for making conservation programme planning decisions. The methodology directly links the proposed contributions of projects to the objectives of the conservation agency, and it includes an explicit consideration of uncertainty and a conversion of ordinal scores into utilities. The methodology is a rational way of making decisions in conservation situations that are characterized by high degrees of uncertainty and subjective information. An application of decision analysis with staff from the New Zealand Department of Conservation is described. Some of the difficulties with using this methodology in practice are discussed in both the New Zealand and broader contexts. The conclusions are that conservation programme planning is currently based on managerial experience and relatively simple scoring procedures, but that a more rational approach based on decision analysis is possible, and additional research would reduce the amount of effort required to use decision analysis for conservation programme planning.

Cost estimation for solid waste management in industrialising regions - precedents, problems, and prospects

The importance of cost planning for solid waste management (SWM) in industrialising regions (IR) is not well recognised. The approaches used to estimate costs of SWM can broadly be classified into three categories - the unit cost method, benchmarking techniques and developing cost models using sub-approaches such as cost and production function analysis. These methods have been developed into computer programmes with varying functionality and utility. IR mostly use the unit cost and benchmarking approach to estimate their SWM costs. The models for cost estimation, on the other hand, are used at times in industrialised countries, but not in IR. Taken together, these approaches could be viewed as precedents that can be modified appropriately to suit waste management systems in IR. The main challenges (or problems) one might face while attempting to do so are a lack of cost data, and a lack of quality for what data do exist. There are practical benefits to planners in IR where solid waste problems are critical and budgets are limited.

Variations in Phytoremediation Performance with Diesel-Contaminated Soil

The potential for phytoremediation of high concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons is poorly understood. This study examines variations in phytoremediation performance for a soil contaminated with diesel at 6400 mg TPH kg−1 dry mixture. Experiments on diesel-contaminated soil were conducted in cups using 200 g of soil, and in columns using 4,000 g. Root development and TPH levels were measured in both experiments. In addition, CO2 soil gas concentrations were measured in the column experiments. The results show that ryegrass enhanced the loss of TPH over controls, and that this benefit only became evident after full root establishment. A comparison of the two experiments shows that rooting intensity (mg root kg−1 soil) is the key factor leading to higher TPH loss rates in the smaller containers. No clear difference in TPH loss occurred at 100 and 260 mm depths. Soil gas CO2 did not correlate well with TPH loss rates. The research concludes that an understanding of root development is crucial to evaluating the potential for ryegrass phytoremediation.

Chemical variability of groundwater samples collected from a coal seam gas exploration well, Maramarua, New Zealand.

A pilot study has produced 31 groundwater samples from a coal seam gas (CSG) exploration well located in Maramarua, New Zealand. This paper describes sources of CSG water chemistry variations, and makes sampling and analytical recommendations to minimize these variations. The hydrochemical character of these samples is studied using factor analysis, geochemical modelling, and a sparging experiment. Factor analysis unveils carbon dioxide (CO(2)) degassing as the principal cause of sample variation (about 33%). Geochemical modelling corroborates these results and identifies minor precipitation of carbonate minerals with degassing. The sparging experiment confirms the effect of CO(2) degassing by showing a steady rise in pH while maintaining constant alkalinity. Factor analysis correlates variations in the major ion composition (about 17%) to changes in the pumping regime and to aquifer chemistry variations due to cation exchange reactions with argillaceous minerals. An effective CSG water sampling program can be put into practice by measuring pH at the wellhead and alkalinity at the laboratory; these data can later be used to calculate the carbonate speciation at the time the sample was collected. In addition, TDS variations can be reduced considerably if a correct drying temperature of 180 °C is consistently implemented.

Parametric distributions of regional lake chemistry: fitted and derived.

Parametric probability distribution functions are determined for regional lake chemistry in four subregions of the Eastern Lake Survey (ELS) of the US EPA National Surface Water Survey. The subregions are the Adirondacks, northeastern Minnesota, northcentral Wisconsin, and the Southern Blue Ridge Province. ANC data are fit with a three-parameter lognormal distribution, and the distributions of pH and total base cations are derived from physically based relationships estimated for each region. The parametric distribution functions provide very good representations of observed data in each area, with the exception of northcentral Wisconsin, where bimodal ANC and base cation distributions are observed, suggesting the need for a mixture of distributions. The derived distributions of pH allow for interregional comparison, with unimodal pH distributions in unacidified areas and bimodal pH distributions in regions impacted by acid deposition. Future research of regional variations in water chemistry is proposed in the context of the correlation structure of large-scale spatial variations of soil and geologic properties.

Waste management as a 'Lifeline'? A New Zealand case study analysis.

Purpose – Lifelines (also referred to as critical infrastructure) are referred to here as the essential infrastructure and services that support the life of our community. In a disaster response and recovery situation, provision of Lifelines, is essential. New Zealand has several mechanisms to improve the responses of lifeline service providers in a disaster situation, including pre‐event planning and coordination groups and legislative provisions for timely response in an emergency. Currently, waste management is not formally included in either the coordination process or the legislative provisions for Lifelines. This paper aims to address whether or not waste management should be included in these.Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative and semi‐qualitative matrix‐based assessments were used to determine the relative importance of provision of waste management services in a disaster‐recovery situation.Findings – The paper argues that waste management should be included in Lifeline planning in New Zeal...