The Danger of Toxic Waste

Toxic waste is the by products of industrialized manufacturing plants or nuclear power plants. It is also known as hazardous waste and can cause serious injury and death to plants, animals or humans that come in contact with it. Some examples of it are the chemicals used in milling or mining, production of petroleum products; such as lead, arsenic, mercury, chlorine and different heavy elements.

Biomedical toxic types can include remains of serious pathogenic diseases, radioactive elements used in treatment of cancers or X-ray materials. Such hazards must be dealt with in a safe and secure manner by trained environmental technicians or more people could become exposed to the dangerous toxic waste.

Perhaps the most famous example of this is one of the Superfund sites that dealt with the effects of nuclear radiation near Three Mile Island a number of years ago. Millions of dollars and efforts were spent to deal with the effects of the radiation and the instances of cancer that skyrocketed for those living nearby. Governmental regulations dealing with the cleanup and restoration of such sites is extensive, with the companies that are responsible paying millions of dollars in damages and fines.

Two examples of toxic waste include the oil spills in Alaska and off of the Gulf Coast. These continue to affect the biology of thousands of animal, plant and marine life as well as livelihoods of hundreds of people and lost income. As a result of the toxic oil spill off of the Gulf Coast, many species of coral are in danger of becoming extinct. The fish and other food we get from the water can be hazardous to human health.

Despite these regulations, many companies and industrial plants are irresponsibly and illegally dumping industrial hazardous materials in waterways or other places just to get rid of them without paying to have them handled in a safe manner. The hazards to animals and humans are extensive especially if the waste gets into a local water system and pollutes the water underground. An example of this type of dumping occurred in Warren, Pennsylvania when transformers containing PBC’s were dumped all along remote parts of Warren County.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Act is the governmental agency that regulates the hazardous materials, but the regulations have to be read carefully because they may pertain to what is allowed not how it is disposed of or the handling procedures needed for the various materials; that is the loophole the companies found in Warren County.

The handling of toxic waste requires special equipment and training, yet it is work worth doing, that of helping to keep our environment clean so we can live a healthier life and our children and grandchildren can have a better place.