State-of-the-art of land treatment of corrosive and ignitable waste /

Abstract

This research was conducted to provide state-of-the-art information on land application of ignitable (D001) and corrosive (D002) waste (ICW). Land application is considered a relatively new technology and there is very little experience in industry on land application of ICW. The information in this document therefore relied heavily on secondary information obtained from direct correspondence with generators and disposers of ICW in all 10 EPA Regions. Additional information was obtained through site visits, direct contact with technical people in industry and a laboratory study on the effect of ignitable waste on bacterial populations in a soil column.

The report provides information on existing current practices relating to land treatment of ignitable and corrosive wastes. Data is presented on current disposal methods, characteristics and quantities of ICW generated by EPA Region, total number of facilities generating ICW, current pretreatment and post-treatment technology. An important section discusses the general considerations, design criteria and site-specific design for land application of ICW. The laboratory study emphasizes the concept of biodegradation in the assimilative capacity of the soil for ICW whereby the effect of solvent recovery waste on bacterial populations in the unsaturated zone was studied. The final section of this report discusses life cycle cost, site specific life cycle cost, and a comparative technique to evaluate alternative treatment technologies and risk assessment which are important parameters of land application.