Industrial waste is composed of many different industrial byproducts, including but definitely not limited to coal combustion (by)products and foundry sand. Below is a quick laundry list of some of the main categories of industrial waste of concern to us. After learning more about these industrial wastes, how they’re (not) regulated, and current industry and government plans to change the way they are managed, we decided we would try to compile some of the vast amounts of information and try to get the information out, in one place, where it can hopefully be useful to community groups, neighbors, workers, end users, and others.
To start, before even getting into what it is, why we’re worried, and risk assessment and other data, we wanted to try to capture some of the terms that are used to describe various types of industrial waste. There are many terms used to describe industrial wastes, and this list is by no means exhaustive — due to everything from international variance in terms to current industry efforts to market the waste and change public perception (pushing it as a “product”).
Coal Combustion Byproducts (CCBs)
Materials produced primarily from the combustion of coal as a part of the coal fired power plant operating processes. CCBs include coal fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, flue gas desulferization material, and other types of materials such as cenospheres, scrubber residues, and fluidized bed combustion ash. Note: These are currently being marketed by EPA and the coal industry as “coal combustion products (CCPs)”. Other EPA aliases for these wastes include Fossil Fuel Combustion (FFC) waste, Coal Combustion Wastes (CCW), and Coal Combustion Residues (CCR) http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/fossil/index.htm
Fly Ash, Coal Fly Ash
Fly ash is a waste product from coal smoke. It generally has a fine silty texture and is removed from the power plant exhaust after burning finely ground coal. Fly ash properties vary depending on the source of the coal and other factors. Composition varies, but fly ash is generally composed mostly of carcinogenic silica (which can cause lung disease if inhaled), and can also include mercury, cadmium, selenium, barium, chromium, zinc, lead, arsenic, molybdenum and other metals, and certain radioactive elements. Improper fly ash disposal and management has contaminated water supplies and contributed to EPA Superfund toxic waste sites. The American Coal Ash Association estimatest that there were just over 71 million tons of coal fly ash produced in the U.S. in 2005.
Cenospheres
Cenospheres are tiny, lightweight, hollow gas-filled spheres that make up a portion of coal fly ash.
Flue Gas Desulferization Material (FGD)
FGD is a product of a process typically used for reducing SO2 emissions from the exhaust gas system of a coal-fired boiler. It can be a wet sludge or a dry powdered material.
Foundry Sand
Spent foundry sands are generated by brass, bronze, aluminum, iron, and steel metal casting industries. EPA estimates that 6-10 million tons of spent foundry sands are generated annually in the U.S. Currently EPA and industries are working together to increase the amount of spent foundry sand that is recycled in applications including manufacture of Portland cement, road base, road embankments, manufactured soils, and agricultural amendments. EPA states that spent sands from some types of foundries are rarely hazardous, but goes on to state (in a footnote) that some foundry sands, such as those from brass and bronze foundries, are _often_ characteristically hazardous.<see footnote 1: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/foundry/index.htm>
Boiler Slag
Boiler slag is molten bottom ash collected at the bottom of certain types of power plant furnaces that when it is quenched with water crystalizes into a black granular material.
Bottom Ash
Bottom ash is agglomerated ash particles formed in pulverized coal furnaces that are too big to be carried out with the flue gases.
Mercury
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is released to the environment when coal is burned. Mercury is toxic and accumulates in the food chain. <http://www.epa.gov/mercury/about.htm>
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
The Toxics Release Inventory is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities reported annually by certain industry groups. TRI is a provision of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which was passed in 1986 as a response to the Union Carbide methyl isocyanate leak in Bhopal, India that killed and injured thousands of people. Individuals or groups living near power plants and other facilities that manage, release, or store certain toxics can use TRI to find out what kinds and how much of certain chemicals are in their neighborhood. Environmental groups may use TRI to identify trends in emissions or siting for certain types of facilities, including power plants.
<http://www.epa.gov/tri>
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP)
TCLP analysis simulates landfill conditions and is designed to determine which/if specific contaminants identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency are present in landfill leachate. <http://www.epa.gov/sw-846/pdfs/1311.pdf >
