Domain 7 - Environmental Management Quiz

Domain 7 - Environmental Management

• Percentage: 7.38%

Hazardous Materials

• Hazardous material: Any solid, liquid, or gas capable of harming people, living organisms, property, or the environment.
• Radioactive, flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive, biohazard, oxidizer, asphyxiant, or allergen.
• Hazardous waste: Solid waste that due to its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics poses a significant hazard to human health or the environment when improperly managed.
• Solid waste: Discarded material (disposed, burned, incinerated, or recycled). Can be solid, liquid, semi-solid, or gaseous.
• Plasma: A state of matter where a certain portion of particles are ionized, electrically conductive, and responsive to electromagnetic fields.

Density

• Density: Mass per unit volume (d=m/v)

Specific Gravity

• Specific Gravity (SG): Ratio of a material's density to the density of water.
• SG <1: Lighter than water, will float.
• SG >1: Heavier than water, will sink.

Solubility

• Solubility: The ability of a solute to dissolve in a solvent to form a homogeneous solution.
• Depends on the solvent, temperature, and pressure.
• Water solubility is measured in ppm (parts per million).

Vapor Density (VD)

• Vapor Density: Weight of a unit volume of gas or vapor compared to the weight of an equal volume of air.
• VD <1: Lighter than air, tends to rise and dissipate.
• VD >1: Heavier than air, tends to concentrate in low places.

Physical Hazards

• Engulfment: When a worker is surrounded by a granular substance (soil, sand, gravel) or submerged in a liquid.
• Overpressurization: Increase in temperature causes increase in pressure, leading potential fires and explosions.
• Fires and Explosions: Ignition of flammable materials, shock/friction sensitive compounds, or sudden release of materials.
• Corrosion: Disintegration of materials due to chemical reactions (e.g., rusting).
• Thermal Decomposition: Byproducts of incomplete combustion, like carbon monoxide.
• Water Reactivity: Chemical reactions with moisture can lead to extreme heat, potential fire, corrosion, and toxicity.

Regulations

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): Manages hazardous and non-hazardous waste from its generation to disposal.
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Superfund): Addresses liability for hazardous waste releases.
• Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA): Enhances CERCLA by providing new settlement tools and enforcement authorities.
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA): Protects public from chemical emergencies and dangers.
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA): Implements standards for pesticide registration and use.
• Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act: Requires a Model Accreditation Plan to handle asbestos remediation.

Hazardous Waste Operations

• Includes Planning and Organization, Training, Medical Program, Site Characterization, Air Monitoring, Personal Protective Equipment, Site Control, and Decontamination. All involve specific procedures and considerations.
• Uncontrolled condition of the site.

EPA Categories of Hazardous Waste Generators

• Different categories of generators based on quantity generated per month.
• Large Quantity Generators (LQG) (1000 kg or more of hazardous waste).
• Small Quantity Generators (SQG) (100-1000 kg).
• Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (CESQG) (less than 100 kg).
• Different maximum storage amounts and times for each category.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

• Evaluation of the environmental effects of federal undertakings.
• Three levels of analysis:
  • Categorical Exclusion: No detailed analysis necessary if criteria are met.
  • Environmental Assessment (EA)/Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI): Determines if the undertaking will significantly affect the environment.
  • Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): Environmental consequences of a proposed undertaking are significant.

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

• Duties: Gathering information on trends in environmental quality, evaluating federal programs in light of goals, developing/promoting national policies, conducting studies, surveys, research and analyses.

Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste

• RCRA: Nation's primary law governing solid and hazardous waste disposal.
• RCRA Subtitle D: Manages non-hazardous waste.
• RCRA Subtitle C: Manages hazardous waste.
• RCRA Subtitle I: Regulates USTs (Underground Storage Tanks), containing hazardous substances or petroleum products.

Universal Waste

• Batteries, agricultural pesticides, and thermostats.

Used Oil Management Standards

• Any oil used that contains physical or chemical impurities.

Underground Storage Tanks (USTs)

• UST is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank with at least 10% of the volume underground.
• Certain tanks are excluded from regulation.

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

• Addresses production, importation, use, and disposal of specific chemicals.
• Certain substances are excluded from TSCA.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

• Regulates pesticide distribution, sale, and use.
• EPA establishes tolerances and exemptions for pesticide use on raw agricultural products, with periodic review.

Clean Air Act

• Regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
• Major sources emit 10 tons of a hazardous air pollutant, or 25 tons of a combination of hazardous air pollutants per year.