Hazardous Waste Disposal: A Staggering Problem

This article appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 16, Issue 3, Summer 1981. A serious and potentially deadly problem is the growing volume of solid hazardous waste society produces. Less than 10 percent of the hazardous waste volume is disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. No part of the country is immune from the problem. Land disposal has been the predominant disposal method, but it presents the greatest health and environmental risk for surface and groundwater contamination. It has been considered the least expensive of the disposal methods, yet when long-term liability and cleanup costs are considered, the cost rises dramatically. When water comes in contact with disposed waste, it produces a heavily polluted liquid. The most populated and industrial parts of the country have the highest potential for contamination and the greatest disposal problem. Groundwater is the major drinking water source for 32 states, and for major parts of several states it is the only source. Burning hazardous waste in incinerators at high temperatures offers an alternative to land disposal. It reduces the volume of hazardous substances to nontoxic gaseous emissions, small amounts of ash, and other residues. This process can be 100 percent environmentally safe and offers the best environmentally safe disposal alternative for the most toxic substances other than nuclear waste. However, it is a relatively expensive method of waste disposal and can cause air pollution problems. Another alternative for waste disposal is deep-well disposal, which consists of injecting liquid wastes into permeable subterranean rock or other geological formations. The underground area receiving wastes should be isolated by impermeable rock. To allow this disposal method to work effectively, both government and industry would have to establish strict controls over the drilling technology used, monitor the drilling and operations, and limit the types of substances to be injected. Industry, the general public, and federal, state, and local governments have not confronted the totality of the waste problem facing the United States. The legislative actions needed to reverse the environmental decline that numerous years of improper disposal have created have not been fully considered by industry or Congress. Reliance on land disposal should be reduced and more facilities for high temperature burning and deep-well disposal should be provided.