Product Description
This handy volume is an indispensable resource for all laboratory management and personnel, in both science and non-science areas. It explains in everyday language how laboratories can comply with the regulatory requirements for hazardous waste management. This book covers identification, characterization, handling, and disposal of wastes; organizational responsibility for hazardous wastes; training procedures for laboratory workers; and cooperation with regulators and off-site disposal service providers. A must-have volume for all laboratories using chemicals. ... Read more

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In this concise, engaging, and at times provocative work, Richard Porter introduces readers to the economic tools that can be applied to problems involved in handling a diverse range of waste products from business and households.

Emphasizing the impossibility of achieving a zero-risk environment, Porter focuses on the choices that apply in real world decisions about waste. Acknowledging that effective waste policy integrates knowledge from several disciplines, Porter focuses on the use of economic analysis to reveal the costs of different policies and therefore how much can be done to meet goals to protect human health and the environment. With abundant examples, he considers subjects such as landfills, incineration, and illegal disposal. He discusses the international trade in waste, the costs and benefits of recycling, and special topics such as hazardous materials, Superfund, and nuclear waste.

While making clear his belief that not every form of waste presents the same amount of risk or should be taken with the same amount of seriousness, Porter stresses the need for open-minded approaches to developing new policies. For students, policymakers, and general readers, this book provides insight and accessibility to a subject that others might leave out-of-sight, out-of-mind, or buried under an impenetrable prose of statistics and jargon.

"A comprehensive, careful, and interesting treatment." --Terry M. Dinan, Congressional Budget Office

Customer Reviews (1)

From Trash to Treasure - The Economics of Waste



The Economics of Waste by Richard C Porter, Resources for the Future, Washington DC, ISBN 1-891853-43-0, paperback, 301 p.

At last! A book with a very trashy subject! Trash; rubbish, garbage or refuse, its anything we want to call it and its anything we place little or no value on. Seriously, though, in our current consumer dominated society its very pleasing to be able to find a book which is devoted to one of the most ubiquitous features of our urban landscape - trash and waste materials. With so much `waste' and `trash' being generated, its refreshing to see an author such as Richard Porter looking into the rational and reasonable reasons why we generate some much of this stuff. However, Richard does admit, at the very beginning, he is looking at the economics of waste but hasn't had the time and opportunity to go into the cultural, social, political and technical aspects of waste. To those of us who must confess a devotion to the dismal science (economics), and a Homer Simpson-style fixation on land fill sites, its comes with the promise of having something of both these nirvanas.

But the subject is a serious one and it reflects the universality of both economics and `waste'; the first revelation by Porter is the obvious, namely that waste generation is income inelastic. The higher the income, the greater the amount of waste generated. But, there is good news - the relative volume of waste per unit of economic output is decreasing as more services are produced rather than just goods (and bads - waste).

Waste is any materials we do not want. It's the stuff which we place little, if any, value upon. At least, a value less than the worth of collecting and offering the materials back to market for sale.A key result in the latter part of Chapter 1 is that waste is often generated because of external costs or hidden subsidies. That is, goods and services are not being priced at levels which reflect the true cost of production. In many instances society at large bears the cost of collecting, sorting and disposing of waste. But in recent times regulation and taxes have been used to charge for this service, thus effectively reducing incentives for waste generation, but increasing them for littering.

The free availability of landfills provided an unusual but not a timeless subsidy to waste. The introduction of taxes and charges for landfill use has put a price on the value of waste. But it also provides a cost for the disposal of bulky but less recyclable materials which tend to be abandoned as litter. The scale of recycling and bulk sorting technology, much derived from that developed in the mining industry, has made materials recycling a viable enterprise. Interestingly, such technology has also served to increase the rate of recycling of materials, particularly metals and bulk materials, thus keeping the price of metals at modest or even decreasing levels when little major new deposits are being discovered by additional mineral exploration around the globe.

The economics of recycling provides a positive and useful insight into how markets can be developed and implemented to price waste from waste to commodity status. Cardboard, aluminium, glass and newsprint are all examples of commodity markets which are formed and have matured as technology and materials flows have altered from a low to a high recycling regime.

The book moves onto the issues of hazardous waste and brings the issues of chemical and nuclear waste and the economics of these issues. As such, it is an admirable effort and almost qualifies as a pioneer in a field which has been open and poorly served for so long. It's a pity that Richard Porter has had to wait until his well earned retirement before this work was published. If only he had been able to do it with a lot more of his career left to benefit from his pioneering efforts. A welcome addition to knowledge and worthy ofhaving in anyone's library if your are ever seeking to explain how markets and trash affect each other. Its all about trash but a book worth more than its weight in knowledge and clarity.

Dr I. Lavering
Adjunct Professor
MBT Program
UNSW



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Product Description
This book is a comprehensive and authoritative review of thecurrent state of practice for geotechnical specialists working onwastedisposal problems. It provides background on generalprinciples, suchas contaminant migration in soil, and specificguidelines foranalysis and design of new waste containmentfacilities, wasteextraction and in-situ treatment of contaminants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Reference for Geotechnical Engineering Applications
The chapters in this book are written by academics from prestigious engineering colleges and universities.It is useful both for the professional, practicing engineer, and for the college student.There arereferences following each chapter, but no practice problems, for thoselooking for example calculations.

The information that is coveredconcerns material in the geotechincal field that applies to waste disposalpractices.The majority of the information will help an engineer design alandfill.However, there is material on site invesitigation and anoverview of remediation technologies. ... Read more

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Manufacturing and service related businesses are heavily dependent on office and administrative processes, which can add up to 60 percent to all the costs associated with meeting customer demand. Applying lean techniques to the office must begin with a new definition of waste, backed by a set of techniques designed to eliminate waste and streamline nonvalue-adding activities. In Creating the Ultimate Lean Office, the definition of waste in the office goes one step further than the lean manufacturing definition, because any office activity that adds value or is necessary to perpetuate the business is considered waste, if it is still manually performed when it can be cost-effectively automated. The technique employed to eliminate this waste of manually performing required activities is referred to as administration automation. It permits users to design processes to meet the needs of their environments, which are then automated without, in the majority of cases, changing source code. This book, in the hands of a business process improvement team applying due diligence, can create a lean office that can compete vigorously against the best organizations in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great reference for Lean office
This book opens a whole new powerful path to creating a lean office.It
is not about trying to manipulate and adapt shop floor techniques to the
office but rather about a simplistic team based approach in creating
lean processes.The methods keep lean simple and straightforward.If I
had to pick only one book on the subject of creating a lean office this
would be the book, it is a great addition to my ready references!

Excellent book!!
Excellent book!! It reflects the 13 forms of waste commonly found in the office, and a definition of waste that pertains specifically to the office. It is then backed by team-based techniques designed to eliminate the waste creating lean processes, which are then automated utilizing the existing software. Well written, easy to understand, and designed specifically for the office.

A. Dufresne
Lean Office Project Manager

Lean Office Techniques
The techniques discussed in the book were not about trying to apply lean shop floor techniques to the office but rather about applying lean office techniques to the office to fully eliminate the 13 forms of waste found in the office.This work opens a whole new dimension of what can be accomplished especially when applying the current computer system to automate the newly created lean office processes.This book will become "the classic" in regards to creating a lean office well beyond anything else out there.

E Landau
... Read more

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A Complete Reference on Construction Waste Recycling

This GreenSource guide offers comprehensive information on how to recycle as much as 95 percent of new construction and demolition waste, reuse existing materials, and comply with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED waste management guidelines.

Recycling Construction & Demolition Waste provides the strategies and tools you need to develop and implement a successful jobsite waste management plan. This practical resource also covers other programs that promote sustainable construction, such as the International Code Council's ICC-ES program, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Green Building Program, the Green Building Initiative Green Globes Program, BREEAM, and more.

FIND OUT HOW TO:

• Manage construction and demolition waste on the jobsite
• Set up an efficient jobsite recycling center
• Recycle new construction waste
• Conduct an on-site audit to assess demolition waste
• Reuse existing materials, including asphalt, brick, concrete, insulation, structural steel, wood, glass, and more
• Develop a comprehensive waste management plan
• Comply with LEED standards to earn waste management credits
• Get details on other green certification and code programs
• Document waste management compliance
• Include appropriate specifications in construction documents
• Market your jobsite recycling program

Downloadable forms, templates, spreadsheets, and checklists available at www.mhprofessional.com/rcadw. ... Read more

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Report examines the principal ranking methods being used or considered by federal and state agencies to rank hazardous-waste sites for remedial priority. Paper. ... Read more

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The selection of a suitable site for disposal of nuclear waste is today one of the most difficult and controversial tasks, primarily because of the opposition of the local community. This book is geared to explain the origin of the negative perception of nuclear energy by the public at large. The author emphasizes that the problem of social acceptance of nuclear-waste disposal sites is mostly based on misinformation conveyed by antinuclear proponents. This contribution also provides a comprehensive picture of the most significant recent technical achievements in the disposal of nuclear waste.

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The Air & Waste Management Association is a nonprofit technical and educational organization with 13,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1907, the Association attracts decision makers from government agencies, industry, and the academic and research communities who exchange technical and managerial information about air pollution control and waste management. The Association serves these members and the public by promoting environmental responsibility and providing technical and managerial leadership in the fields of air and waste management. Dedication to these objectives enables the Association to work toward its goal: a cleaner environment. About the Book An important way for improving competitiveness in industry is to improve technology transfer among industry, academia, and government. This unique resource provides the first single-source access to the details of university research being conducted on a number of critical technologies in environmental management. The Air, Waste and Environmental Research Faculty Profile Directory contains profiles of researchers in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada who are working in such diverse areas as air and groundwater pollution, hazardous and nonhazardous waste, liquid and solid waste, municipal solid waste, rivers and streams, ecological and health effects of various pollution sources, and many other areas. Included is information on funding sources, staff size, and the willingness of researchers to perform as expert witnesses. ... Read more

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To diminish the threat of a rapidly changing climate, emissionsof CO2 should be reduced. One way to reduce these emissions isCO2 removal -- the recovery of carbon dioxide from energyconversion processes and storage outside the atmosphere. This book,authored by one of the pioneers in this field, gives an extensivedescription of three methods of capturing CO2 from flue gasesof a conventional coal-fired power plant and two methods that arebased on the modification of an integrated coal gasifier combinedcycle plant. The present state of the technology is described andoptimized recovery designs are presented. Energy use is calculated indetail and elaborate cost calculations are given. In the last chapter,global storage potentials and costs of CO2 in aquifers, emptynatural gas, and oil fields, are discussed. ... Read more

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The Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (EM) directs the massive cleanup of more than 100 sites that were involved in the production of nuclear weapons materials during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War. This report offers suggestions for more effectively characterizing and treating the orphan and special-case wastes that are part of EMs accelerated cleanup program. It identifies technical opportunities for EM to improve the program that will save time and money without compromising health and safety. The opportunities identified include: making more effective use of existing facilities and capabilities for waste characterization, treatment, or disposal; eliminating self-imposed requirements that have no clear technical or safety basis; and investing in new technologies to improve existing treatment and characterization capabilities. For example, the report suggests that EM work with DOE classification officers to declassify, to the extent possible, classified materials declared as wastes. The report also suggests a new approach for treating the wastes that EM will leave in place after cleanup. ... Read more

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This unique new ASTM manual and supporting CD-ROM compilation (sold separately) provide you with the tools you need to develop a sampling strategy to meet project objectives associated with RCRA waste management activities. Intended as a companion document to EPA SW-846, they feature the step-by-step process for completing a sampling investigation associated with data collection activities for waste identification purposes under RCRA. Included are standards that were jointly developed by several ASTM committees and EPA. The printed manual also includes several appendices, one of which illustrates a practical waste pile example to clearly demonstrate the planning, implementation, and assessment process of a data collection activity. It examines five case studies with varying waste pile characteristics and alternate sampling designs. The four chapters in the printed manual cover: Introduction • Sampling for Waste Management Activities: Planning Phase • Sampling for Waste Management Activities: Implementation • and Sampling for Waste Management Activities: Data Assessment Phase Manual 42 and the supporting CD-ROM compilation serve as a valuable guide for: Engineers; Environmental Managers; Waste Managers; and Regulatory Staff ... Read more

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Despite approval by Congress and the Bush administration and over seven billion dollars already spent, the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site for disposal of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel is not yet in operation. The reasons for the delay lie not only in citizen and activist opposition to the project but also in the numerous scientific and technical issues that remain unresolved. Although many scientists favor geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste, there are substantial unknowns in projecting the performance of a site over the tens to hundreds of thousands of years that may be required by Environmental Protection Agency standards. Uncertainty Underground is the first effort to review the uncertainties in the analysis of the long-term performance of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. The book does not pass judgment on the suitability of the site but provides reliable science-based information to support open debate and inquiry into its safety.

Experts from the geosciences, industry, and government review different aspects of the repository system, focusing on the uncertainties inherent in each. After an overview of the historical and regulatory context, the contributors investigate external factors (including climate change and volcanic activity) that could affect repository performance and then turn to topics concerning the repository itself. These include hydrologic issues, the geological conditions with which the nuclear waste in the repository would interact, and the predicted behavior of the different kinds of waste and waste package materials. Uncertainty Underground succeeds in making these important technical issues understandable to a wide audience, including policymakers and the general public. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

very worthwhile
This work provides factual basis for the discussion of suitability of the geological set up at the mountain.also, there is some, albeit limited discussion of the technical aspects of nuclar waste storage (glass packs ect.), but only in the context of the storage at the site.excellent book, full of well explained facts.

A Good Overview of the Yucca Mountain Situation
This book is an anthology of articles related to research concerning the long-term stability of the Yucca Mountain repository. The articles discuss such things as earthquakes, volcanism, changes in water-table levels over time, diffusive versus fracture hydrology, the stability of radwaste-containing containers and ceramics, bacterially-mediated changes in plutonium chemistry, and transport of radionuclides in a colloidal rather than dissolved state.

Some of the authors are candid about the uncertainties. For instance, hydrological models cannot be tested, and just because they account for current phenomenon doesn't necessarily mean that they have successfully predicted future phenomenon. There is also the ever-present problem of taking observations conducted for a few years and extrapolating them to over a period of 10,000 years or more into the future. In fact, we know of examples where sophisticated models turned out to be wrong even within our very limited time-frame of experience. In addition, models which attempt to factor rare events (e. g. volcanoes) may give overly optimistic estimates of their recurrence. We do not know how important groundwater movement in fractures may be around Yucca Mountain. And what do the high strain rates measured in the area mean?

What if the safety conclusions are wrong? For a fictional account of a Yucca Mountain disaster, see Yucca Mountain Dirty Bomb.

Disturbing your Sleep
I work in the field and yet, I found the revelations in book to be disturbing.It is professionally and objectively done.It is not an alarmist call to action, but rather a thoughtful description of what has been done, what is being done and what could be done about high-level nuclear waste. ... Read more

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The Waste Market undertakes the interesting task of examining the creative ways in which a handful of European countries, namely Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, have managed their waste collection market. For instance, the Netherlands experimented a lot with competition and different types of ownership. It shows that competition is more important than ownership. The use of public firms, exceptional in other European countries, seems to be a powerful instrument to enhance competition. The lack of these firms might explain why private production is not always cheaper than own collection by municipalities in Sweden. Instead of public firms, cooperation is much more used in Spain and Norway to exploit economies of scale.

This insightful work also discusses variable charging that motivates customers to reduce waste. Different forms of variable charging are becoming more widespread in Belgium and the Netherlands and are very effective in reducing the amount of waste and help motivate customers to recycle their waste better. In the Netherlands different systems based on weight, bag, volume or frequency are used, which differ in effectiveness and implementation costs. The Flemish experience shows that variable charging can be even more effective, if it is combined with other policy instruments.

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This book explores the challenge of translating MARPOL 73/78 Annex V into workable laws and regulations for U.S. citizens. The volume examines how existing resources can be leveraged into a comprehensive strategy for compliance. ... Read more

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Poison in the Well provides a balanced look at the policy decisions, scientific conflicts, public relations strategies, and the myriad mishaps and subsequent cover-ups that were born out of the dilemma of where to house deadly nuclear materials. Hamblin traces the development of the issue in Western countries from the end of World War II to the blossoming of the environmental movement in the early 1970s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

God Help Us All
Having grown up in the span of time covered in this book,(and not paying much attention), I found myself often aghast at the waste disposal practices and the decisions made by the corporate "they" who determine our fate.Green devotees will be appalled to learn the global history of cavalier dumping of toxic waste into our waterways.This is not a sensational expose, but rather a well researched, extremely well-written illumination of what was going on with regard to radioactive waste in the beginning years of our modern nuclear age.It should be required reading for all environmental studies.

Game Over
Unequivocally, the most depressing book on Amazon. The most damning critique of industrialization. How anyone could have been stupid enough to dump tons of nuclear waste into the Baltic and waterways emptying into the Atlantic has got to be the terminal rhetorical question we will never live to answer.I feel sick simply looking at this heavily documented tome. Yes. This mess really did happen. Who can help us? ... Read more

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As oil reserves decline and the environment takes center stage in public policy discussions, the merits and dangers of nuclear power and nuclear waste management are once again being debated. Nuclear Waste Management in Canada provides a critical counterpoint to the favorable position of government and industry by examining not only the technical but also the social and ethnical aspects of the issue. What do frequently used terms such as safety, risk, and acceptability really mean? And how and why did the public consultation process in Canada fail to address ethical and social issues? This timely collection defuses the uncertainty, ambiguity, and ignorance that surrounds discussions of nuclear energy.

Darrin Durant is assistant professor in the Program in Science and Technology Studies at York University. Genevieve Fuji Johnson is assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Simon Fraser University.

Contributors include Richard Kuhn, Brenda Murphy, Anna Stanley, and Peter Timmerman. ... Read more

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In our rapidly urbanizing global society, solid waste management will be a key challenge facing all the world's cities. Solid Waste Management in the World's Cities provides a fresh perspective and new data on one of the biggest issues in urban development.

Using the framework of Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM), the report brings together unprecedented research from 22 cities across six continents. It uncovers the rich diversity of waste management systems that are in place throughout the world, and draws out the practical lessons for policymakers. The volume will be essential reading for all professionals and policymakers in the field, as well as a valuable resource for researchers and students in all aspects of urban development.

Published with UN-Habitat. ... Read more