Hazardous Waste Management

Hazardous waste refers to any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste material that might pose considerable dangers to human health and the environment if treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed improperly. Every industrial nation has had problems with managing dangerous wastes. Improper waste management has called for expensive cleanup operations in many examples. Efforts are underway globally to remedy past problems resulting from hazardous waste and to prevent future problems via source reduction, recycling, treatment and proper disposal of hazardous wastes (Dawson & Mercer, 1986).

Hazardous waste management is a fairly new field that dates originated in the 1970s. Many companies realized that they would need to use thorough scientific investigation to solve their environmental problems as it evolved (Dawson & Mercer, 1986). These organizations sought chemists who could offer the scientific knowledge necessary to comply with the law as various government agencies began to issue and enforce waste management regulations. Opportunities for chemists have been developing ever since.

In this field, chemist ought to know the government's rules and regulations including academia, government and chemical companies. There are also companies developed specially to offer hazardous waste management services, usually in a focused region (Martin & Johnson, 1986). For instance, zero-discharge hazardous waste companies take in sludges particularly from industrial manufacturing processes- which they clean or change into new products, leaving nothing that ought to be sent to a landfill.

Chemists start out testing and analyzing materials generally in this field. An archetypal entry-level hazardous waste management chemist tests or takes samples in the field at a remediation site or works for one of the numerous contract logical labs throughout the country that specialize in analyzing hazardous materials. In many cases, managers in hazardous waste management come from a chemical engineering background other than a pure chemistry background (Martin & Johnson, 1986). Chemists with a bachelor's degree, nevertheless, may eventually manage large logical labs or become accountable for developing remediation programs and supervising the individuals who perform the cleanup work. Whether a chemist in this field remains in the lab or moves into a management-track position relies more on temperament and personal career objectives than training.