December 2, 2009
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Transcript of December 2, 2009
December 2, 2009December 2, 2009
The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research. Tests show that 90% of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years. According to the independent EU Energy Institute, this brings down the lifetime cost. The institute says the panels are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer mortgages on them like they do on homes. At a conference, the institute forecast that solar panels would be cost-competitive with energy from the grid for half the homes in Europe by 2020 - without a subsidy.
Ch. 16 (wastes)
Solar panel costs 'set to fall'
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/index.htm
Why decreased landfills?
Materials management Incentives for ‘green buildings’New technology incentives
• Waste exchange programs– Fresh Kills, NY
RecyclingReduce, recycle, reuse (3 R’s)Yard materials banned from
landfills
http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/000848.html
Recycling rates of selected products, 2008
http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/index.htm
http://epa.gov/indicators/roe/html/roeLandWa2.ht
Hazardous Wastes
Types of hazardous wastesPlastics, pesticidesMedicinesLeather, textilesOil, gas, petroleum
• ~40% used oil put in
drains or ground
http://maps.grida.no/go/collection/vital-waste-graphics-2Http://www.cspo.org/gck/home/repositories/environment/waste.html
Disposal of Hazardous Wastes
‘Dilute and disperse’ and ‘concentrate and contain’ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
• Primary national law governing disposal (1976)
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
• Superfund (1980)
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Love_Canal,_New_York
Aerial view of Love Canal, NY
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells_class1.htmlhttp://www.texasep.org/html/wst/wst_4imn_injct.html
Disposal of Hazardous Wastes
Deep well injectionCharacteristics of site?Problems?
http://people.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=landfill.htm&url=http://www.santekenviro.com/StkHome.htmlhttp://www.deq.mt.gov/HazWaste/RCRA/rcra_fact_sheets/bnsf/RCRABNSFFactSht.asp
Disposal of Hazardous Wastes
Surface impoundment Secure landfill
Surface impoundment of creosote wastesnear the Clark Fork River, MT
Disposal of Hazardous Wastes
Incineration
http://www.bechteljacobs.com/tsca/http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/external/PublicActivities/EmergencyPublicInformation/OakRidgeReservationFacilities/tabid/321/Default.aspx
TSCA Incinerator, Oak Ridge, TN
In-situ Chemical Oxidation
Disposal of Hazardous Wastes
AlternativesSource reductionRecycling
• Fertilizers
Microbial breakdown• Land treatment units
Chemical treatment• Neutralization, oxidation
What is Radioactive Waste?
Materials (solid or liquid) with unstable isotopesRelease radiation upon decay
Radioactive decayEmission particlesHalf life (= rate of decay)
• 238U (4.5 billion yrs)• 14C (5730 yrs)• 222Rn (<4 days)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Typical Radiation Exposure 360 mrem/person/yr
• Radon (200 mrem), Cosmic/Terrestrial (55 mrem)• Medical X-rays (53 mrem)• Internal (39 mrem)• Consumerables (10 mrem)• Other (3 mrem)
Levels of exposure0 – 5,000 mrem (OK)5,000 – 25,000 (cancers)> 600,000 (almost always FATAL)