Hazardous Wastes

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Hazardous wastes have been defined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as wastes that pose a potential hazard to humans or other living organisms for one or more of the following reasons: (1) Such wastes are nondegradable or persistent in nature; (2) their effects can be magnified by organisms in the environment; (3) they can be lethal; or (4) they may cause detrimental cumulative effects. General categories of hazardous wastes include toxic chemicals and flammable, radioactive, or biological substances. These wastes can be in the form of sludge, liquid, or gas, and solid.

Radioactive substances are hazardous because prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation often results in damage to living organisms, and the substances may persist over long periods of time. Management of radioactive and other hazardous wastes is subject to federal and state regulation, but no satisfactory method has yet been demonstrated for disposing permanently of radioactive wastes.

See also Air Pollution; Environment; Sewage Disposal; Water Pollution.

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