Page 107 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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78 Waste Management Practices: Municipal, Hazardous, and Industrial

FIGURE 4.5 HHW drop-off and treatment center.

TABLE 4.13
Lead (tons) in Products in MSW, 1970–2000

Products 1970 1986 2000 Percentage
Lead-acid Batteries 83,825 138,043 181,546 Variable
Consumer electronics 12,233 58,536 85,032 Increasing
Glass and ceramics 3,465 7,956 8,910 Increasing;
stable after 1986
Plastics 1,613 3,577 3,228 Fairly stable
Soldered cans 24,117 2,052 787 Decreasing
Pigments 27,020 1,131 682 Decreasing
All others 12,567 2,537 1,701
Total 164,840 213,652 281,887
Source: U.S. EPA, 2000b.

Persistent nonvolatile organics include pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides in common lawn
and garden products. Others include hydraulic fluids and lubricants. Some POCs are probable or
known carcinogens and some damage the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, lungs and repro-
ductive system.

4.5 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MSW
Accurate information on the chemical composition of the components of MSW is important for
a number of reasons. First, the composition of landfill leachate (see Chapter 10) is directly
affected by MSW composition. Excluding from or otherwise managing materials within the