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)