Environmental Impact Assessment for Waste Treatment Options

Seung Hoon LEE

Objectives and Structures

 To overview the waste management system  To introduce Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for evaluation of waste management options  To compare the potential impact assessment by IWM-2 Model  To predict the assessing impacts which may be significant in relation to waste management options

Waste Management System

 Waste is an inevitable part of our daily life  NIMBY, PIMFY, BANANA Syndrome  Waste Management Hierarchy • No scientific/ technical basis • No economic assessment • No environmental/ economic comparisons between each other

Life Cycle Assessment for Waste Management

Four stages in LCA Impact Assessment Improvement Assessment Goal and scoping Inventory Analysis Source: SETAC 1999

Waste Management Facility Life-Cycle

 Design and Planning  Permission and Licensing  Construction  Commission and Operation  Closure or Decommissioning  Post-Closure Monitoring

Waste Management Options Definition in EIA

 Is there a need for the facility?

 What management or disposal processes are in demand relative to the waste arising?

 What is the current management and disposal capacity?

 What size would the facility need to be, and does this represent an acceptable economic scale of activity?

 Where would the facility best be located, in market terms?

Waste Management Facility Site Selection

 To maximize conformance of the site characteristics with the project specification  To minimize environmental impacts  To maximize acceptability of the project by the local community  To minimize the cost of the development

Factors Influencing Waste Management Options

Economic Factors Social Aspect Environmental Considerations

Waste Management Options

Existing Waste Management Technology Politics and Legislation

Sustainability Indicators for Waste Management

Short term Long term Economic Aspects Environmental Aspects

Investment cost, net operation, total net cost per collected ton, net annual total cost Long term viability of collection and sorting operations and final disposal Quantity, quality of material recovered, local and regional health effects, residues, pollution, noise, landfill usage, natural resources used Global impact: bio diversity, global warning, acid rain: landscape, electricity consumption, waste produced, water usage

Social Aspects

Public acceptance, participation, employment Welfare, natural resources availability

Technical Aspects

Scale, flexibility, market potential Potential for future development

Environmental Impact Assessment Stages

       Screening: regulatory authority to identify the need of EIA Scooping: identified key issues from a board range of potential concerns Assessing: direct, indirect, secondary, cumulative, short and long term, permanent, temporary, positive, and negative Mitigation: reduce the undesirable impacts of a proposed action Monitoring: environmental compliance with local regulations/effectiveness of the mitigation measures Reporting: preparation of reporting Reviewing: reviewing before approval

Significance of Impacts for Different Options

Landfill Incineration Odour Health Risk (Inhalation) Landfill Gases Leachate Traffic Noise Visual Effect Dust Accidents

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Biological Treatment

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Scoping of the Environmental Impact on Waste Management facilities

Potential issues Impacts on the environment Population Transport Noise and vibration

Perceived and actual public health risks nuisance Traffic generated during construction, operation and restoration Increased noise levels during construction, traffic noise including reversing alarms

Ecology

Loss of habitat and protected species from restoration of minerals workings

Land and soils Water Air and climate Cultural heritage Landscape

Land contamination, temporary loss of agricultural land Leachate from landfill – pollution of surface or groundwaters Landfill gas, odour, dust and particulates, pollutants from incomplete combustion Loss of heritage features Change or loss of valued landscape

Public Health

    No human activity is risk-free Potential risks to the public: Accidental emissions and discharges to air, water and land Emissions and discharges during routine operation by poor design or operational practices High level of noise, high dust level during constructing of waste management facilities Appropriate management systems

:

prevention plans, emergency plans, regular inspection Open management of waste management facilities disclose emissions data, discuss operations, encourage site visits, respond promptly to complaints

Transport

   Significantly increase road traffic: nuisance to residents and road users (noise, fear) Risks of an accident involving hazardous wastes Air pollution: vehicle exhausts, dust/dirty from vehicle carrying dusty waste/residues such as ash  Mitigation of Transport: - No transport routes through residential areas - Appropriate road condition for a significant increase in heavy vehicle traffic - Speed restrictions on vehicles entering and leaving the site

Monitoring and Auditing

 Monitoring for noise, dust and odour issues  Water quality of leachate, surface water and groundwater  Traffic management plan  Air monitoring at source  Visual impact, ecology, land restoration  Any relevant public health indicators  Any kind of social impacts

Public Consultation

      Environmental awareness Understanding of environmental issues associated with waste management options Critical to open decision-making and should begin as early as possible in the EIA process Faithful public consultation process (conference format rather than domenstration format) NIMBYY syndrome (concern over property value, visual impact) Emissions: long term health effects

Conclusions

 EIA needs to be fully understood and taken into account in order to prevent or minimize potential impacts on the environment.

 EIA is quite comprehensive assessment because it requires possibly all kind of future impacts in the environment to be reviewed, mitigated, and monitored by professional expert.

 Without proper implementing of EIA for waste management project, the future is unlikely to stray far from the common social syndrome known as “ NOT IN MY BACKYARD”.