The 4 Characteristics of Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is heavily regulated and cannot just be thrown out together with other forms of trash. When you know what type of waste your organization produces and how to manage it well will prevent you from paying high fines.

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Characteristics of Hazardous Waste

The characteristics of hazardous waste are used when it comes to categorizing it into different classes. These are:

• Ignitability. This means that the waste materials are flammable
• Corrosivity. This means that the waste materials can cause rusting or decomposition
• Reactivity. This means that the waste materials are explosive
• Toxicity. This means that the waste materials are poisonous

All these categories are further divided into their own characteristics that help people classify the type of waste that they’re dealing with. Let’s take a deeper look at these characteristics:

Ignitability - There are 3 main forms of ignitable waste:

• Liquids with a flash point (this point is the lowest temperature at which fumes above waste ignite) of 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit. These liquids include alcohol, gasoline, and acetone.
• Solids that combust spontaneously
• Oxidizers and compressed gasses.
  

​Corrosivity - A substance may be described as corrosive if it can eat away other materials. Most corrosive substances are acids and these can eat through containers in which they’re stored to leak out. Usually, corrosive materials have a pH of that’s lower or equal to 2, or higher or equal to 12.5 (strong acids and bases respectively)
Waste materials may also be considered to be corrosive if they can corrode steel regardless of whether their pH is in the range we mentioned or not. Everyday examples of corrosive waste include battery acid and rust removers.

Reactivity - Reactive waste materials are very unstable and this makes them very dangerous. These materials react in different ways including:

• Routinely experiencing violent changes without detonating
• Potential for forming an explosive mixture or a violent reaction when combined with water
• Releasing toxic gases when they come in contact with water
  

Toxicity - When toxic waste is dumped on the ground, they find their way into underground water reserves and poison the water. When people drink this water or when plants are grown using this water, the consequences are serious health complications.

Conclusion
Hazardous waste is commonly referred to as “manufacturing process waste” and can be divided into various classes based on the characteristics. In the past, this kind of waste was dumped on land that was believed to have little value. Over time, the dangerous chemicals found in these waste materials were moved to other locations and the repercussions were dire.

Hazardous waste must be handled properly either by maximizing resource recovery or by detoxifying it as soon as it’s generated to minimize the impact on people and the environment.