One of the critical global environmental problems is human and ecological exposure to hazardous wastes from agricultural, industrial, military and mining activities. These wastes often include heavy metals, hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals. Traditional field and laboratory detection and monitoring of these wastes are generally expensive and time consuming. The synoptic perspective of ov...

Although industrial and commercial uses of mercury have been curtailed in recent times, there is a demonstrated need for the development of reliable hazardous waste management techniques because of historic operations that have led to significant contamination and ongoing hazardous waste generation. This study was performed to evaluate whether the U.S. EPA could propose treatment and disposal a...

Membrane assisted liquid extraction(MALE) technologies are gaining an important role as an extraction /separation technique for actinides and are being deployed as a  promising tool for remediation of nuclear waste generated in the reprocessing plant and other radioactive wastes containing a trace level of radionuclides. The present contribution outlines the classification of membrane assisted ...

Hazardous industrial wastes are inevitable source of environmental pollution. Leachates from these wastes might contaminate the origins of potable water and affect human health. The study was carried out to determine the possible genotoxic effects of leachates from solid waste of a metal and dye industry using the Allium cepa chromosome aberrations assay. The 10% leachates were prepared from so...

A plating medium was developed to isolate N-phosphonomethylglycine (glyphosate)-degrading microorganisms, with glyphosate as the sole phosphorus source. Two industrial biosystems treating glyphosate wastes contained elevated microbial counts on the medium. One purified isolate metabolized glyphosate to aminomethylphosphonic acid, mineralizing this accumulating intermediate during log growth. Th...

Research posted today on ES&T’s Research ASAP website (10.1021/es0509836) describes how, in one elegant step, selected bacteria can recover precious metals from industrial waste solutions and deposit them as nanocrystal catalysts on their cell surfaces. By using the metal-covered biomass to clean up toxic chromium wastes, the researchers demonstrated the approach’s potential as a sustainable te...

Gibrel, a potassium salt of gibberellic acid, was added to various crop residues and industrial wastes, in the presence of ample nutrients, at the rate of 50 parts per million; with and without Gibrel, samples were incubated for 45 days at 35 degrees C. Presence of Gibrel enhanced biologic decomposition of the materials; Gibrel can be used as an "activator" in composting.

New waste management legislation provides a driver for materials recovery, industrial ecology, and remanufacturing practices throughout the global electronics industry. Paradoxically, the resulting regulations are incongruent and unsustainable because the targeted practitioners can neither legally re-use the resultant reclaimed materials nor legally store or dispose of the ensuing wastes.