Health and Safety Issues

Improper waste segregationSegregation, storage,Storage and treatment would lead to the presence of hazardous substances which may impact health and safety of public as well as workers at treatment and disposalDisposal sites. Presence of unexploded crackers may lead to explosion during thermal treatmentThermal treatment. Presence of chemicals may result in toxicityToxicity by direct contact or their transport in the environmentEnvironment. Improper SWM might have safety concerns in time frame that varies from ‘immediate to generations’ and distance limit which may extend to intercontinental. PollutionPollution is the major environmental cause of premature death and disease in the world today responsible for an about nine million premature deaths in 2015, which is 16% of all deaths globally, and it is 15 times more than from all wars as well as other forms of violence and three times more deaths than from tuberculosis, AIDS, as well as malaria combined. A day will not end without any wasteWaste-related injury/ailment. Somebody will be victim of waste somewhere in the world. Waste related to health and safety issues include, but not restricted to, pricks, burns, cuts, poisoning, infection, fall, drowning, exposure to radiation, landslideLandslide of waste dumpsWaste dump, fire, vehicle accidents. While the major waste-related accidents and episodes are reported, minor ones will not be reported or not linked to waste at all. Improper handling of waste can cause substantial harm to human health and safety of people handling waste as well as general public. Innumerable episodes have highlighted importance of health and safety during handling of solid wasteSolid waste. Magnitude of precautions varies from the type of waste and handling. Apart from general safety principles, radioactive wasteRadioactive waste and hazardous wasteHazardous waste need knowledge of safety issues associated and waste. This chapter gives an overview of health hazards associated with waste managementWaste management.