Hazardous Waste

One important objective of this program is to inform consumers of the risks and potential hazards posed by many products used in and around the household. Whether working in the garage, in the kitchen, or out in the yard, important decisions must be made to ensure not only that the proper products are used, but that they are used safely with regard to environmental and human health.

Listed and defined below are terms that may be helpful in understanding the material in this program. Knowing the terms and "jargon" of household waste management will make this program easier to understand and, hopefully, more informative.

Hazardous Substance:
A substance that is potentially dangerous, including but not limited to material that is explosive, radioactive, ignitable, corrosive, toxic or reactive. Examples in the home include paint cleaners, gasoline, drain cleaners and chlorine bleach. Products may be quite safe when used according to instructions, but still be capable of easy misuse. Carefully examine product labels for written warnings as well as warning symbols. [For more information, go to the Read the Fine Print subsection of the Handle with Care portion of this program.]

Flammable Explosive Toxic

Toxicity:
The quality, relative degree, or specific degree of being toxic or poisonous. Capable of causing injury or death through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption. Some toxic substances are known to cause cancer (carcinogens), genetic damage (mutagens), and fetal harm (teratogens).

Acute Effects:
Effects that are felt soon afterwards exposure, usually within 24 hours and in some cases almost immediately. Characterized by severe symptoms with a sudden onset. Skin burns and disfigurement from splashing battery acid, fire caused by an exploding aerosol can stored too close to a stove, or an overnight fish kill resulting from dumping toxicants down the storm sewer are examples of acute dangers caused by hazardous products.

Chronic Effects:
Effects that are gradual and occur through repeated exposure over an extended period of time. Headache and trouble thinking caused by carbon monoxide leaking from an appliance, allergic reactions that occur each time you open the cupboard where aromatic cleaning products are stored, or the slow pollution of groundwater resulting from the disposal of small amounts of herbicide down a sinkhole every growing season are examples of chronic dangers caused by hazardous substances.

Some of the most common chronic health effects are liver or kidney damage, central nervous system damage, cancer and birth defects.

Contamination Pathways:
Toxic compounds enter the environment in many ways and in many forms. Some are poured into sewers or onto the ground, some are carried in exhaust fumes from cars and factories, others may be taken as solids to landfills and dumps. Once in the environment, chemicals may undergoes series of reactions forming new products, some of which may be toxic and some of which may take on a new phase (solid, liquid, or gas). Compounds can also move from one environmental medium to another. Acid rain is an example of airborne toxics moving from one environmental medium - the air - to another - water.
Contamination Pathways
Toxics can thus reach humans and animals through variety of pathways. Toxics enter our bodies through ingestion (the mouth), inhalation (breathing), and dermal absorption (movement through the skin, including the eye tissues).
Pathways into the body

Bioaccumulation:
The net accumulation by an organism of a chemical from its combined exposure to water, food, and sediment. Species higher in the food web can be exposed to all the chemicals that lower-order species accumulate. Being at the top of the food chain, humans are susceptible to high levels of bioaccumulated toxins in their diets. Lifelong exposure to even low level concentrations of contaminants from species lower in the food chain can cause serious health problems, including cancer, birth defects, birth complications, and nervous and mental disorders. Pesticides and heavy metals are common sources of contamination by bioaccumulation.
Fish are exposed to toxins in water Humans are susceptible to toxins in our diet Humans are susceptible to toxins in our diet



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