*2.2.2 Industrial hazardous waste*

The term industrial hazardous waste refers to any semisolid, solid, sludge, or liquid waste generated from such industry activities as mining, medical services, and public services including waste incineration plants, waste recycling plants, which contains chemicals, pathogens, radiation, heavy metals, or other toxins thereby posing a significant threat to human health and the environment [10]. Hazardous waste generated in industries may be listed or characteristic (**Figure 3**). While listed industrial hazardous wastes are produced by specific industries or generated from common manufacturing processes and discarded as waste commercial products, characteristic

*Perspective Chapter: Industrial Waste Landfills DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108787*

**Figure 2.** *A stack of waste paper produced in the pulp and paper industry [7].*

#### **Figure 3.**

*Identification of industrial hazardous wastes [11].*

industrial hazardous wastes show one or more characteristic properties such as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity; some hazardous wastes are referred to as mixed wastes when they contain both hazardous and radioactive components [11]. All forms of hazardous wastes including listed, characteristic, and mixed are regulated under both Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 and Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1946 [12].

Common examples of hazardous wastes are chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, multisource leachate, petroleum refinery sludge, explosive solvent, inorganic pigment, organic and inorganic chemicals (listed wastes), flammable fluids, aqueous acids and bases, explosive and toxic gases (characteristic wastes), low-level mixed

waste (LLMW), high-level mixed waste (HLW), and transuranic waste (MTRU) (mixed wastes) [11].

Nonhazardous industrial wastes may be generated from industrial activities associated with the production of iron and steel, pulp and paper, glass, electric power generation, electronic and electrical products, construction and concrete, and they do not meet Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) definition of hazardous waste [12]. Although they are not considered to pose immediate risks to human health, they can still be harmful to the environment as a result of methane emission during decomposition [12]. Some common industrial nonhazardous waste is ash, sludge, antifreeze, grinding dust, etc. Electronic wastes (or E-wastes) are generally nonhazardous; however, there are a few that may be considered hazardous. Electronic devices and components that can be disposed of as nonhazardous include zinc plating, aluminum, copper, gold, etc. [12].

#### *2.2.3 Industrial chemical waste*

These are solid, liquid, or gaseous materials that are hazardous in nature and are in excess, unused, or unwanted during the manufacture of a commercial product. Chemical wastes in the industry may result from expired or extraneous materials when certain industrial processes or products have become extinct [13]. Also, materials that are contaminated with flammable liquids such as acetone, acetonitrile; leachate toxic substances like heavy metals, pesticides; corrosive substances like potassium hydroxide pellets and hydrochloric acids; reactive substances like cyanides, oxidizers, sulfides, explosives, benzoyl peroxide, and toxic substances like mutagenic, carcinogenic, chloroform, ethidium bromide; other chemical wastes are pyritic slag, acidic slag, alkali slag, salt mud, mud from chemical production kettle, residues of refining or distillation; all these require careful handling and disposal [13].

#### *2.2.4 Industrial radioactive waste*

Radioactive or nuclear wastes are generated by industrial activities that use or produce radioactive materials. These wastes are hazardous as they emit radioactive particles, which are risky and can pose huge threat to the environment if not properly handled [14]. Radioactive wastes can arise from the commercial operations of nuclear reactors, hospitals, research facilities, and fuel processing plants [14]. Examples of radioactive wastes are low-level wastes, which include common everyday materials such as rags, plastic bags, paper, and packaging materials; high-level wastes such as used fuel from nuclear reactors and wastes from reprocessing of used-up nuclear fuel; transuranic wastes and uranium or thorium mill tailings [14].
