Hazardous Waste Management and Health Risks

Waste pollution, with its harmful health risks, is one of the critical issues present in each country. Waste generation rates are growing around the world every year, creating a need for more sustainable waste management strategies. Random disposal of wastes is creating a very complicated situation that involves all world populations. Although several studies have been conducted to investigate links between waste pollution and cancer; such evidence about this correlation becomes very difficult to demonstrate. The information about the effects of environmental exposure in the population is insufficient, and it is very challenging to establish the impact of human health. In this scenario, interdisciplinary research can play an important role to better understand the relationship between the risks of human health and waste pollution.

Hazardous Waste Management (HWM) in developed and developing countries faces several challenges. Such waste requires special attention throughout all its stages of management to avoid the contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water. In this regard, the growing amount of waste generated has made it increasingly important to develop strategies to manage waste safely through accurate disposal practices. Reducing, reusing and recycling waste is the most effective way to create a safe waste management in a suitable environmentally friendly way. Therefore, every country should adopt a policy to reduce the polluted impacts on environmental and global health.

One of the major challenges faced as the result of a growing population and increased industrialization is the management of hazardous wastes that are been generated continuously. Today, hazardous waste presents one of the biggest environmental and public health challenges for any government and society as its safe handling needs a good amount of capital and scientific knowledge. Improper disposal of wastes has led to numerous environmental concerns like air, water and soil pollution. Many research studies have shown that hazardous substances present in the waste produce toxins that affect humans as well as the whole environment. Hence, through analysis of secondary data, this paper tries to throw light on some dimensions associated with it, namely identification and classification of hazardous waste, its harmful impact on health and environment and its disposal and management.

Many of the chemicals and prescription drugs utilized in health care foundations are risky substances. Therefore, risk assessment sounds to be one of the tight evolving appurtenances for developing convenient management methods which will assist in hazardous waste management decision.

Some dangerous substances induce venomous effects on humans or the surroundings, once casual exposure, these venomous effects are described as acute toxicity. As for the prolonged exposure to these dangerous substances, it is called chronic toxicity.

Furthermore, one of the world health organization's functions is to supply objective and reliable data and recommendation within the field of human health, a responsibility that it accomplishes to some extent through its publication programs. Hazardous waste reduction provides regulatory benefits as well.

The exposure to noxious substances has a range of effects on biological systems. The present review will highlight the evidence of the association between exposure to hazardous wastes, and threshold limits of the susceptibility of anomalies, besides, the protective proceedings.

The presence of heavy metals in aquatic systems and atmosphere is attributed to metal plating, chemical synthesis, catalysis, battery, fertilizer, paint, paper, and mining industries. Heavy metals enter the soil through anthropogenic activities and industrial discharges. They enter the human body through plants and vegetables. Heavy metals can cause various acute and chronic diseases in human beings. Heavy metal consumption by fishes and other aquatic animals affect aquatic life and also people consuming them as food. Reduction of the developmental growth, deformities, and increase of developmental anomalies are some of the toxic effects of heavy metals on fishes and aquatic invertebrates. Removal of heavy metals from wastewater is becoming an increasingly important aspect of wastewater treatment. Physico-chemical methods such as filtration and adsorption are simple and effective. These methods can be used to remove heavy metals from wastewater when they are present in very high concentration. Removal method can be selected depending upon the influent concentration, acceptable limit, and amount of effluent. Chemical treatment methods like coagulation, chlorination, flocculation, and precipitation can be used for the treatment of wastewater containing colloids and metal ions due to their simplicity and robustness. Biological treatment methods like advanced oxidation, trickling filters, aeration, activated sludge, aerobic. and anaerobic digestion can be used for heavy metal treatment.

The evaluation of exposure in association with information on the inherent toxicity of the chemical (that is, the expected response to a given level of exposure) plays a critical role to predict the probability, nature, and magnitude of the adverse health effects. The epidemiological findings, the results on cancers and other chronic diseases with a long latency are a weak tool to reduce the risk for the current and next generation. An important issue is the exposure time into health risk assessment/management, especially in highly polluted areas, where health problems increase. In this regard, the environment and health aspects must become, as a matter of urgency, an international priority, both in terms of policy and resource allocation. The use of reproductive biomarkers for early risk detection is introduced by the EcoFoodFertility research project in one of the areas with the highest environmental impact in Europe, “Land of Fires” in Southern Italy. This area, a symbol of the ecological crisis, represents a possible new methodological approach in public health. This chapter aims to explain how biomarkers of reproductive health could be exploited as early flags of environmental pressure and enhanced risk of chronic adverse effects on health. In particular, human semen seems to be a sensitive source of biomarkers, giving information on biologically active exposures, and it can be very useful for preventive health surveillance programs, especially in environmental risk areas. This approach appears very promising, above all, in young people (maximum fertile age:18- 35 years), considering the possibility to reduce the chronic-degenerative diseases in future adults. In this context, many scientific findings are increasingly about the association between pollution and fertility problems and therefore, the safeguard of germ cells is a new challenge to reduce the burden of epigenetically transmitted diseases.

The negative impact of hazardous waste on public health is a growing global problem. Exposure to toxic waste is associated with numerous serious physical health problems, compromised intellectual development, mental illness and reduced personal well-being. This comprehensive analysis summarizes current epidemiological findings on the relationship of hazardous waste exposure to a wide range of physical illnesses and it also explores the pathways through which random exposure to toxic substances affects intellectual development in children and adults' mental health and perceived quality of life. The relationships are interpreted through the lens of sustainable societal development and environmental health. Regional differences and similarities of the physical and mental health consequences of toxic waste exposure are discussed using studies from the United States, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent an important framework to confront different issues such as economic growth, reducing harmful pollution, improving resource efficiency and waste management. Specifically, the SDGs cannot ignore the ever-growing problem of waste. The current economic system favors a ‘take-make-and-dispose’ model of production and consumption, which is no longer possible. For this reason, it is essential a change in waste management. Zero waste is a new concept to face waste management in today's society. It is a wholesystem approach to redesign the resource life cycles so, in this way. it is possible to reuse all materials. Such strategy allows to create a low-carbon resource efficient, resilient and socially inclusive economy, to respect the diversity of ecosystems and to promote biodiversity, which is reflected in all seventeen of the SDGs.