Hazardous waste management in developing countries (India): a case study

Abstract

Hazardous waste management in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh is in the initial stage of development. It is found from the survey that there are a total 111 hazardous waste generating units distributed in different industrial areas, viz. Bollarum, Bonthapallyand Patancheru. Since the wastes generated by the industries in the district are small, mostly on‐site storage/disposal in lagoons, pits, RCC tanks, metal drums and plastic containers and above‐ground pilling are adopted depending on the physical forms of the wastes. Systematic transportation of waste is yet to be practised, since no common treatment and disposal facilities exist in the district. A ranking exercise for four new probable sites for disposal of hazardous waste, was carried out. The relative suitability of sites, based on receptor related and pathway related score, for landfill disposal system indicates the following order of usefulness of the candidate site II > I > III > IV, i.e. site Nos. I and II indicate lowest negative impact as compared to site Nos. III and IV.