Multimedia Waste Disposal Optimization under Uncertainty with an Ocean Option

Many communities face a waste management crisis. An increase in waste generation and decline in available landfill capacity have led to rapid increases in waste management costs. Using sewage sludge management in coastal New York and New Jersey as an example, this paper examines optimal multimedia waste disposal under cost uncertainty. Using expected value-variance analysis, the study looks at the effects on the optimal disposal strategy of uncertainty associated with waste-management cost and the community's risk preferences. The results indicate that, based on available cost data, the optimal strategy of a moderately risk-averse decision maker is to manage sludge through land-based facilities. These results hold over a wide range of risk-aversion parameters and even at low levels of cost uncertainty. Thus, the Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 is consistent with such results.waste disposal, ocean dumping, EV (expected value-variance) analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Impact of ERTS-1 images on management of New Jersey's coastal zone

The thrust of New Jersey's ERTS investigation is development of procedures for operational use of ERTS-1 data by the Department of Environmental Protection in the management of the State's coastal zone. Four major areas of concern were investigated: detection of land use changes in the coastal zone; monitoring of offshore waste disposal; siting of ocean outfalls; and allocation of funds for shore protection. ERTS imagery was not useful for shore protection purposes; it was of limited practical value in the evaluation of offshore waste disposal and ocean outfall siting. However, ERTS imagery shows great promise for operational detection of land use changes in the coastal zone. Some constraints for practical change detection have been identified

Solid Waste Disposal and Ocean Dumping

A broad-scope overview of the solid waste disposal problem as intensified by legislation against ocean dumping of such wastes. Since the problem of increasing ocean pollution was partly solved by extensive restrictions on ocean dumping, wastes formerly disposed of in the oceans must now be disposed of by other methods. These alternative methods are discussed and cost estimates applied insofar as feasible; effects on the environment and on the conservation of natural resources are also discussed. Efforts should be directed to determine the level of solid waste disposal which would result in beneficial effects, or at the worst, in non-harmful effects on the marine environment. The entire solid waste management problem must be considered as an entity with ocean and land disposal options, capabilities, limitations, and costs carefully evaluated to provide the optimum results to both man and the environment

Fluid mechanics of waste water disposal in the ocean

Outfall pipes into the ocean are analogous to chimneys in the atmosphere: they are each intended for returning contaminated fluids to the environment in a way that promotes adequate transport and dispersion of the waste fluids. A waste-water treatment plant and an adjoining outfall constitute a system for environmental control; it is practically never feasible to provide such complete treatment that an outfall is not necessary, nor is it common to depend entirely on an outfall with no treatment. Although outfalls and chimneys are functionally similar, there are important differences in their relationships to the coastal waters and atmosphere respectively. Urban and industrial areas, generating waste water, are located along the shallow edge of the ocean, with often tens or even hundreds of kilometers of continental shelf between the shoreline and the deep ocean. The bottom slope on the shelf is typically less than one percent. Thus outfalls extending several kilometers offshore discharge into a body of water of large lateral extent compared to the depth, and are still remote from the main body of ocean water. In contrast, most atmospheric contaminants are introduced at the base of the atmosphere and circulate throughout the whole atmosphere much more readily. Vertical convection mixes the troposphere rapidly in most places and the wind systems circulate the air around the globe in a matter of weeks. Outfalls and chimneys are useful in reducing pollutant concentrations only locally. Far away from the sources, it makes little difference how the pollutants are discharged. The decay times of the pollutants are important in the choice of effective discharge strategies. For example, the problems of very persistent contaminants such as DDT cannot be alleviated by dispersion from an outfall; such pollutants must be intercepted at the source and prevented from entering the environment. On the other hand, degradable organic wastes, as in domestic sewage, may be effectively disposed of through a good ocean outfall. Since the decay time is only a few days, potential problems are only local, and not regional or global

Studies of Current Circulation at Ocean Waste Disposal Sites

The author has identified the following significant results. Acid waste plume was observed in LANDSAT imagery fourteen times ranging from during dump up to 54 hours after dump. Circulation processes at the waste disposal site are highly storm-dominated, with the majority of the water transport occurring during strong northeasterlies. There is a mean flow to the south along shore. This appears to be due to the fact that northeasterly winds produce stronger currents than those driven by southeasterly winds and by the thermohaline circulation. During the warm months (May through October), the ocean at the dump site stratifies with a distinct thermocline observed during all summer cruising at depths ranging from 10 to 21 m. During stratified conditions, the near-bottom currents were small. Surface currents responded to wind conditions resulting in rapid movement of surface drogues on windy days. Mid-depth drogues showed an intermediate behavior, moving more rapidly as wind velocities increased

Exploring the potential impacts of waste disposal sites on ocean ecosystem contamination in Newfoundland: a geospatial analysis and public perception study

This study endeavors to identify historical (closed) and currently operational landfill/waste disposal sites in Newfoundland that might be environmentally sensitive. The primary focus is to understand the potential impacts of these sites on neighboring water bodies and ocean ecosystems. Through the utilization of geospatial analysis, this study examines how waste disposal sites in Newfoundland could possibly contaminate water bodies and ocean ecosystems. Additionally, the study assesses public perceptions concerning the ecological and human health implications of waste disposal sites on the surrounding environment. Employing a geographic information system and the multiple criteria decision-making model, this study assesses the influence of waste disposal sites on nearby water bodies and the ocean. By implementing an analytical hierarchical process, a variety of environmental factors such as soil composition, topography, groundwater vulnerability index, hydrogeology, land use, and land cover are systematically ranked to determine the environmental vulnerability of each waste disposal site. The outcome is presented through a vulnerability assessment map, which categorizes dumpsites based on their level of vulnerability—high, moderate, or low. Recognizing the potential of public engagement to bolster social justice and draw attention to pertinent issues, this study integrates a diverse group of stakeholders such as community members, town councilors, mayors, landfill managers, public health experts, environmental scientists and engineers, provincial government officials, recyclers, and waste disposal service providers. Interviews were conducted with these stakeholders to gain their perspectives on the potential impacts of waste disposal sites on ocean contamination in Newfoundland. From the transcribed interview data, multiple thematic areas pertaining to present waste management practices and the environmental and health ramifications of waste disposal sites were comprehensively identified

Application of LANDSAT-2 to the Management of Delaware's Marine and Wetland Resources

The author has identified the following significant results. The duPont waste disposal plume was observed in 12 NASA/LANDSAT satellite images during dump up to 54 hours after dump. The circulation processes at the acid waste disposal site are highly event-dominated, with the majority of the water transport occurring strong northeasters. There is a mean flow to the south alongshore. During the warm months, the ocean stratifies with warm water over cold water. During stratified conditions, the near-bottom drogues showed very little movement. LANDSAT, aircraft, and boats were used successfully to study estuarine and coastal fronts or boundaries. By capturing and holding oil slicks, frontal systems significantly influence the movement and dispersion of oil slicks in Delaware Bay. Recent oil slick tracking experiments conducted to verify a predictive oil dispersion and movement model have shown that during certain parts of the tidal cycle the oil slicks tend to line up along boundaries

LANDSAT observations of ocean dump plume movement and dispersion

The author has identified the following significant results. Eighteen LANDSAT images were analyzed to study the dispersion and movement of ocean dump plumes thirty-eight miles southeast of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, at the disposal site for waste discharged from a plant producing titanium dioxide. Long visual persistence was explained by the formation of a suspended ferric floc. Spectrometric measurements indicate that upon combining with sea water the acid waste develops a strong reflectance peak in the band 0.55 to 0.60 micron region, resulting in a stronger contrast in the MSS band 4 than the other bands. Predominant direction of movement of the waste plumes was to the southeast. Average drift velocity for surface drogues and the waste plumes was about 0.5 knots. The water at the test site was highly stratified and stable in the summer and nearly homogenous in the winter

Risk Management in the United States: Three Case Studies Dioxin Emissions and Trash-To-Energy Plants in New York City

New York City, the largest US municipality with a population of 12 million, presently generates 28,000 tons of garbage per day. Its main disposal facility Fresh Kills-is expected to be the only one of four presently operating landfills still in in use in 1987, and to be filled to capacity be 2001. Institutional, economic, and environmental obstacles severely restrict landfill options within the city, and ocean disposal of municipal solid waste is not considered feasible. In short, continued reliance on landfills to absorb the City\u27s enormous volume of municipal waste is no longer considered viable