An overview of arisings and large-scale treatment technologies for healthcare waste in the United Kingdom

This paper reviews the current generation and management of healthcare waste in the United Kingdom, with a focus on that produced from healthcare provision in the National Health Service. While the current capacities of large-scale off-site treatment systems are adequate, there are a number of logistical factors that must be considered in future. These include variations in arisings from each country and from various regions within each country, the age and location of treatment/disposal facilities, the quantities, types and sources of healthcare waste, and the impact of waste minimization and recycling strategies. Managing UK healthcare waste is a complex issue that requires the correct technologies and capacities to be available. With increasing quantities and costs there is urgent need for future planning, and healthcare waste issues need to be addressed from a UK-wide perspective. Holistic strategies need to incorporate both minimization and segregation, with treatment using a combination of incineration and alternatives treatment technologies. The need for more research and accurate data to provide an evidence base for future decision making is high lighte

Influence of design and media amendments on the performance of stormwater biofilters

Biofiltration systems are a promising retrofit option for site-constrained urban areas due to the vertical arrangement of treatment stages that leads to a relatively compact footprint. Existing knowledge about the influence of their design and configuration on hydrological, stormwater pollutant removal and long-term performance is limited and this has been identified as a barrier to their widespread uptake. Long-term simulations of lined and unlined biofiltration systems in four contrasting UK climatic regimes were used to assess the influence of climate, ponding depth, biofilter to drainage area ratio and infiltration rate on hydrological performance. The results showed that local differences in climate have a significant impact on performance and that infiltration rates as low as 0·36 mm/h are not suitable for locations in the UK with high rainfall unless the biofilter to drainage area ratio is greater than 10%. However, with higher infiltration rates (72 mm/h) a biofilter occupying only 3% of the impermeable catchment area would be capable of infiltrating 97% of annual rainfall in central England. Preliminary results of adsorption and column tests to assess the effectiveness of media amendments, specifically zeolite and granular activated carbon, for dissolved copper and phosphate removal are presented in this paper

Concentrations of organic contaminants in industrial and municipal bioresources recycled in agriculture in the UK

Many types of bioresource materials are recycled in agriculture for soil improvement and as bedding materials for livestock and have potential for transfer into plant and animal foods. Representative types of industrial and municipal bioresources were selected to assess the extent of organic chemical contamination, including: (i) land applied materials: treated sewage sludge biosolids), meat and bone meal ash (MBMA), poultry litter ash (PLA), paper sludge ash (PSA) and compost-like-output (CLO), and (ii) bedding materials: recycled waste wood (RWW), dried paper sludge (DPS), paper sludge ash (PSA) and shredded cardboard. The materials generally contained lower concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) relative to earlier reports, indicating the decline in environmental emissions of these established contaminants. However, concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) remain elevated in biosolids samples from urban catchments. Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) were present in larger amounts in biosolids and CLO compared to their chlorinated counterparts and hence are of potentially greater significance in contemporary materials. The presence of non-ortho-polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in DPS was probably due to non-legacy sources of PCBs in paper production. Emerging flame retardant compounds, including: decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE)and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), were detected in several of the materials. The profile of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) depended on the type of waste category; perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) was the most significant PFAS for DPS, whereas perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was dominant in biosolids and CLO. The concentrations of polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were generally much larger than the other contaminants measured, indicating that there are major anthropogenic sources of these potentially hazardous chemicals entering the environment. The study results suggest that continued vigilance is required to control emissions and sources of these contaminants to support the beneficial use of secondary bioresource materials

Baseline study and risk analysis of landfill leachate - Current state-of-the-science of computer aided approaches

For the successful completion of a risk analysis process, its foundation (i.e. a baseline study) has to be well established. For this purpose, a baseline study needs to be more integrated than ever, particularly when environmental legislation is increasingly becoming stringent and integrated. This research investigates and concludes that no clear evidence of computer models for baseline study has been found in a whole-system and integrated format, which risk assessors could readily and effectively use to underpin risk analyses holistically and yet specifically for landfill leachate. This is established on the basis of investigation of software packages that are particularly closely related to landfills. Holistic baseline study is also defined along with its implications and in the context of risk assessment of landfill leachate. The study also indicates a number of factors and features that need to be added to baseline study in order to render it more integrated thereby enhancing risk analyses for landfill leachate