Hazardous waste management is truly a multidisciplinary field. You will be called upon to utilize your previous training while at the same time gaining an expanded appreciation for other scientific and nontechnical disciplines. Hazardous waste management is also a multimedia issue because practitioners in this field must recognize and deal with water pollution, solid waste, and ground water aspects that affect the environment and human health.
Because the number of problem sites is high, the cost enormous, and the public's patience short, determining what gets cleaned up, to what extent, and who pays for it and how are not solely technical issues. They can and should involve risk assessment as well as technical and economic feasibility. Clearly, education is crucial in providing technical tools for participants in this field--owners, operators, regulators, consultants, contractors, and suppliers. However, in the final analysis, it is the political system, as much as science and technology, that will provide answer to these questions of what, who, and how.
Part 1 Fundamentals
Part 2 Current Management Practices
Part 3 Treatment and Disposal Methods
Past 4 Site Remediation