Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12H10−xClx; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids for electrical equipment. They are highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer electronic products, whose production was banned internationally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001.
Sewage sludge is the residual, semi-solid material that is produced as a by-product during sewage treatment of industrial or municipal wastewater. The term "septage" also refers to sludge from simple wastewater treatment but is connected to simple on-site sanitation systems, such as septic tanks.
Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm. Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemicals that can pollute the air and contaminate soil and water. Disposing of such waste is a major public health issue.
Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, infamous as the location of a 0.28 km2 (0.11 sq mi) landfill that became the site of an environmental disaster discovered in 1977. Decades of dumping toxic chemicals killed residents and harmed the health of hundreds, often profoundly. The area was cleaned up over 21 years in a Superfund operation.
Illegal dumping, also called fly dumping or fly tipping (UK), is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorised method such as curbside collection or using an authorised rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto land, including waste dumped or tipped on a site with no licence to accept waste.
Environmental hazards are those hazards that affect biomes or ecosystems. Well known examples include oil spills, water pollution, slash and burn deforestation, air pollution, ground fissures, and build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Physical exposure to environmental hazards is usually involuntary
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapour from the contaminants, or from secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting clean ups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, and require expertise in geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial chemistry.
Huruma is a low-income residential estate located in the northeast of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. It borders Kariobangi and Dandora to the east, Moi Air Base to the south, Mathare to the north to west and Eastleigh to the southwest.
A waste pond or chemical pond is a small impounded water body used for the disposal of water pollutants, and sometimes utilized as a method of recycling or decomposing toxic substances. Such waste ponds may be used for regular disposal of pollutant materials or may be used as upset receivers for special pollution events. Often, chemical ponds themselves are addressed for cleanup action after their useful life is over or when a risk of groundwater contamination arises. Contamination of waterways and groundwater can be damaging to human, animal and environmental health. These health effects bring into question the best engineering solutions to mitigate waste ponds' environmental impact.
Korogocho is one of the largest slum neighbourhoods of Nairobi, Kenya. Home to 150,000 to 200,000 people pressed into 1.5 square kilometres, northeast of the city centre, Korogocho was founded as a shanty town on the then outskirts of the city.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (sometimes shortened, though inaccurately, to simply 'dioxin') with the chemical formula C12H4Cl4O2. Pure TCDD is a colorless solid with no distinguishable odor at room temperature. It is usually formed as an unwanted product in burning processes of organic materials or as a side product in organic synthesis.
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that harm being realized in a specific incident, combined with the magnitude of potential harm, make up its risk. This term is often used synonymously in colloquial speech.
Amici del Mondo World Friends Onlus is an independent Italian non-profit association of social utility for international cooperationWorld Friends is a Non-Governmental Organization recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Law no. 125 of 2014 updated to July 16, 2016, registered in the register of ONLUS and the Register of Legal Persons D.P.R. 361. Recognized by the Government of Kenya as a Non-governmental organization (NGO), in 2011 obtained the same accreditation at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Established in 2001, the association has its head offices in Rome and has volunteer-based regional offices in Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Sicily. The association's African office is based in Nairobi.
Electronic waste or e-waste in the United States refers to electronic products that have reached the end of their operable lives, and the United States is beginning to address its waste problems with regulations at a state and federal level. Used electronics are the quickest-growing source of waste and can have serious health impacts. The United States is the world leader in producing the most e-waste, followed closely by China; both countries domestically recycle and export e-waste. Only recently has the United States begun to make an effort to start regulating where e-waste goes and how it is disposed of. There is also an economic factor that has an effect on where and how e-waste is disposed of. Electronics are the primary users of precious and special metals, retrieving those metals from electronics can be viewed as important as raw metals may become more scarce
Agbogbloshie was the nickname of a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city in the Greater Accra region, before it was demolished by the Ghanian government in 2021. Near the slum called "Old Fadama", the Agbogbloshie site became known as a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the western world. It was a center of a legal and illegal exportation network for the environmental dumping of electronic waste (e-waste) from industrialized nations. The Basel Action Network, a charitable non-governmental organization based in Seattle, has referred to Agbogbloshie as a "digital dumping ground", where millions of tons of e-waste were processed each year.
The Fayette State Correctional Institution is a 2,000 bed maximum-security prison located in a remote section of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The prison is located southeast of Pittsburgh and was built to replace two institutions to make the Commonwealth's prison system more energy-efficient. It is the only prison in the Commonwealth where Pennsylvania license plates are manufactured, holding that distinction since 2003.
The Olusosun nigerian dumpsite is a 100-acre dump in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It is the largest in Africa, and one of the largest in the world. The site receives up to 10,000 tons of rubbish each day. Waste from around 500 container ships is also delivered to the site, adding a substantial portion of electronic waste. Some of this material is treated with chemicals to extract reusable products resulting in toxic fumes being released.
Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) waste, or e-waste, is illegally brought into African states every year. A minimum of 250,000 metric tons of e-waste comes into the continent, and according to the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, the majority of it in West Africa enters from Europe. Developed countries commodify underdeveloped African states as dumping grounds for their e-waste, and due to poor regulations and a lack of enforcement institutions, illegal dumping is promoted. Currently, the largest e-waste dumping site in Africa is Agbogbloshie in Ghana. While states like Nigeria do not contain e-waste sites as concentrated as Agbogbloshie, they do have several small sites.
The Dandora Waste To Energy Power Station, also Nairobi Waste To Energy Power Station, is a planned 45 megawatts waste-fired thermal power plant in the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The power station is owned and is under development by Kenya Ministry of Energy. Feasibility studies will inform the design of the power plant. The energy generated here will be sold to Kenya Power and Lighting Company, for integration into the Kenyan grid.
