18-Env-B5 Industrial & Hazardous Waste Management · May 2016
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
Reference texts: Nemerow & Dasgupta, Industrial and Hazardous Waste Treatment, 2nd ed.; Metcalf & Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery, 5th ed.; Davis & Cornwell, Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 6th ed.; LaGrega, Buckingham & Evans, Hazardous Waste Management, 2nd ed.; CCME, Guidelines for the Management of Biomedical Waste in Canada (1992); Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999; Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes (1989); Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) regulations on radioactive waste; provincial hazardous waste regulations (e.g. BC's Environmental Management Act and Hazardous Waste Regulation).
Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.
A municipality controls industrial wastewater discharged to its sewer through a sewer-use bylaw that sets numeric discharge limits (BOD, TSS, pH, oil & grease, metals, prohibited substances) protecting both the collection system and the downstream treatment plant. Compliance is enforced through a discharge permit and monitoring program requiring industries above a threshold flow/strength to obtain a permit, self-monitor and report, subject to municipal inspection and sampling. Where a discharge exceeds normal domestic strength, a surcharge or user-pay system recovers the incremental treatment cost from the responsible industry (as in Question 18 of this paper), and non-compliant dischargers can be required to install on-site pretreatment or face fines/disconnection.
