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18-Env-B5 Industrial & Hazardous Waste Management · May 2016

Question 11 of 24: Information Required From a New Pharmaceutical Industry Applicant

Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)

Notes on this paper

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 11: Information Required From a New Pharmaceutical Industry Applicant (7 marks)

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.

  1. Process description and chemical inventory. A full description of the manufacturing process(es), including every raw material, solvent, reagent and active pharmaceutical ingredient used, so that potential wastewater constituents can be anticipated.
  2. Anticipated wastewater flow rate. Average and peak daily flow, including expected diurnal and batch-cycle variation, so the collection system and treatment plant capacity can be checked.
  3. Anticipated wastewater characteristics. BOD5, COD, TSS, pH, temperature, oil and grease, and any process-specific toxic or persistent constituents (solvent residues, active pharmaceutical ingredient traces, disinfectants) expected in the discharge.
  4. Proposed on-site pretreatment. Any equalization, neutralization, solvent recovery or other pretreatment the applicant proposes before discharge to the municipal sewer.
  5. Compliance with the sewer-use bylaw. A demonstration that the proposed (pretreated) discharge will meet the municipality's numeric discharge limits and prohibited-substance list.
  6. Spill prevention and emergency response plan. Secondary containment, spill-response procedures and notification protocol in the event of an accidental release of a hazardous raw material or intermediate.
  7. Production schedule and future expansion plans. Anticipated growth in production (and therefore wastewater load) so the municipality can plan collection-system and treatment-plant capacity accordingly.