Application of Risk Analysis to Waste Technologies

The current chapter presents the main municipal solid waste management processes used worldwide with potentially negative effects on human health: incineration, landfilling and composting by analyzing the defining elements regarding the main pollutants generated by the waste management processes in the form of solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges. Waste production, management and disposal involve more complex activities, with different potentials to affect health directly and indirectly through many pathways and mechanisms. The impact of waste may vary depending on numerous factors, such as the type of waste management processes, characteristics, and habits of the exposed population, duration of exposure, prevention, and mitigation interventions. Improper waste management in terms of health impact could be directly linked, to potential adverse substances, which leads to increased risk of cancer and quality of life decreasing or indirectly, to the environmental impact of the process, such as the contribution to global warming, loss of biodiversity and the depletion of nonrenewable resources