Title

Dry-Cell Battery Health And Environmental Hazards And Disposal Options

Abstract

Nearly every state, including the District of Columbia has passed some type of solid waste management law. Thirteen states have included laws to reduce landfill contamination by restricting the amount of mercury and cadmium entering the waste stream through dry-cell (household) battery separation or collection programs. Household (HH) batteries contribute 52 percent of the cadmium and 88 percent of all mercury found in the municipal solid waste, yet comprise less than 1 percent (by weight) of municipal solid waste. The public is generally unaware of the potential health and environmental risks of unrestricted disposal of dry-cell batteries and local officials are reluctant to initiate collection programs because of the high-costs and subsequent disposal costs of collected cells. This article assesses the potential health and environmental risks of the unrestricted disposal of household batteries, the collection and available disposal options, and concludes with several recommendations for communities considering initiating HH battery collection/recycling programs.

Publication Date

2-1-1996

Publication Title

The Journal of resource management and technology

Volume

23

Issue

1

Number of Pages

53-64

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

Socpus ID

0030079127 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0030079127

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