초록 ▼

Very costly professional-level judgments needed to comply with scientific and statutory restrictions on hazardous-waste segregation, shipment and disposal are collected cumulatively in a database for a very large number of hazardous waste materials. Many of these materials are statutorily designated

Very costly professional-level judgments needed to comply with scientific and statutory restrictions on hazardous-waste segregation, shipment and disposal are collected cumulatively in a database for a very large number of hazardous waste materials. Many of these materials are statutorily designated or scientifically recognized, or both, as posing a significant physical danger to humans, other organisms, or the ecosphere generally. Later many consignments of particular materials are received (or identified before receipt, in a batch mode of operation) and classified very inexpensively--using nonprofessional-level personnel--by reference to the computerized database. Reversion to professional-level judgments occurs only if a material not previously encountered is received. Each consignment of each material is classified and handled consistently with all other consignments of like material, and in accordance with the professional-level judgments embodied in the database. The system automatically establishes subsequent routing and handling, and generates all labels, regulatory reports and inventories; and also makes possible detailed tracing, tabulation of hazard characteristics by specific areas within storage facilities, and even retrieval if desired for recycling or reconfiguration.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [30.] A process for segregation, shipment and disposal of hazardous waste; said process comprising the steps of:making relatively very costly professional-level judgments about several hazard parameters of each one of a large number of hazardous waste materials, to establish each of said

[ I claim:] [30.] A process for segregation, shipment and disposal of hazardous waste; said process comprising the steps of:making relatively very costly professional-level judgments about several hazard parameters of each one of a large number of hazardous waste materials, to establish each of said hazard parameters particularly preformatted for use in the substantially-automatically-classifying and automatically-establishing steps recited hereunder;said relatively very costly professional-level judgments generally requiring attention of an advance-degreed chemist or like professional scientist;for each of said large number of hazardous waste materials, collecting in a computerized database said preformatted hazard parameters as established on the basis of said relatively very costly professional-level judgments;subsequently identifying a large number of specific consignments of particular hazardous waste materials;shipment or disposal of at least some of said particular materials in said specific consignments being statutorily designated or scientifically recognized, or both, as posing a significant physical danger to people, wildlife or the environment; whereby said relatively very costly professional-level judgments are required to avert said significant physical danger for at least many of said specific consignments;finding said preformatted hazard parameters in said computerized database for generally each of said large number of specific material consignments, without making new relatively very costly professional-level judgments;substantially automatically classifying generally each of said consignments on the basis of said found preformatted hazard parameters;generally each consignment of each material being classified, in the classifying step, substantially consistently with all other consignments of like material and in accordance with professional-level judgments embodied in said database, notwithstanding general absence of new professional-level judgments in said finding step; andsubstantially automatically establishing subsequent packaging, routing and handling in accordance with regulatory requirements for generally each of said large number of consignments, on the basis of the classifying step, to generally very inexpensively avert said physical danger.