Discuss briefly the following:
(a) Radioactive wastes,
(b) e-wastes,
(c) Municipal solid wastes.

Explanation

(a) Radioactive wastes : Radiation, that is given off by nuclear waste is extremely damaging to organisms, because it causes mutations at a very high rate. At high doses, nuclear radiation is lethal but at lower doses, it creates various disorders, the most frequent of all being cancer. Therefore, nuclear waste is an extremely potent pollutant and has to be dealt with utmost caution.
It has been recommended that storage of nuclear waste, after sufficient pre-treatment, should be done in suitable shielded containers buried within the rocks, about 500 m deep below the earth's surface. (b) e-wastes :
• e-wastes are generated in the developed countries and are sent to developing countries where certain metals like gold, nickel, silicon, copper, iron, eto, are recovered from them.
• Then recycling is done manually and hence, the workers are exposed to the toxic substances.
(c) Municipal solid wastes • Municipal solid wastes are burnt to reduce the volume, but they are not bumi completely and the open dumps serve as the breeding ground for flies and rats.
• Sanitary landfills have been adopted as an alternative to open burning dumps.
• Municipal wastes are incinerated and the heat emitted is used to generate electricity
• They are also recycled for various components.
• Fly ash is used in construction industry or buried as landfills, it is also used for soil amendment as it increases water retention and aeration of soil.
• e-wastes are buried as landfills or incinerated and they are also recycled.