Consider the variety of products commonly used in households and on farms: paints, solvents, oils, cleaners, wood preservatives, batteries, adhesives and pesticides. In addition, some common disposal practices not only threaten groundwater but also may be illegal.
Small, unusable amounts often wind up spilled, buried, dumped or flushed onto farm property. Minimizing the amounts of these substances used on the farm, along with practicing proper disposal practices, can reduce both health risks and the potential for groundwater contamination. Farmers and their families are generally familiar with the hazards of pesticides commonly used in the farm operation, but they may be less aware of the hazards of other chemicals that make many tasks around the home and farm easier or more efficient.
Improper use of hazardous products may cause toxic health effects. Improper storage may allow chemicals to leak, causing potentially dangerous chemical reactions, toxic health effects or groundwater contamination. Improper disposal allows these dangerous chemicals to enter directly into drinking water through surface water or groundwater.
Your drinking water is least likely to be contaminated by your hazardous wastes if you follow appropriate management procedures or dispose of wastes in any location that is off your farm site. However, proper offsite disposal practices are essential to avoid risking contamination that could affect the water supplies and health of others.
The goal of Farm*A*Syst is to help you protect the groundwater that supplies your drinking water.
How will this worksheet help me protect my drinking water?
- It will take you step by step through your hazardous waste management practices.
- It will rank your activities according to how they might affect the groundwater that provides your drinking water supplies.
- It will provide you with easy-to-understand rankings that will help you analyze the risk level of your hazardous waste management practices.
- It will help you determine which of your practices are reasonably safe and effective, and which practices might require modification to better protect your drinking water.
These terms may help you make more accurate assessments when completing Worksheet #5. They may also help clarify some of the terms used in Fact Sheet #5.
Burn barrel: Any on-farm system of open burning, such as burning in a barrel. (See incinerator.)
Dump: A local landfill that is not designed to prevent leaching and offers little groundwater protection.
Farm business: A farm that generates at least $1000 in net annual income from farming.
Hazardous waste contractor: A hazardous waste collection service offered by businesses with vehicles licensed to transport hazardous waste to licensed hazardous waste facilities.
Household hazardous waste collection program: A special program in which a community collects waste for disposal in a specially constructed hazardous waste landfill or incinerator.
Household quantities: Less than five gallons of a household product.
Incinerator (municipal): A community incinerator specifically engineered to burn municipal quantities of home waste.
Incinerator (on-farm): Any home-built incinerator or any incinerator purchased for home use.
Licensed landfill: A landfill specifically designed to protect groundwater through the use of a high quality clay or clay/impermeable film liner, accompanied by a system of buried pipes to collect any liquids generated. Meets current state standards.
On-farm disposal: Any method of burning, dumping or land spreading of wastes on the farm. Also includes use of the septic system for disposal.
Recycling: Reusing waste materials to develop another product.
Solvent recycler collection service: A pick-up service provided by businesses that reprocess used solvents.
Risk Contamination from Hazardous Waste Management
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The Farm*A*Syst Program is a cooperative program funded nationally by: USDA Cooperative State Research Education Service (CSREES), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the US Environmental Protection Agency. This worksheet has been produced by the National Farm*A*Syst Office located at B142 Steenbock Library, 550 Babcock Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1293, Phone: (608) 262-0024. This worksheet is based on the original Wisconsin Farmstead Assessment Program. The principal author for this worksheet was Susan Jones, US EPA Region V, Water Division, and University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension. |
July 24, 1998
Dennis Hoffman, Project Leader
Steve Dagitz, Webmaster