Waste Oil

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how there is national and international pressure for Canada and the United States to improve operations of the waste oil industry. Also examined is how, although rules, regulations and laws are improving moderately across the globe with world meetings such as the Kyoto Accord and Basel Convention, the standards set by the two nations are in dire need of improvement. The paper contends that more research and public education is needed on this topic and that international task forces such as the Basel convention need to be more effective in ensuring nations are complying with waste oil safety proposals.

From the Paper:

"The United States government has passed legislation to deter improper operations in the waste oil industry such as hazardous dumping. In 1976, Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which established a minimum set of standards and regulations for control of hazardous wastes throughout the nation (Schichor, Gaines and Ball, 2002). The results of such legislation increased the costs of disposal of oil waste. This lead companies that were responsible for disposing of toxic waste to turn to illegal means of disposal to reduce costs. An example of this is the Russell Mahler case, where tens of thousands of gallons of waste had been dumped by his company into sewers. Mahler was fined $750,000, served a one-year prison sentence and was one of a handful of people in the country to serve time for such offenses (Schichor, Gaines and Ball, 2002). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alexander's Gas and Oil Connections. (1998). Oil industry is improving environmental and safety performance. Retrieved June 25, 2005 from http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/reports/rex83091.htm
• Basel Action Network (BAN). (2002). Report on the Copenhagen Intercessional Meeting on the Draft Strategic Plan of the Basil Convention. Retrieved June 26, 2005 from http://www.ban.org/subsidiary/ReportCopenhagen.PDF
• Johnson, E. (2002). CBC Marketplace: Environment. The Basel Convention. Retrieved June25, 2005 from http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/environ/hitech_trash/basel.html
• Schichor, D., Gaines L., and R. Ball. (2002). Readings in White-Collar Crime. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press Inc.

More papers on Waste Oil:

• Persuasive Essay # 133593 : "White-Collar Crime in the Waste Oil Industry"
• Descriptive Essay # 112712 : "Daily Operations in a Hazardous Waste Plant"
• Essay # 27780 : "Nigerian Oil Spills"

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