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A sampling and hypothesis testing method for the legal control of solid hazardous waste
Author(s) -
Stelling Marion,
Sjerps Marjan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
environmetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-095X
pISSN - 1180-4009
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-095x(199905/06)10:3<247::aid-env350>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - protocol (science) , hazardous waste , sampling (signal processing) , computer science , control (management) , municipal solid waste , environmental science , reliability engineering , waste management , engineering , medicine , alternative medicine , filter (signal processing) , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer vision
In legal control, solid wastes are sampled to determine if particular concentrations of contaminants are below threshold levels. If the threshold is exceeded, the material is considered hazardous and constraints are placed on its handling and disposal. This procedure requires a uniform sampling and hypothesis testing protocol that gives reliable results. The problem in designing such a protocol is that the distributions of contaminant measurements vary considerably from one type of contaminant to another, and between different types of waste materials. At present, the literature provides too few data to make reliable assumptions about the distribution, and costs restrict data collection. In this paper, we propose a protocol that aims to be applicable for different waste materials and contaminants. In particular, we do not make any assumptions about the underlying frequency distributions of the concentration levels. The protocol is a compromise between a thorough analysis and cost considerations, and is based on a simulation study. Its practical performance is tested using data from three types of waste materials. The protocol satisfies the present conditions in most situations. Furthermore, the data that become available using this protocol will enlarge insight in the variability of solid wastes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.