TY - JOUR
T1 - An optimisation model for transportation of hazardous wastes
AU - Uddameri, Venkatesh
AU - Honnungar, Vivekanand
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2010/4
Y1 - 2010/4
N2 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has considerably increased the transport of materials along the US-Mexico borders. Maquiladoras are business entities that are structured to take relative advantages offered by both countries to develop cost-effective products. Current Mexican regulations require that hazardous wastes generated by US companies be shipped back for proper disposal. The movement of hazardous wastes across the US-Mexico border is likely to increase in years to come. The broad goal of this study is to develop a decision support system to determine best routes for transporting hazardous wastes across the South Texas - Mexico border and evaluate critical factors that influence the shipment of wastes. The results of the study indicate that the hazardous landfills in Texas are of significant economic value and help foster cross-border manufacturing practices. The installation of hazardous waste incinerators in South Texas could be economically beneficial for treating hazardous wastes generated in Maquiladoras close to South Texas. However, a variety of meteorological, environmental, economic and social factors must be considered to evaluate the feasibility of siting these incinerators. Conservation practices and innovative processes to minimise and possibly eliminate hazardous waste generation are however necessary for long-term sustainability of Maquiladora operations.
AB - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has considerably increased the transport of materials along the US-Mexico borders. Maquiladoras are business entities that are structured to take relative advantages offered by both countries to develop cost-effective products. Current Mexican regulations require that hazardous wastes generated by US companies be shipped back for proper disposal. The movement of hazardous wastes across the US-Mexico border is likely to increase in years to come. The broad goal of this study is to develop a decision support system to determine best routes for transporting hazardous wastes across the South Texas - Mexico border and evaluate critical factors that influence the shipment of wastes. The results of the study indicate that the hazardous landfills in Texas are of significant economic value and help foster cross-border manufacturing practices. The installation of hazardous waste incinerators in South Texas could be economically beneficial for treating hazardous wastes generated in Maquiladoras close to South Texas. However, a variety of meteorological, environmental, economic and social factors must be considered to evaluate the feasibility of siting these incinerators. Conservation practices and innovative processes to minimise and possibly eliminate hazardous waste generation are however necessary for long-term sustainability of Maquiladora operations.
KW - Decision support systems
KW - Hazardous wastes
KW - Maquiladoras
KW - NAFTA
KW - Nonlinear programming
KW - Optimisation
KW - Transshipment models
KW - US-mexico border region
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77950659798&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1504/IJETM.2010.032532
DO - 10.1504/IJETM.2010.032532
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77950659798
VL - 13
SP - 4
EP - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management
JF - International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management
SN - 1466-2132
IS - 1
ER -