Management of the production of solid wastes of the Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic base

ABSTRACT

Since 2001, specific studies on the subject of solid wastes produced at the Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic Base (EACF) have been carried out in order to characterise, quantify and identify the overall production of solid wastes in several activities performed in that Antarctic station. In 2006 a new spreadsheet to control the wastes was adopted in order to optimize the monitoring task, from the initial collection to final storage. Thus, this study is aimed at assessing the annual production of solid wastes, specifically from January 2009 to March 2010, and researching significant potential changes in the waste quantities after application of the new spreadsheet, based on the values of the production from 2001 to 2008 (historic series). Methodologically, the past results of production of wastes of the EACF and the data of current situation supplied by SECIRM were analyzed. From the results, a general increase of the solid wastes documented from 2006 was noted, reflecting improvement in procedures in the identification and quantification of waste generated at EACF. This increase is concurrent to two factors affecting the final production of waste: the early studies of the EACF Revitalization Program and the increase of the number of users at the station.

Date: 2010