Current EPA Policies Regarding Environmental Protection
The issue of waste management has always been one of EPA’s key priorities. However, the current policies regarding waste management appear to be quite lax, which leads to a drop in commitment among companies and causes significant health issues. Specifically, the Waste Management Act of 1990 needs to be updated to reflect the current realities (“Part 273 – Standards for Universal Waste Management,” n.d.). The waste Management Act is a regulation that seeks to control the extent of waste produced by organizations by offering rigid standards for waste disposal. According to the existing accounts of the effects of waste management inconsistences, multiple health issues ranging from respiratory problems to chronic diseases such as asthma can be observed on a global scale (Li & Achal, 2020). However, the Waste Management Act does not specify directly how electronic waste should be disposed of directly, which makes it co0nfusing for organizations and especially average citizens, who may be unaware of the differences between regular waste and e-waste. Therefore, the existing EPA policies regarding waste management must be revisited. Remarkably, most professional organizations tend to view the Act as quite outdated (UNEP, n.d.). As a Family Nurse practitioner, one must consider contributing to shaping the policy while providing families with accurate guidelines concerning waste management and proper disposal of e-waste. E-waste represents unwanted or unmanageable electronic products 9Li & Achal, 2020). Due to the broad description, the specified definition complicates the process of e-waste disposal.
Current Policy: Who Supports and What Ramifications Are
The policy in question is presently supported by EPA and most businesses as the solution that theoretically allows keeping the extent of waste production minimal. Similarly, legal bodies, particularly, governmental authorities responsible for the prevention and management of pollution issues and compliance with environmentalism principles are largely supportive of the policy in question. Among the major organizations that support the specified waste management policy, one should mention EPA and WasteAid, who collaborate actively with policymakers to improve the current standards regarding the prevention and management of environmental pollution. These organizations are resistant to changing the performance frameworks of manufacturing companies, which is understandable given the drastic economic outcomes. Still, as stakeholders in the specified scenario, people have control over policymaking as possible participants of protests and environmental movements. However, the existing framework does not allow for rigid and sufficient control of the waste management strategies, particularly in regard to organizational e-waste management and e-waste disposal in families (Yang et al., 2018). Furthermore, the policy under analysis does not immediately imply the necessity to adopt the frameworks that minimize waste, such as recycling (Condemi et al., 2019). Therefore, the current legal framework must be adjusted.
Proposed Action
A range of public health issues has emerged as a result of the failure to comply with the established principles (Li & Achal, 2020). Moreover, the regulations created and defined in the 90s do not reflect the full extent and complexity of healthcare concerns caused by the production of electronic waste (e-waste). While certain adjustments have been made to offer the ways of containing the adverse effects of e-waste, the existing regulations need to be finalized and enhanced on a global level. In turn, an FNP can provide critical information concerning the effects of the current waste management strategies. For this purpose, data concerning the changes in pollution rates, as well as the effects that the current waste management standards have on people’s well-being, must be collected. Specifically, nurses will have to examine how patients are exposed to e-waste, the prevalence of e-waste exposure in families, and the risk factors that lead to the exposure. Although professional organizations have considered the effects of e-waste on public health, the needs of families specifically have not been addressed fully. Specifically, several white papers, such as “EU actions and existing challenges on electronic waste” (2021), have focused on the issue briefly. Furthermore, a Family Nurse practitioner must focus on advocating proper waste management in patients and their families and educating them about the strategies for disposing of e-waste. As an educator, a nurse must warn patients about the necessity to dispose of e-waste properly and avoid the settings where e-waste can be found.
The proposed action involves shaping the current policy toward managing waste on an industrial level in the way that limits general audiences’ exposure to waste, particularly, hazardous substances by utilizing the information offered by FNPs. Namely, the suggested change implies introducing standards for removing e-waste and offering alternatives to landfills for managing regular waste for companies. Furthermore, it is the job of an FNP to ensure that patients and their families are educated about the dangers of e-waste and its improper management. Specifically, patients will be instructed on determining the expiration date for e-products, the means of disposing of e-waste, the strategies of safeguarding children against e-waste exposure, an the ways of identifying e-waste so that it could be avoided or properly managed. The described solution means changing the legal standards for waste management and reinforcing them on statewide and global levels so that the issue of waste management could be controlled tighter.
The sources used for this presentation can be considered current and relevant since they were published after 2018 and are linked to the issue of waste management directly. Furthermore, having been written by experts in the field, these references are sufficiently authoritative. Moreover, they are accurate given the specific data and measurements used by the authors. Finally, all of the sources have a direct purpose of addressing the problem of waste management.
References
Condemi, A., Cucchiella, F., & Schettini, D. (2019). Circular economy and E-waste: An opportunity from RFID TAGs. Applied Sciences, 9(16), 3422. Web.
EU actions and existing challenges on electronic waste. (2021). Web.
Li, W., & Achal, V. (2020). Environmental and health impacts due to e-waste disposal in China–A review. Science of the Total Environment, 737, 1-8. Web.
Part 273 – Standards for Universal Waste Management. (n.d.). EPA. Web.
UNEP. (n.d.). Guidelines for framework legislation for integrated waste management. Web.
Yang, H., Ma, M., Thompson, J. R., & Flower, R. J. (2018). Waste management, informal recycling, environmental pollution and public health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72(3), 237-243. Web.