Cautious use of existing hazardous waste management data

The necessity of existing data has become a gradually popular method of reinforcing the overall efficiency of hazardous waste (HW) management. However, this practice needs special attention by policymakers, funding agencies, and primary researchers making the HW management data collection in primary studies and corresponding HW management registry system accessible to trained researchers who did not participate in primary research, documentation, or updating the registry systems. Such work has obvious advantages, but it is very complicated to proceed. Thus, many new researchers are reluctant to access these registry systems of existing data, specifically in underdeveloped counties. Other challenges in using existing HW management data include discrepancies, errors, and missing observations in data, less-experienced researchers, and continuous variations in the composition and characteristics. This chapter presents the rationale and idea of primary data, elaborates various cautions using existing HW management data, defines the approaches of primary investigators, describes the sources and quality assessment of existing data, evaluates uncertainties and discrepancies in HW management and elaborate record-keeping processes, and suggests effective corrective and preventative action measures. Finally, the pros and cons of using existing HW management data are also explained.