Hazard classification of waste is a necessity, but the hazard properties (named "H" and soon "HP") are still not all defined in a practical and operational manner at EU level. Following discussion of subsequent draft proposals from the Commission there is still no final decision. Methods to implement the proposals have recently been proposed: tests methods for physical risks, test batteries for aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity, an analytical package for exhaustive determination of organic substances and mineral elements, surrogate methods for the speciation of mineral elements in mineral substances in waste, and calculation methods for human toxicity and ecotoxicity with M factors. In this paper the different proposed methods have been applied to a large assortment of solid and liquid wastes (>100). Data for 45 wastes - documented with extensive chemical analysis and flammability test - were assessed in terms of the different HP criteria and results were compared to LoW for lack of an independent classification. For most waste streams the classification matches with the designation provided in the LoW. This indicates that the criteria used by LoW are similar to the HP limit values. This data set showed HP 14 'Ecotoxic chronic' is the most discriminating HP. All wastes classified as acute ecotoxic are also chronic ecotoxic and the assessment of acute ecotoxicity separately is therefore not needed. The high number of HP 14 classified wastes is due to the very low limit values when stringent M factors are applied to total concentrations (worst case method). With M factor set to 1 the classification method is not sufficiently discriminating between hazardous and non-hazardous materials. The second most frequent hazard is HP 7 'Carcinogenic'. The third most frequent hazard is HP 10 'Toxic for reproduction' and the fourth most frequent hazard is HP 4 "Irritant - skin irritation and eye damage". In a stepwise approach, it seems relevant to assess HP 14 first, then, if the waste is not classified as hazardous, to assess subsequently HP 7, HP 10 and HP 4, and then if still not classified as hazardous, to assess the remaining properties. The elements triggering the HP 14 classification in order of importance are Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd and Hg. Progress in the speciation of Zn and Cu is essential for HP 14. Organics were quantified by the proposed method (AFNOR XP X30-489) and need no speciation. Organics can contribute significantly to intrinsic toxicity in many waste materials, but they are only of minor importance for the assessment of HP 14 as the metal concentrations are the main HP 14 classifiers. Organic compounds are however responsible for other toxicological characteristics (hormone disturbance, genotoxicity, reprotoxicity…) and shall be taken into account when the waste is not HP 14 classified.
Legislation published in December 2014 revised both the List of Waste (LoW) and amended Appendix III of the revised Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC; the latter redefined hazardous properties HP 1 to HP 13 and HP 15 but left the assessment of HP 14 unchanged to allow time for the Directorate General of the Environment of the European Commission to complete a study that is examining the impacts of four different calculation methods for the assessment of HP 14. This paper is a contribution to the assessment of the four calculation methods. It also includes the results of a fifth calculation method; referred to as "Method 2 with extended M-factors". Two sets of data were utilised in the assessment; the first (Data Set #1) comprised analytical data for 32 different waste streams (16 hazardous (H), 9 non-hazardous (NH) and 7 mirror entries, as classified by the LoW) while the second data set (Data Set #2), supplied by the eco industries, comprised analytical data for 88 waste streams, all classified as hazardous (H) by the LoW. Two approaches were used to assess the five calculation methods. The first approach assessed the relative ranking of the five calculation methods by the frequency of their classification of waste streams as H. The relative ranking of the five methods (from most severe to less severe) is: Method 3>Method 1>Method 2 with extended M-factors>Method 2>Method 4. This reflects the arithmetic ranking of the concentration limits of each method when assuming M=10, and is independent of the waste streams, or the H/NH/Mirror status of the waste streams. A second approach is the absolute matching or concordance with the LoW. The LoW is taken as a reference method and the H wastes are all supposed to be HP 14. This point is discussed in the paper. The concordance for one calculation method is established by the number of wastes with identical classification by the considered calculation method and the LoW (i.e. H to H, NH to NH). The discordance is established as well, that is when the waste is classified "H" in the LoW and "NH" by calculation (i.e. an under-estimation of the hazard). For Data Set #1, Method 2 with extended M-factors matches best with the LoW (80% concordant H and non-H by LoW, and 13% discordant for H waste by LoW). This method more correctly classifies wastes containing substances with high ecotoxicity. Methods 1 and 3 have nearly as good matches (76% and 72% concordant H and non-H by LoW, and 13% and 6% respectively discordant for H waste by LoW). Method 2 with extended M-factors, but limited to the M-factors published in the CLP has insufficient concordance (64% concordant H and non-H by LoW, and 50% discordant for H waste by LoW). As the same method with extended M-factors gives the best performance, the lower performance is due to the limited set of M-factors in the CLP. Method 4 is divergent (60% concordant H and non-H by LoW, and 56% discordant for H waste by LoW). For Data Set #2, Methods 2 and 4 do not correctly classify 24 air pollution control residues from incineration 19 01...
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