Jutta Laine-Ylijoki

Leaching of PCBs and chlorophenols from contaminated soil and waste-influence of leaching test characteristics

Organic contaminants are found in soil at sites where chemicals containing organics have been used or handled. Sites contaminated with chlorophenols are a typical problem in Finland due to their large use as wood preserving agents at saw mills. The major compounds identified in the contaminated soils are tetrachlorophenols and pentachlorophenols. PCBs were used in the 1960s and 1970s in polysulphides containing sealing compounds for wall elements. The PCB-contents in these compounds were at least 20% resulting in PCB contamination in soils near the wall elements. PCB-contaminated soils can also be caused from leackage of PCB-condensers. PCBs and Chlorophenols have been chosen in this study as typical organic contaminants with different chemical properties. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of leaching test characteristics on test results for Chlorophenols and PCBs. Furthermore, the effects of some relevant environmental factors controlling the leaching behaviour were evaluated. The study was especially focused on practical aspects aiming to test conditions ensuring reproducible test results. In particular, the influence of filters and the needed equilibrium time for the leaching process were studied. The work was a part of the EU-project “Development of standard leaching tests for organic pollutants in soils, sediments and granular waste materials” co-ordinated by ECN (contract SMT4-CT97-2160). The results will give background data for development of standardised leaching test methods for some organic contaminants.

Acid neutralization capacity of waste - specification of requirement stated in landfill regulations

The EU regulation of landfill aims to the safe disposal of waste in the long term. The regulation requires the collection of information on waste characteristics before landfilling. Acid neutraliza ...

Hazardous waste classification

In European legislation, waste is classified either as hazardous or non-hazardous. Hazardous waste is a waste that due to its (intrinsic) chemical or other properties poses a risk to the environmen ...

Consequences of Revised Criteria for Hazardous Waste Classification in the Nordic countries – the criterion for leaching (H15)

This report illustrates the consequences for hazardous waste classification in the Nordic countries by introducing leaching criteria (Criterion H15). Data on secondary aggregates and waste were com ...

Development of criteria for acceptance of monolithic waste at landfills

A Nordic study has been carried out to develop a methodology for the setting of criteria for acceptance of monolithic waste at landfills in accordance with the requirements in the Council Decision ...

Assessment of environmental impacts of foundary waste in utilisation and disposal

In this work the harmful compounds of most commonly used foundry sands in Finland, i.e. green sand, furan sand, ester hardened phenolic sand and sodium silicate sand together with respective dusts were identified. Their environmental impact was evaluated mainly by comparing the content of harmful compounds against target values given for non-contaminated soil. Additionally, an interlaboratory comparison study was arranged in order to get information on the comparability of the metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) analysis results. The total Chromium contents of studied foundry sand and dust types generally exceeded significantly the target values given for the evaluation of contaminated soil. However, the leaching of Chromium was as a whole very low. Additionally, foundry sands contained only small amounts of organic compounds compared to the target values given for the contaminated soils. On the other hand in case of foundry dusts phenol concentrations correlated with PAH-concentrations resulting in significant phenol and PAH-concentrations in some dust types. For detailed environmental evaluation further information on the leaching behaviour of different metals from foundry dusts is required, especially when the waste masses are relative big. Results of the interlaboratory comparison, especially for some metals as aluminium and chromium, varied significantly addressing the need for further discussions on advantages and disadvantages of different test methods.