ing of life or at waste/resource sector


EPH short for Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons.


PAH short for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons a group of environmentally toxic and persistent chemicals. Coronene (also known as superbenzene) is a PAH comprising six peri-fused benzene rings.


In reality, it is unlikely to see wastes with elevated BTEX or PCB levels unless the waste has come from a chemical industrial site, old gas works or similar.


On the other hand, EPH & PAHwhich are commonly referred to as hydrocarbons will oſt en be found at elevated levels usually due to oil spillages. It is always important on clearance jobs to check if there is the potential for any oil contamination and make sure householders don’t chuck used oils in the skip! On commercial sites, a site investigation will probably have been undertaken to test soils and ensure that any potentially contaminated areas are dealt with appropriately.


BIOREMEDIATION


Whilst hydrocarbon contamination is of concern, bioremediation is a very eff ective treatment to reduce levels to an acceptable use and is a cheaper alternative to disposal at a hazardous landfi ll facility.


HEAVY METALS In terms of other parameters that will be on an analysis data sheet there will be the usual metals; Arsenic, Copper, Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Nickel etc, again for wastes coming out of the domestic sector unlikely to be of concern and from commercial sites will depend entirely on the previous use of that site.


HEAVY METAL Arsenic


Cadmium Chromium Copper Nickel Lead


Limit values (mg/kg) for compliance leaching test using BS EN 12457-3 at L/S 10 l/kg INERT (mg/Kg) 0.5


0.04 0.5 2


0.4 0.5


Non-hazardous (mg/kg) 2 1


10 50 10 10


Hazardous (mg/kg) 25 5


70


100 40 50


In summary, next time you look at a data sheet don’t panic about the chemistry it is just terminology, but all of us dealing with wastes need to understand the basic risks of potential contamination and assessing likely risks from diff erent sites.


Getting proper analysis on waste from commercial and industrial sites should be routine, but being able to interpret the results is critical to ensure that an operator can price the work according to the data.


It is usually at this point we all wished we listened to Chemistry lessons a bit more at school!


by CHARLIE TROUSDELL Th e man in the know!


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