Identification of wastes hazardous to the environment in mirror entries

The ecotoxicological characterisation of waste according to the European List of Wastes is part of the assessment as hazardous or non-hazardous. So far, no methodological details have been fixed concerning evaluation of the hazard criterion HP 14 (formerly H 14, ‘ecotoxic’) using biotests. Using the recommendations of  CEN Guidance 14735, experiences made in an international ring test sponsored by the German Environment Agency (UBA), and a proposal for the ecotoxicological characterisation of wastes, 24 representative waste samples with different properties were identified, sampled according to standard procedures, and – with one exception (galvanic sludge) – ecotoxicologically tested. Selection criteria for testing of these waste samples were the mirror entry, the quantitative and economic relevance, coverage of the European List of Wastes, the opinion of different German federal states, waste properties, specifics of recycling or disposal, as well as problems with their classification. The samples were characterised using information from the ABANDA data base (chemical analyses of constituents of the waste samples were not performed within the project). Based on the project results, recommendations for sampling and sample preparation were provided. For ecotoxicological characterisation, three eluate tests (algae test, Daphnia test, umu genotoxicity test) and three solid waste tests (plant test with Brassica napus, earthworm avoidance test, bacteria contact test) were performed. All investigations were performed as limit tests. On the basis of a literature review, the following limit concentrations were used: LID 4 for eluates and LID 8 for solid wastes. Algae, plants and bacteria were the most sensitive test organisms. None of the waste eluates showed any indication of genotoxicity. Additional studies are required to further evaluate the sensitivity of the umu genotoxicity test. It is proposed to perform a plausibility check of the HP 14 classification.

 

Last update: February 2022