§4.2 Chemical analysis of waste

As already indicated in Chapter 3.2.1 (‘Step 3’), in certain cases the information derived from e.g. a SDS of a product becoming waste, GHS labels, knowledge of the ‘waste-generating’ process and other databases are not sufficient to allow an assessment of the hazardous properties of the waste in question. Given that having sufficient knowledge on the waste's composition is a prerequisite to be able to make use of the calculation approach described in Chapter 3.2.2 (‘Step 4’), a chemical analysis of the waste in question may be necessary. As a general information basis, Table 25 contains a non-exhaustive list of CEN methods and standards for the characterisation of waste (3). Reference Title Leaching Tests CEN/TS 16660:2015 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour test. Determination of the reducing character and the reducing capacity EN 15863:2015 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour test for basic characterization. Dynamic monolithic leaching test with periodic leachant renewal, under fixed conditions EN 14997:2015 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour test. Influence of pH on leaching with continuous pH control EN 14429:2015 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour test. Influence of pH on leaching with initial acid/base addition EN 14429:2015 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour test. Influence of pH on leaching with initial acid/base addition EN 14997:2015 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour test. Influence of pH on leaching with continuous pH control CEN/TS 15364:2006 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour tests. Acid and base neutralization capacity test CEN/TS 14405:2004 Characterization of waste. Leaching behaviour tests. Up-flow percolation test (under specified conditions) EN 12457-1:2002 Characterisation of waste. Leaching. Compliance test for leaching of granular waste materials and sludges. One stage batch test at a liquid to solid ratio of 2 l/kg for materials with high solid content and with particle size below 4 mm (without or with size reduction) EN 12457-2:2002 Characterisation of waste. Leaching. Compliance test for leaching of granular waste materials and sludges. One stage batch test at a liquid to solid ratio of 10 l/kg for materials with particle size below 4 mm (without or with size reduction) EN 12457-3:2002 Characterisation of waste. Leaching. Compliance test for leaching of granular waste materials and sludges. Two stage batch test at a liquid to solid ratio of 2 l/kg and 8 l/kg for materials with a high solid content and with a particle size below 4 mm (without or with size reduction) EN 12457-4:2002 Characterisation of waste. Leaching. Compliance test for leaching of granular waste materials and sludges. One stage batch test at a liquid to solid ratio of 10 l/kg for materials with particle size below 10 mm (without or with size reduction) Analyses of Compounds EN 16377:2013 Characterization of waste. Determination of brominated flame retardants (BFR) in solid waste EN 16192:2011 Characterization of waste. Analysis of eluates EN 15216:2007 Characterization of waste. Determination of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water and eluates Total Organic Carbon (TOC) EN 13137:2001 Characterisation of waste. Determination of total organic carbon (TOC) in waste, sludges and sediments Digestion EN 13656:2002 Characterization of waste. Microwave assisted digestion with hydrofluoric (HF), nitric (HNO3), and hydrochloric (HCl) acid mixture for subsequent determination of elements EN 13657:2002 Characterization of waste. Digestion for subsequent determination of aqua regia soluble portion of elements Hydrocarbons C10 to C40 EN 14039:2004 Characterization of waste. Determination of hydrocarbon content in the range of C10 to C40 by gas chromatography Dry Matter EN 14346:2006 Characterization of waste. Calculation of dry matter by determination of dry residue or water content Inorganic Compounds EN 14582:2007 Characterization of waste. Halogen and sulfur content. Oxygen combustion in closed systems and determination methods EN 15192:2006 Characterisation of waste and soil. Determination of chromium (VI) in solid material by alkaline digestion and ion chromatography with spectrophotometric detection Organic Compounds EN 15308:2008 Characterization of waste. Determination of selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in solid waste by using capillary gas chromatography with electron capture or mass spectrometric detection EN 15527:2008 Characterization of waste. Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in waste using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) Elemental composition EN 16424:2014 Characterization of waste. Screening methods for the element composition by portable X-ray fluorescence instruments EN 15309:2007 Characterization of waste and soil. Determination of elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence Information derived from chemical analyses of waste that can be used for the classification of waste should be compositional data. Results from leaching tests — as often obtained from laboratory results in the frame of testing the fulfilment of WAC criteria from the Landfill Directive — are not generally useful for the hazard classification of waste. The only exemption from this principle may be the case of assessing HP 15. In particular, this means that, e.g. if a waste has failed the Inert WAC criteria from the Landfill Directive, it will not be hazardous or respectively non-hazardous automatically. WAC results should not be used as the sole source of information for hazardous waste classification. A WAC analysis is only actually required if 1) the chosen treatment is disposal in a landfill and 2) the class of landfill previously defined by a hazardous or non-hazardous classification requires a numerical WAC test. However, the substances present in the leachate may offer some clues regarding the constituents of the source waste. Please note that in particular regarding inorganic substances, chemical analyses usually do not provide information about the specific chemical compounds within a waste but only allow the identification of cations and anions. Neither the molecular composition nor other consideration, such as the identification of mineralogical forms is usually possible using conventional analytical techniques. In the following, some possible methods to overcome this obstacle are presented. More approaches and conventions on MS level may be available which should be checked additionally.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07