A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment

In South Korea, hazardous characteristics of wastes to be recycled are managed through the “Environmental Impact Assessment of Recycling” system. The ecotoxicity of medium-contact recyclable wastes, that is, those in contact with soil, groundwater, surface water, etc., is managed according to this s...

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Main Authors: Soo-Yeon Hong, Cheol-Woo Yoon, Young-Sam Yoon, Jang-Hyun Kang, Tae-Wan Jeon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2022-07-01
Series:Environmental Health Insights
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/11786302221111872
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author Soo-Yeon Hong
Cheol-Woo Yoon
Young-Sam Yoon
Jang-Hyun Kang
Tae-Wan Jeon
author_facet Soo-Yeon Hong
Cheol-Woo Yoon
Young-Sam Yoon
Jang-Hyun Kang
Tae-Wan Jeon
author_sort Soo-Yeon Hong
collection DOAJ
description In South Korea, hazardous characteristics of wastes to be recycled are managed through the “Environmental Impact Assessment of Recycling” system. The ecotoxicity of medium-contact recyclable wastes, that is, those in contact with soil, groundwater, surface water, etc., is managed according to this system and is determined based on whether or not they exceed an ecotoxicity value (TU) of 2.0. The ecotoxicity of wastes is tested and determined by using pretreated eluate samples according to the Official Wastes Test Standard and applying the Official Water Pollution Process Test Standard. However, no ecotoxicity management limits are stipulated for medium-contact recycling using wastes in numerous other countries. This study aims to evaluate applicability and safety of the ecotoxicity test for wastes used in medium-contact recycling and establish an efficient management plan for hazardous characteristic wastes. Target wastes for the survey were selected based on the Wastes Control Act in South Korea. Nine types of waste were selected, which are representative types of wastes to which ecotoxicity is applied. In order to secure the representativeness of the target samples, a total of 45 samples were collected by selecting 5 cases each of the 9 waste types in consideration of the type of industry and amount of waste generated. Limit exceedance was calculated for each category of hazardous substances (leaching, total content), pH, and ecotoxicity of a total of 45 samples, and was found to increase in the order of leaching 2.22% < pH 9.09% < content 31.11% < ecotoxicity 37.21%. This indicates that the limit exceedance was maximum in the ecotoxicity category. Therefore, the application of ecotoxicity limit is efficient for identifying and comprehensively managing the environmental impacts of various types of hazardous substances contained in wastes from the perspective of comprehensive toxicity.
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spelling doaj.art-ab5cc2ab278e443abbda36d3e8d7295f2022-12-22T03:03:44ZengSAGE PublishingEnvironmental Health Insights1178-63022022-07-011610.1177/11786302221111872A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity AssessmentSoo-Yeon Hong0Cheol-Woo Yoon1Young-Sam Yoon2Jang-Hyun Kang3Tae-Wan Jeon4Resource Recirculation Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, South KoreaDepartment of Environmental Engineering, In-Ha University, South KoreaResource Recirculation Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, South KoreaResource Recirculation Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, South KoreaResource Recirculation Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, South KoreaIn South Korea, hazardous characteristics of wastes to be recycled are managed through the “Environmental Impact Assessment of Recycling” system. The ecotoxicity of medium-contact recyclable wastes, that is, those in contact with soil, groundwater, surface water, etc., is managed according to this system and is determined based on whether or not they exceed an ecotoxicity value (TU) of 2.0. The ecotoxicity of wastes is tested and determined by using pretreated eluate samples according to the Official Wastes Test Standard and applying the Official Water Pollution Process Test Standard. However, no ecotoxicity management limits are stipulated for medium-contact recycling using wastes in numerous other countries. This study aims to evaluate applicability and safety of the ecotoxicity test for wastes used in medium-contact recycling and establish an efficient management plan for hazardous characteristic wastes. Target wastes for the survey were selected based on the Wastes Control Act in South Korea. Nine types of waste were selected, which are representative types of wastes to which ecotoxicity is applied. In order to secure the representativeness of the target samples, a total of 45 samples were collected by selecting 5 cases each of the 9 waste types in consideration of the type of industry and amount of waste generated. Limit exceedance was calculated for each category of hazardous substances (leaching, total content), pH, and ecotoxicity of a total of 45 samples, and was found to increase in the order of leaching 2.22% < pH 9.09% < content 31.11% < ecotoxicity 37.21%. This indicates that the limit exceedance was maximum in the ecotoxicity category. Therefore, the application of ecotoxicity limit is efficient for identifying and comprehensively managing the environmental impacts of various types of hazardous substances contained in wastes from the perspective of comprehensive toxicity.https://doi.org/10.1177/11786302221111872
spellingShingle Soo-Yeon Hong
Cheol-Woo Yoon
Young-Sam Yoon
Jang-Hyun Kang
Tae-Wan Jeon
A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment
Environmental Health Insights
title A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment
title_full A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment
title_fullStr A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment
title_full_unstemmed A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment
title_short A Study on Safety Management Plan for Recycling of Medium-Contact Wastes via Ecotoxicity Assessment
title_sort study on safety management plan for recycling of medium contact wastes via ecotoxicity assessment
url https://doi.org/10.1177/11786302221111872
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