NB: Unofficial translation, legally binding texts are those in Finnish and Swedish Ministry of the Environment, Finland Government Decree 591/2006 concerning the recovery of certain wastes in earth construction Issued in Helsinki 28 June 2006 ————— In accordance with the Government decision made on a submission by the Ministry of the Environment, the following has been enacted on the basis of section 12, paragraph 4 and section 30, subsection 1 of the Environmental Protection Act (86/2000), issued on 4 February 2000; and section 18, subsection 1: 1—3, and section 6, subsection 2 of the Waste Act, issued on 3 December 1993 (1072/1993): 3) sports grounds and routes in recreational Section 1 and sports areas; 4) railway yards as well as storage fields Objective and roads in industrial areas, waste processing areas and air traffic areas. The objective of this Decree is to promote The Decree shall only apply to earth the recovery of wastes by determining the construction as referred to in Section 1, if preconditions as the result of which, if met, such earth construction is implemented in no environmental permit in accordance with accordance with a street plan, plan for the Environmental Protection Act (86/2000) implementing a public area, a permit or will be needed for use in earth construction notification as referred to in the Land Use from waste referred to in this Decree. and Building Act (132/1999), or in accordance with a road plan as referred to in Section 2 the Law on Public Roads (243/1954) or the Highways Act (503/2005). Scope of application The Decree shall not apply in important or other groundwater areas suitable for water This Decree is applicable to institutional or supply. commercial recovery of wastes, as referred to in Annex 1, for the following earth Section 3 construction purposes: 1) public roads, streets, bicycle lanes, Definitions pavements and areas directly connected to these, necessary for road maintenance or For the purposes of this Decree, the term: traffic, excluding noise barriers; 1) proprietor of the recovery site refers to a 2) parking areas; natural person or legal person who, on the basis of a proprietary right or lease, possesses 2 the site where waste is utilised for harmful substances and other emissions from earthworks; the waste which are harmful to the 2) covering refers to protecting a structure environment; containing waste with a layer of natural rock, 3) only the necessary quantity of waste the minimum thickness of which is 10 cm, to shall be used for the purpose of levelling the prevent the spread of waste; soil structure and enhancing its bearing 3) paving refers to protecting a structure capacity and durability, such that the containing waste with asphalt with a maximum thickness of the structure maximum void of 5 per cent, or another containing waste is 150 cm; material with which a corresponding level of 4) the structure containing waste shall not protection can be achieved, in order to reduce be in contact with groundwater as referred to the seepage of rainwater. in Chapter 1, section 4 of the Water Act (264/1961); Section 4 5) the minimum distance of a structure containing waste from a well or spring Exception to the requirement to obtain an intended for use as drinking water shall be 30 environmental permit m; 6) the structure containing waste shall be Waste recovery is permitted without an covered or paved; environmental permit as referred to in section 7) temporary storage of waste and any 28, subsection 2, paragraph 4 of the other activities at the recovery site shall be Environmental Protection Act, if waste arranged so that any waste is prevented from quality control and recovery is arranged and entering the environment and the activities notification is made of the activities in order cause no other danger or harm to health or to facilitate entry in an environmental the environment; protection database, in accordance with this 8) storage of waste at the recovery site Decree. shall begin no earlier than four weeks, or if the stored waste is protected, ten months Section 5 before recovery. Requirements concerning the recovery of Section 6 waste Notification to environmental protection In addition to the provisions laid down in database the Environmental Protection Act and Waste Act (1072/1993) and pursuant to these Acts, The proprietor of the recovery site must the following shall be ensured as in the submit a notification to a regional recovery of waste: environment centre as referred to in section 1) the content and leaching of harmful 65, subsection 1 of the Environmental substances in waste, determined in Protection Act in order that an entry on the accordance with Annex 2, shall not exceed activities be made in an environmental the limit values provided in Annex 1, nor protection database. The notification must does the waste contain, as pollutants, any include: other harmful substances in such a way that 1) the name and contact details of the its recovery might cause a danger or hazard proprietor of the recovery site; to health or the environment: 2) information on the location of the 2) when mixing together wastes as referred recovery site and on any nearby groundwater to in Annex 1 in order to improve technical areas and their classes as well as on water characteristics, or when adding lime, cement supply sources and watercourses; or similar binders to waste, there shall be no 3) information on a plan, notification or increase due to such mixing in dissolved permit concerning earth construction in 3 accordance with the Land Use and Building environmental protection authority. Act, the Law on Public Roads or the The regional environment centre must, Highway Act; without delay, examine the notification made 4) the name and contact details of the for entry in the environmental protection deliverer of waste; database and inform the proprietor of the 5) the code of the waste and a statement recovery site, the deliverer of waste and the indicating that the limit values provided in municipal environmental protection authority Annex 1 are not exceeded; thereof. 6) the quantity of waste; Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 13 of 7) a description of the structure containing the Environmental Protection Act, the waste, of the material used for covering or supervisory authority may prohibit recovery paving, of storage and any other activities at of waste if the activity of which notification the recovery site alongside any necessary is made does not comply with the provisions protective measures connected with these; laid down in the Waste Act or Environmental 8) the date when the recovery begins and Protection Act or on the basis of these acts, ends during the earth construction. or if recovery commences prior to the entry of the activity in the environmental Section 7 protection database. Delivery of waste and the commencement of Section 9 recovery Entry into force Pursuant to section 15, subsection 1, paragraph 3 of the Waste Act, waste can be This Decree will enter into force on 15 July delivered to the proprietor of the recovery 2006. site once the operations have been entered in the environmental protection database. Any measures necessary for the implementation of the present Decree can be Section 8 taken before its entry into force. Supervision The supervisory authorities for activities referred to in this Decree are the regional Helsinki, 28 June 2006 environment centre and the municipal 4 Annex 1 WASTES INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF THE DECREE The wastes included in the scope of this Decree and the limits on the content and leaching (solubility) of any harmful substances they contain are determined in this Annex. 1. Concrete chippings (codes of waste1 10 13 14, 17 01 01 and 19 12 12) Concrete chippings refer to waste made of dismantled concrete structures or concrete waste from new buildings and the concrete industry by crushing the material into grains with a maximum diameter of 150 mm. Harmful substance Limit value, mg/kg dry substance Limit value, mg/kg dry substance Basic characterisations 1 Quality control investigations1 Content Leaching Leaching Content Leaching Leaching (L/S = 10 l/kg) (L/S = 10 l/kg) (L/S = 10 l/kg) (L/S = 10 l/kg) Covered Paved Covered Paved structure structure structure structure PCB2 1,0 1,0 PAH3 20 TOC4 30000 DOC5 500 500 Antimony (Sb) 0,06 0,06 Arsenic (As) 50 0.5 0,5 50 Barium (Ba) 20 20 Cadmium (Cd) 10 0,02 0,02 10 0,02 0,02 Chrome (Cr) 400 0,5 0,5 400 0,5 0,5 Copper (Cu) 400 2,0 2,0 400 2,0 2,0 Mercury (Hg) 0,01 0,01 Lead (Pb) 300 0,5 0,5 300 0,5 0,5 Molybdenum (Mo) 0,5 0,5 Nickel (Ni) 0,4 0,4 Vanadium (V) 2,0 2,0 Zinc (Zn) 700 4,0 4,0 700 Selenium (Se) 0,1 0,1 Fluoride (F--) 10 10 Sulphate (SO42-) 1 000 3 000 1 000 3 000 Chloride (Cl-) 800 800 1 Cf. Section 2 in Annex 2. 2 Polychlorinated biphenyls, total quantity of congenerics 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. 3 Polyaromatic hydrocarbons, total amount of compounds (anthracene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, fluorene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene, naphthalene, pyrene, chrysene). 4 Total quantity of organic carbon. 5 Dissolved organic carbon. _______________________________ 1 Code of the waste in accordance with Ministry of the Environment Decree on the list of the most common wastes and of hazardous wastes (1129/2001). 5 2. Fly ashes (codes of waste1 10 01 02, 10 01 03 and 10 01 17) and bottom ashes (codes of waste1 10 01 01, 10 01 15) from combustion of coal, peat and wood-based material Fly and bottom ashes from the combustion of coal refer to waste separated mechanically or electrically from flue gases created in the combustion of coal, and extracted from the bottom of the combustion chamber of a coal combustion plant. Fly and bottom ashes from the combustion of peat and wood-based material refer to waste separated mechanically or electrically from flue gases created in the combustion of peat, wood chips, bark residue, primary fibre pulp production, vegetable waste including fibre material created in connection with the production of paper from pulp, unprocessed wood waste or any other comparable wood-based material or a mixture thereof, or extracted from the bottom of the combustion plant’s combustion chamber. Harmful substance Limit value, mg/kg dry matter Limit value, mg/kg dry matter Basic characterisations1 Quality control investigations1 Content Leaching Leaching Content Leaching Leaching (L/S = 10 l/kg) (L/S = 10 l/kg) (L/S = 10 l/kg) (L/S = 10 l/kg) Covered Paved Covered Paved structure structure structure structure PCB2 1.0 PAH3 20/404 DOC5 500 500 Antimony (Sb) 0,06 0,18 Arsenic (As) 50 0,5 1,5 50 Barium (Ba) 3 000 20 60 3 000 Cadmium (Cd) 15 0,04 0,04 15 Chrome (Cr) 400 0,5 3,0 400 0,5 3,0 Copper (Cu) 400 2,0 6,0 400 Mercury (Hg) 0,01 0,01 Lead (Pb) 300 0,5 1,5 300 0,5 1,5 Molybdenum (Mo) 50 0,5 6,0 50 0,5 6,0 Nickel (Ni) 0,4 1,2 Vanadium (V) 400 2,0 3,0 400 2,0 3,0 Zinc (Zn) 2 000 4,0 12 2 000 Selenium (Se) 0,1 0,5 0,1 0,5 Fluoride (F--) 10 50 10 50 Sulphate (SO42-) 1 000 10 000 1 000 10 000 Chloride (Cl-) 800 2 400 800 2 400 1 Cf. Section 2 in Annex 2. 2 Polychlorinated biphenyls, total quantity of congenerics 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. 3 Polyaromatic hydrocarbons, total amount of compounds (anthracene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, fluorene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene, naphthalene, pyrene, chrysene). 4 Covered structure/paved structure. 5 Dissolved organic carbon. 6 Annex 2 WASTE QUALITY CONTROL This Annex defines the general principles for waste quality control required for waste recovery in compliance with this Decree. 1. Quality Assurance System The waste deliverer shall apply a quality assurance system, entailing the following measures at a minimum: 1) Quality control investigations - a sampling plan, an estimate of the representativeness of sampling and instructions for sampling, preparation of samples and delivery of samples for analysis - the investigation and determination methods, harmful substances to be monitored and other characteristics to be monitored alongside frequencies of monitoring - the limit values for harmful substances investigated - processing of quality deviations and acceptable deviations - quality assurance of sampling and investigations - quality control monitoring documents and reporting instructions 2) Persons in charge and their qualifications 3) Instructions for the acceptance of waste (particularly if the waste to be processed so as to be fit for recovery is delivered from several sources), storage, processing and delivery to the recovery site 4) Quality assurance system evaluation and auditing plan 5) If necessary, special requirements on purity, such as the proportion of matter not inherent in the waste. 6) Monitoring and reporting - Quality control protocol on each round of sampling and investigation - Quality deviations identified and the consequent measures taken - The quantity and quality of waste delivered for recovery and the places of delivery. 2. Investigations The quality of waste must be examined through basic characterisations and quality control investigations. All measurements, tests, reports and investigations shall be conducted in compliance with section 108 of the Environmental Protection Act, i.e. competently, reliably and by suitable means. Basic characterisations are conducted to prove that the waste in question falls within the scope of this Decree. Basic characterisations shall, by means of standardised analysis and testing 7 methods, examine at least the composition of the waste in question and leaching of harmful substances. At a minimum interval of five years, or, should any changes occur in the activities generating waste that might substantially influence the quality of waste, sufficient additional investigations shall be conducted to ensure that the waste still complies with the basic characterisations. Simultaneously, the quality assurance system shall be examined and revised, if necessary. Waste quality shall be monitored through quality control investigations for an adequate period in compliance with the quality assurance system. The minimum requirement shall be five consecutive investigation rounds in compliance with the sampling plan. If the quality of waste has not been monitored for an adequate period, the acceptability of waste for use in compliance with this Decree can be assessed on the basis of basic characterisations conducted per batch of waste. As regards the results of quality control, the limit value’s being exceeded by a maximum of 30 per cent may be acceptable, if the average value of determinations performed over the past two years does not exceed the limit value set. If quality control results over the past two years are not available on the waste in question, an average value shall be calculated for the duration of quality control, for five consecutive analysis rounds at a minimum. Sampling must be conducted in accordance with paragraph 2.1 and determinations of harmful substances in accordance with paragraph 2.2. Pursuant to the principle of mutual recognition, methods based on standards or technical specifications applied in another member state of the European Union, Turkey or an EFTA state party to the EEA agreement, and complying with the key requirements of methods referred to in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2, can also be used. 2.1 Sampling The sampling and preparation of samples shall be conducted in accordance with standards SFS-EN 932-1 and SFS-EN 932-2 as well as the draft standard prEN 14899. Samples shall primarily be taken from a continuous flow of waste. The person taking the samples shall have sufficient qualifications as required for the task. It is possible to deviate from the sampling requirements under the standard and draft standard if the taking of samples in compliance therewith is not technically or financially feasible due to the quality of the waste. 2.2 Methods of determination The determination of harmful substances included in the waste and leaching from it shall be conducted, in the first instance, by using standardised and, secondarily, other methods found adequate in terms of sensitivity of detection, accuracy and repeatability. Content of harmful substances in waste Methods to be used in the preprocessing of samples for the determination of metals shall be acid digestion and microwave assisted digestion in compliance with standard SFS-EN 13656 or digestion with aqua regia in compliance with standard SFS-EN 13657. Standardised methods (ICP-MS, ICP-AES or AAS) shall be applied in the determination of metals. Other methods can be used instead, if the equivalence of their results with those of the methods mentioned is known. 8 For the determination of total organic carbon (TOC), the method to be used shall comply with standard SFS-EN 13137. For the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), the method to be used shall comply with draft standard prEN 15308. Leaching of harmful substances from waste For determining the leaching of harmful substances, the up-flow percolation test shall be used in compliance with draft standard prCEN/TS 14405. For quality control purposes, the two- stage batch test in compliance with standard SFS-EN 12457-3 can also be used. The concentration of harmful substances in eluates shall be determined in accordance with standards SFS-EN 12506 (pH, As, Ba, Cd, Cl-, Co, Cr, CrVI, Cu, Mo, Ni, NO2- , Pb, total S, SO42- ,V and Zn) and SFS-EN 13370 (ammonium, AOX, conductivity, Hg, phenol index, TOC, easily liberatable CN- and F-).