Ecotoxicological Characterization of Waste Results and Experiences of an International Ring Test

The ecotoxicological characterization of waste is part of their assessment as hazardous or non-hazardous according to the European Waste List. Despite its transfer into national law in the waste list ordinance 2001 no methodological recommendations have been provided to cover the hazard criterion (H14 "ecotoxicity") which was taken over from the legislation on dangerous substances. Based on the recommendations of CEN guideline 14735 (2005), an international ring test was organised by BAM, FH Giessen-Friedberg and ECT GmbH. The background, organisation, methods, results and recommendations are compiled in this book. An overview on the experiences made as well as a comparison of the ring test results with literature data published so far/

In total, 67 laboratories from 15 countries participated in the ring test. The legal background and its organisation is given. The tests were performed with three representative waste types: an ash from an incineration plant mainly contaminated with heavy metals, a soil containing high concentrations of organic contaminants (PAHs) and a preserved wood waste contaminated with copper and other heavy metals. Sample preparation (e.g. inter alia dried, sieved and homogenised including the preparation of eluates) and sample distribution as well as their chemical characterization are given along with information on the statistical evaluation of the data and results of reference tests performed with all test systems.