Recently at a seminar on environmental protection technologies, Dr. Guoliang Liu from the Division of Solid Waste and Chemicals Management (former MEPSCC) expressed that the Division is in the development of the Technical Requirements of Glassification of Solid Waste. When the technical standard is finished and effective, some waste will no longer be defined as hazardous waste after it is melted and glassified.
In the current version of Inventory of Hazardous Waste, the non-glassified material generated in the hyper thermal and melting process of hazardous waste is defined as hazardous waste and the waste code is 772-004-18. However, currently there’s no technical definition for the glassified materials. Due to the lack of relevant standards and the uncertainty of the identification of hazardous waste for the incineration residue, the hyper thermal melting method is rarely used in the treatment of hazardous waste.
According to some test report of the National Research Center for Environmental Analysis and Measurement, the extraction toxicity results of some glassified residue generated in hazardous waste treatment facilities were much lower than the concentration limit specified in the Identification standards for hazardous wastes - Identification for extraction toxicity (GB 5085.3-2007). So the hyper thermal melting could be a promising method in the treatment of hazardous waste. The technical standard in preparation will give specific standards on the product from the glassification of normal solid waste and hazardous waste and provide technical methods for the identification of the environmental stability of the glassified products. Those products that meet certain criteria would be removed from the range of hazardous waste and enjoy more loose compliance obligations.
