How to determine the class of hazardous waste

Waste can be not only household garbage, but also the remnants of industrial raw materials, by-products of any processes and even new substances that appeared during the chemical reaction. Many of them are so dangerous that they can destructively affect the environment and humans. To protect yourself from negative impact and correctly dispose of various waste, hazard classes were developed. What classes are and how to determine how dangerous garbage is?

Content

Hazard classes
How to define a class?
What entails class?

Hazard classes

In total, five degrees of danger have been developed, the numbers of which are assigned to any waste. The class number means how harmful the waste is for the natural environment and prescribes a certain technology for its disposal. The degree of danger is revealed to the class number the higher the class, the less dangerous.

Grade 1: extremely dangerous. This group includes waste that has a strong negative environmental impact. In simple language, such garbage destroys natural processes and restoration is impossible. For example, if you pour acid on the field, then the plants growing there will never recover.

Grade 2: High danger. Here the negative impact on the natural environment and a person is strong, but reversible. True, at least 30 years can take recovery.

Grade 3: moderate danger. The waste of this group has a harmful effect on the environment, but, when the source of pollution is eliminated, it can independently recover after 10 years and later.

Grade 4: low danger. Such garbage has a weak effect and nature can recover in three years.

Grade 5: nonhazardous. The operation of the waste of this class is so small that the environment does not suffer. For example, the simplest gray paper made of wood and does not have complex chemical components will simply rot in a short time and will not cause any harm to nature.

How to define a class?

The purpose of the hazard class is engaged in state specialists. They use two common methods: calculated and experimental. The first is used in cases when the composition of the waste is known in advance, as well as their total number.

The experimental method of determining the hazard class is based on the results of analyzes and research. During their conduct, the waste test is decomposed by adding bacteria, and the degree of negative effects on living microorganisms is evaluated. In addition, the composition of the waste is determined.

The data obtained is used to determine the class based on approved tables. They reduced classes based on the composition and amount of garbage. All values are variable and lie in certain ranges. If the results of studies of a particular batch of garbage correspond to some range, it is assigned the corresponding hazard class.

What entails class?

The presence of hazard classes imposes certain responsibilities on the “manufacturers” of garbage, as well as on utilizers. Waste of industrial enterprises, as a rule, belong to the category of “dangerous” and above. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate them in advance, determine the class and issue a passport of a dangerous waste.

Based on this passport, the disposal of substances or objects is carried out. Technologies are very different depending on the class. For example, cutting of threads from the sewing factory can simply be stored at an open training ground, and radioactive substances from the nuclear power plant must be disposed of in lead containers on special burial grounds.