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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS I N HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT John B u t l i n

John A B u t l i n L td. A l t r incham, Cheshire, Un i ted Kingdom

ABSTRACT

The governments o f i n d i v i d u a 7 European c o u n t r i e s , as we 1 1 as t h e European Commission, have i n c r e a s i n g l y sponsored t h e development o f " technologies propres" , o r " c lean techno log ies " , as a t o o l i n hazardous waste management. A rev iew w i 1 1 be presented o f important developments i n t h i s area i n the meta 1 f i n i s h ing i n d u s t r i e s , examining the i n f l u e n c e d i f f e r e n c e s i n r e g u l a t i o n s have p layed i n t h e techno log ies which have evolved. The quest ion of resource recovery f rom metal f i n i s h i n g wastes w i l l a l s o be addressed. I t i s be l i eved t h a t c e r t a i n f a c i l i t i e s i n Europe a r e unique i n be ing a b l e t o o f f e r a recovery a l t e r n a t i v e even f o r some o f t h e lower grade res idues . The c u r r e n t l i m i t s t o resource recovery a r e a l s o discussed.

I n t r o d u c t i o n I n a p rev ious paper, g iven t o t h e AESF summer conference i n Los Angeles, Summer, 1989, I discussed some genera l , i f r a t h e r s t a r t l i n g , d i f f e r e n c e s i n the management o f hazardous wastes between va r ious coun t r i es i n Europe and the Un i ted Sta tes , w i t h d i f f e r e n c e s i n hazardous waste management r e g u l a t i o n s being r e f l e c t e d , a t l e a s t t o some e x t e n t , i n waste management op t i ons and cos ts .

I n t h i s paper, I want t o go f u r t h e r than I d i d i n t h e prev ious one, examining the developments which have taken p lace both i n encouraging t h e adopt ion o f c lean technologies i n the metal p l a t i n g and sur face f i n i s h i n g i n d u s t r i e s , and a l s o t o examine two issues which have emerged as a r e s u l t o f imposing more s t r i n g e n t regu la t i ons f o r t h e management o f t h e wastes generated by these i n d u s t r i e s . One r e l a t e s t o a smal l number o f f a c i l i t i e s which a re developing i n Europe which t r e a t low-value wastes t o increase the conta ined metal con ten t t o make them more a t t r a c t i v e t o smel ters and thereby t o enhance t h e r a t e o f r e c y c l i n g o f these m a t e r i a l s and concur ren t l y reduce the volume of hazardous wastes going t o u l t i m a t e d i sposa l . The second, r e l a t e d , i ssue concerns at tempts which are c u r r e n t i n a number o f coun t r i es t o h inder the expor t o f m a t e r i a l s c l a s s i f i e d as hazardous wastes, regard less o f whether they are des t ined f o r f i n a l d i sposa l o r f o r r e c y c l i n g . These are discussed towards t h e end o f t h e paper.

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l Clean Technology I n i t i a t i v e s A t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e v e l i n Europe t h e r e have been two major i n i t i a t i v e s t o encourage the development o f c lean techno log ies . The f i r s t , promoted by t h e Un i ted Nat ions Economic Commission f o r Europe ( E C E ) , was i n i t i a t e d i n 1973, and was strengthened i n 1979 w i t h a D e c l a r a t i o n on Low and Non-Waste Technology and R e - u t i l i s a t i o n and Recyc l ing o f Wastes. The o t h e r i s t h e Clean Technology i n i t i a t i v e o f t h e Commission o f t he European Economic Commmunity ( E E C ) . We w i l l d i cuss each i n t u r n .

The ECE Compendium on Low and Non-waste Technology As a complement t o i t s Dec la ra t i on , t h e ECE pub l i shed a compendium on Low and Non-Waste Technology, c o n s i s t i n g o f t echno log ica l processes "considered t o be w i t h i n t h e t h e conceptual framework o f low- and non-waste technology and which a r e i n c u r r e n t usage . . . " [ 1 1 .

The purpose o f t h e compendium i s n o t t o f i nance research and development i n c lean techno log ies i n metal p l a t i n g and su r face f i n i s h i n g , b u t r a t h e r t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e d isseminat ion o f i n f o r m a t i o n on c lean techno log ies developed i n ECE Member S ta tes .

ECE d e f i n e s low and non-waste technology as " t h e p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n o f knowledge, methods and means so as t o p rov ide , w i t h i n t h e needs o f man, t h e most r a t i o n a l use o f n a t u r a l rsources and energy t o p r o t e c t t h e environment". O f p a r t i c u l a r importance i n t h e c lean technology i n i t i a t i v e i s t h e d i s t i c t i o n t h a t i s made i n the i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e Compendium between "wastes" and res idues. I t s t a t e s :

" I n t h e absence of p e r f e c t l y e f f i c i e n t processes i n which a l l i n p u t s a re f u l l y converted i n t o des i red produc ts , a l l p roduc t i on processes w i l l generate a c e r t a i n amount o f " r e s i d u a l " products . The amount o f such r e s i d u a l s generated by any p a r t i c u l a r p roduc t i on process depends p r i m a r i l y on t h e t e c h n i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e process i n ques t ion . Depending upon t h e compostion o f t h e r e s i d u a l products and t h e e x i s t i n g p r i c e s o f i n p u t s , p a r t ( o r a l l ) o f these r e s i d u a l s can sometimes be be recovered and r e - u t i l i s e d . The remainder, which a t t h e e x i s t i n g s e t o f p r i c e s has no economic va lue, i s de f i ned as "waste" . If recovery and r e - u t i 1 i s a t i o n o f m a t e r i a l s conta ined i n t h e r e s i d u a l s i s n o t t e c h n i c a l l y f e a s j b l e , i t fo,?lows t h a t i t i s n o t economical ly

e a s i b l e e i t h e r [ l , p.21.

We w i l l have reason t o address t h i s ques t ion below. However, i n t h e meanwhile we w i l l examine some o f t he techno log ies which have been pub l ished i n t h e Compendium.

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Clean Technologies C i t e d i n t h e ComDendium A l a r g e number o f c lean techno log ies have been c i t e d i n t h e Compendium. Some o f them are discussed b r i e f l y below.

i. E l e c t r o l y s i s o f baths o f spent p i c k l i n g l i q u o r s [ 2 3 . This s imple technique f o r genera t ing p i c k l i n g l i q u o r baths has been i n use i n France f o r about 8 years. I t c o n s i s t s o f adding an e l e c t r o l y t i c c i r c u i t t o a c l a s s i c a l p i c k l i n g tank. A pump c i r c u l a t e s t h e l i q u i d f rom the ba th t o an e l e c t r o l y t i c c e l l ( l e a d anodes, copper cathodes). The e l e c t r o l y s i s decomposes t h e copper su lphate ; t h e s u l p h u r i c a c i d i s regenerated and m e t a l l i c copper i s deposi ted a t t he cathode. The e l e c t r o l y s e d l i q u o r f rom t h e ba th i s re tu rned t o t h e p i c k l i n g bath; t h e f l o w r a t e o f t h e pump i s chosen t o ma in ta in a concen t ra t i on o f copper of t he o rde r o f 1Og/1. When t h e cathodes are exhausted they a re sent t o a smel te r t o recover t h e copper. The d i f f e r e n t r i n s e waters a re a l s o p a r t i a l l y recyc led and re tu rned t o t h e p i c k l i n g bath, h e l p i n g t o keep a low concen t ra t i on o f copper i n t h e p i c k l i n g bath.

The p o l l u t a n t s produced w i t h t h i s system are cons iderab ly l e s s than those generated i n t h e " c l a s s i c a l " system, where t h e spent p i c k l i n g l i q u o r s and r i n s e water i s sent t o a s p e c i a l hazardous waste t rea tment cen t re where t h e copper i s p r e c i p i t a t e d as copper hydrox ide. For each tonne o f copper t r e a t e d , t he spent p i c k l i n g l i q u o r s and r i n s e waters o n l y c o n t a i n 409 o f copper su lphate and 50g o f f r e e s u l p h u r i c ac id .

ii. Copper P l a t i n g and t h e Recovery o f Copper by E l e c t r o d i a l y s i s [ 3 ] . Copper p l a t i n g i s c l a s s i c a l l y done by e l e c t r o l y s i s , f o l l owed by a r i n s i n g s tage, o f t e n w i t h heavy dragout o f p l a t i n g s o l u t i o n . The r i n s e waters, h e a v i l y contaminated w i t h copper, are t y p i c a l l y sent t o a t rea tment cen t re where they are t r e a t e d by i o n exchange.

The i n t o d u c t i o n o f an e l e c t r o d i a l y t i c c e l l a l l ows the p o s s s i b i l t y o f t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e copper ions f rom the d i l u t e c i r c u i t t o the concentrated c i r c u i t a f t e r t h e f i r s t r i n s e . They a re then re tu rned by t h e concentrated c i r c u i t t o t h e p l a t i n g bath. The d i l u t e c i r c u i t , w i t h t h e copper ions removed, i s re tu rned t o t h e r i n s i n g stage. As a r e s u l t o f i n t r o d u c i n g t h i s e l e c t r o d i a l y s i s stage, on l y "second o r d e r " - e f f l u e n t s need t o be sen t t o t h e i o n exchange u n i t . The q u a n t i t y o f hydrox ide sludge generated us ing e l e c t r o d i a l y s i s i s t e n t imes l e s s than the q u a n t i t y ob ta ined from t reatment o f t he r i n s e water us ing thhe ~

c l a s s i c a l approach. The f a c t o r y t o which t h i s example a p p l i e s loses o n l y 340 kg o f copper and 3 7 5 kg o f sodium cyanide per year i n t h e r i n s e waters.

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iii. Recyc l ing o f Metal i n t h e E l e c t r o l a t i n g I n d u s t r y us ing t h e Cheme'lec System [ 4 ] . One o f t h e problems o f us ing e l e c t r o l y s i s t o remove meta ls f rom e l e c t r o p l a t i n g e f f l u e n t s i s t h e slowness o f t h e removal o f ions f rom d i l u t e s o l u t i o n s . Whi le t h e speed o f removal may be improved by a g i t a t i o n o r "enhanced mass t r a n s f e r " , these, i n t u r n , may have t h e f a u l t e i t h e r o f be ing complex mechanica l ly , o r r e q u i r e a h i g h energy i n p u t . The "Chemelec" c e l l i s designed t o enhance the r a t e o f mass t r a n s f e r c o s t e f f e c t i v e l y .

The c e l l achieves improved mass t r a n s f e r compared w i t h s imple p a r a l l e l p l a t e c e l l s . F igure 1 shows t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e c e l l . Expanded metal mesh e lec t rodes a r e immersed i n a bed o f 0.5" g lass beads. The bed i s f l u i d i s e d by pumping t h e waste water s o l u t i o n upwards through i t .

"The g lass beads impinge on t h e e lec t rodes , c o n t i n u a l l y renewing t h e depleted boundary l a y e r ad jacent t o them and p r o v i d i n g an enhanced r a t e o f d e p o s i t i o n " [ 4 , p.31.

The l a r g e r the beads the b e t t e r t he e f f i c i e n c y o f mass t r a n s f e r , a l though t h e r e i s a t r a d e o f f , as t h e l a r g e r t h e beads, t h e g rea te r t he pumping power requ i red t o f l u i d i s e t h e bed. The combinat ion o f mesh e lec t rodes and an i n e r t f l u i d i s e d bed pe rm i t s reasonable r a t e s o f d e p o s i t i o n even t o concen t ra t i ons o f 100 mg/ l , o r l ess . The beads are a l s o repo r ted t o improve depos i t q u a l i t y .

The depos i t s ob ta ined a re o f s u f f i c i e n t q u a l i t y t o be re tu rned d i r e c t l y t o t h e p l a t i n g ba th as d i sso l ved anode m a t e r i a l . Meta ls which are approp r ia te f o r t reatment i n t h i s way inc lude : go ld , s i l v e r , c o b a l t , n i c k e l , cadmium, copper and z i n c . I t i s n o t s u i t a b l e f o r chromium recovery.

The range o f concent ra t ions a t which t h i s u n i t works bes t i s between l g / l - 100mg/l. The system i s n o t s u i t a b l e f o r t r e a t i n g l a r g e volumes o f d i l u t e r insewater .

Other systems which have been inc luded i n t h e UNECE Compendium i n c l u d e i o n exchange systems, w i t h the recovery o f t h e meta ls en t ra ined i n t h e r e s i n s .

Eva lua t i on o f t h e UNECE ComDendium The UNECE Compendium represents one o f t he most comprehensive catalogues o f Low and Non-waste Technology which has been compiled. I t i s a genuine at tempt t o f a c i l t a t e t h e t r a n s f e r o f technology i n t h i s f i e l d by p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . The da ta i s presented i n a standard form [ o n l y a smal l amount o f t h e i n fo rma t ion a v a i l a b l e i s

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presented here] and represents processes which have been app l i ed commercial ly, even though sometimes f u r t h e r development work i s requ i red when the i n fo rma t ion i s submi t ted t o t h e S e c r e t a r i a t f o r i n c l u s i o n .

The main l i m i t a t i o n s o f t he Compendium of Low and Non-waste Technology a re t h a t i t i s completely r e a c t i v e , summarising and n o t i n i t i a t i v e , and experiences problems i n ensur ing t h a t t h e i n fo rma t ion i s disseminated and d i s t r i b u t e d t o those t o whom i t i s o f most value, t h a t i s t he environmental managers i n i n d u s t r y . The f i r s t l i m i t a t i o n i s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y severe: i t i s s imply w i t h i n t h e terms of re fe rence o f t h e Compendium. [ I n a d d i t i o n , UNECE has no mechanism by which i t can take any i n i t i a t i v e which invo lves , f o r example, t he award o f f i n a n c i a l i n c e n t i v e s ] . The l i m i t s o f t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t he i n fo rma t ion i n t h e Compendium i s more ser ious , b u t i s n o t unique t o the Compendium nor t o UNECE. I t i s a common f a u l t o f t he a c t i v i t i e s o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l intergovernmental o rgan isa t i ons t h a t they o n l y reach a smal l number o f c e n t r a l government cognoscent i who are a c t i v e l y invo lved w i t h t h e work.

[One except ion t o t h i s i s the Un i ted Nat ions Environment Programme's Technica l Guide on t h e Metal F i n i s h i n g I n d u s t r y [5], developed by t h e UNEP's I n d u s t r y and Environment O f f i c e . Th is has been developed i n c lose c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h the i n d u s t r y , and w i l l be d i s t r i b u t e d w ide ly throughout t h e wor ld , b u t p a r t i c u l a r l y i n develop ing c o u n t r i e s ] .

Clean Technologies and the European Communities The European Economic Community i s a group o f 12 coun t r i es (Belgium, Denmark, France, t h e German Federal Republ ic, Greece, I r e l a n d , I t a l y , Luxemburg, t he Nether lands, Por tuga l , Spain, and t h e Un i ted Kingdom). These coun t r i es a re sovere ign and independent, b u t through the EEC they a c t communally i n a wide range o f economic, p o l i t i c a l and techn ica l f i e l d s . One o f t he areas i n which the 1 2 c o u n t r i e s a c t together i s i n environmetal p o l i c y , w i t h the medium term s t r a t e g y being l a i d down i n a s e r i e s o f Environmental Programmes, t h e Four th Ac t ion Programme on t h e Environment c u r r e n t l y running from 1987-1992.

The framework f o r t he management o f a l l wastes i n t h e EEC was es tab l i shed i n a D i r e c t i v e issued by the Community i n 1 9 7 5 . Th i s D i r e c t i v e on Waste [ 6 1 i s a 'framework' d i r e c t i v e de f i nes "waste ' , ' d i s p o s a l ' , and ob l i ged Member S ta tes t o take t h e necessary measures t o ensure t h a t waste i s disposed o f w i thou t environmental damage. I t a l s o subscr ibed t o t h e " P o l l u t e r Pays P r i n c i p l e " f o r waste management. Under the Second Ac t ion Programme f o r the

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Environment, t h e management o f hazardous wastes was conf i rmed as an area f o r p r i o r i t y a t t e n t i o n by t h e Community. The D i r e c t i v e on Toxic and Dangerous Wastes was passed i n 1 9 7 7 ['I]. Under t h i s d i r e c t i v e , a common f i e l d of a c t i o n was de f i ned f o r a l l Member S ta tes w i t h i n which r u l e s on t o x i c and dangerous waste d isposa l were t o be app l i ed . The meaning o f t h e terms " t o x i c " and "dangerous" a re a l s o de f ined, and Member S ta tes o b l i g e d t o ensure t h a t resource o r energy recovery f rom these wastes was encouraged.

The development o f c lean technology has been supported s ince t h e f i r s t research programme under t h e F i r s t Ac t i on Programme on t h e Environment. The Community has g iven funds f o r t h e development o f c lean techno log ies , bo th a t t he research and t h e p i l o t p r o j e c t stages. Among t h e metal f i n i s h i n g i n d u s t r y waste management techno log ies which have been developed i n t h e Community a re those discussed below. [These are a l l c i t e d i n 9 , t he main source o f i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h i s s e c t i o n ] .

i. Cadmium P l a t i n g : Aerospace Components. Th is process i nvo l ved one semi-automatic p l a t i n g l i n e designed t o degrease unp la ted aerospace components w i t h so l ven ts , heat , p l a t e , r i n s e and d ry w i t h heat . F i r s t - s t a g e r i n s e waters a re t r e a t e d by c a t i o n and anion exchange u n i t s be fore r e c y c l i n g . The i o n exchange r e s i n s a re regenerated i n two stages:

- t h e f i r s t , metal r i c h , stream from regenera t ion o f t h e i o n exchange columns was taken t o an o f f - s i t e t rea tment p l a n t where the cadmium was p r e c i p i t a t e d o u t ;

- t h e second stream, w i t h a lower metal concen t ra t i on , was recyc led t o the r i n s i n g stage.

The purpose o f i n s t a l l i n g i o n exchange u n i t s a t t he p l a n t was t o achieve savings i n water consumption. Bent ley and Pearce [ l o ] have emphasised the need f o r water conservat ion i n t h e metal f i n i s h i n g i n d u s t r i e s , and t h i s i s an example o f water conserva t ion r a t h e r than m a t e r i a l s conservat ion o r problems w i t h waste management m o t i v a t i n g t h e adopt ion o f a c lean technology.

Th is type o f p l a n t t y p i f i e s e l e c t r o p l a t i n g f i r m s whose prime customer requirement i s h i g h q u a l i t y f i n i s h , and whose main c o n s t r a i n t i s e i t h e r water charges or e f f l u e n t d isposa l charges. Hence, t h e reason f o r t r e a t i n g r i n s e waters i s e i t h e r t o keep down t o t a l water usage (and t h e r e f o r e water charges) o r e f f l u e n t d isposa l charges. I n t h i s case, t h e company was n o t concerned w i t h m a t e r i a l s

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recovery, as :

" . . . t h e cadmium-plated f i n i s h has t o be of t he h i g h e s t q u a l i t y p o s s i b l e and t h e r e e x i s t s t h e idea t h a t r e c y c l i n g o f metal s o l u t i o n s t o t h e p l a t i n g tank would r e s u l t i n contaminat ion and l o s s i n i n t e g r i t y o f t h e p l a t e d f i n i s h " [ 8 , p.491.

I t would, however, be p o s s i b l e t o p revent contaminat ion o f t he dragout s o l u t i o n s and then r e c y c l e concentrated metal s o l u t i o n s us ing e i t h e r evapora t ive o r e l e c t r o l y t i c approaches.

ii. Chromium, Copper and N i c k e l P l a t i n g . A company producing 3,000 t e a k e t t l e s and 60,000 e l e c t r i c t e a k e t t l e elements per week p l a t e s each u n i t w i t h undercoats o f copper and n i c k e l be fore g i v i n g a f i n a l p l a t i n g o f chromium. Dragout and t h e evapora t ive losses from the p l a t i n g baths i s r e l a t i v e l y h igh .

I n an at tempt t o reduce metal load ing i n p l a n t e f f l u e n t and t o reduce metal loss, s t a t i c r i n s e tanks were i n s t a l l e d a f t e r each p l a t i n g tanks, and "Chemelec" c e l l s (see above) were connected t o t h e n i c k e l and copper s t a t i c r i n s e tanks. Each week sees t h e recovery o f approximately 3 kg. o f copper and 35kg. o f n i c k e l a re recovered each week. These meta ls a re then recyc led as anodes i n t h e p l a t i n g tanks. Chromium s o l u t i o n f rom t h e s t a t i c r i n s e tank i s c i r c u l a t e d through a counter -cur ren t evaporator . The concent ra te i s then passed through an e l e c t r o d i a l y s i s u n i t and recyc led t o t h e p l a t i n g tank a t t h e r a t e o f 1001. per week. The condensed excess water i s f ed t o t h e r i n s e tank. I t i s est imated t h a t t h e payback p e r i o d f o r t h e process m o d i f i c a t i o n i s two years. O f t h e savings achieved, 40 per cent a re a t t r i b u t a b l e t o savings i n metal s o l u t i o n s , 52 per cent t o savings i n chemicals, and t h e balance ( 8 % ) a t t r i b u t a b l e t o savings i n e f f l u e n t d ischarge fees and sludge d isposa l cos ts .

The au thors emphasise t h a t t h e a d d i t i o n o f e l e c t r o l y t i c c e l l s , w h i l s t o f i n t e r e s t i n t h e t reatment o f wastewater streams, a re n o t always s u f f i c i e n t by themselves t o achieve the t h e necessary reduc t i ons i n heavy metals. M o d i f i c a t i o n s t o r i n s i n g arrangements a re a l s o requ i red i n many insstances. I t i s i n these ins tances the use o f i o n exchange r e s i n s f o r t he removal and concen t ra t i on o f heavy metal contaminants can be counsel led, both f o r t h e removal and concen t ra t i on o f contaminat ing heavy meta ls , and t o produce recyc led water o f s u f f i c i e n t q u a l i t y f o r re-use i n r i n s i n g . A f u r t h e r s t e p , a l though n o t a p p l i e d i n the ins tance discussed above, i s t o recover the metals f rom t h e

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metal r i c h e l u a t e r e s u l t i n g f rom i o n exchange r e s i n regenera t ion by e l e c t r o l y t i c techniques.

The EEC Clean Technology I n i t i a t i v e The EEC Clean Technology i n i t i a t i v e i s d i f f e r e n t f rom t h e UNECE Compendium i n severa l ways, most no tab ly because i t prov ides f i nance f o r research and development. The monies expended are n o t immediately t o hand, nor a re they a l l d isbursed f o r t h e development o f c lean techno log ies i n t h e e l e c t r o p l a t i n g and sur face f i n i s h i n g i n d u s t r y . The i n i t i a t i v e i s , however, con t i nu ing , w i t h c a l l s f o r proposals f o r j o i n t EEC/Member S t a t e / i n d u s t r y suppor t hav ing been issued e a r l i e r t h i s year. The l i m i t a t i o n s i n t h e system a re s i m i l a r , i n a c e r t a i n sense, t o t h e l i m i t a t i o n s on t h e va lue o f t h e UNECE Compendium. The r e s u l t s o f these p r o j e c t s , f inanced i n p a r t by Member S ta tes and t h e Community, need t o be disseminated w ide ly i n o rder f o r t h e b e n e f i t r e s u l t i n g f rom t h e p r o j e c t s t o be spread as w ide ly as poss ib le . I n f a c t , t he r e s u l t s a re disseminated by the Commission, b u t i t can s t i l l prove ext remely d i f f i c u l t t o o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n on any o f these p r o j e c t s , un less t h e seeker i s p a r t i c u l a r l y f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e ex tens i ve documentation o f t h e Commission. I t i s un fo r tuna te t h a t t h e Commission does n o t suppor t , i n t he same way t h a t t h e EPA i t s e l f suppor ts , a conference such as t h i s on a r e g u l a r bas i s i n o rder t o a c t as a broadcast ing medium f o r improvements i n p o l l u t i o n c o n t r o l technology (and o t h e r forms o f process o r technology improvement) i n t h e i n d u s t r y .

" O f Regulat ions, Standards, and Such Things" I n my paper t o t h e summer, 1988, meeting I discussed t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n cos ts f o r hazardous waste d isposa l i n t h e USA compared w i t h Europe. Th is i ssue has r a i s e d i t s e l f again i n t h i s paper: i n t h e d iscuss ion on the cadmium-plat ing o f aerospace components, i t was noted t h a t t h e c o s t s o f waste d isposa l were n o t a major cons ide ra t i on i n dec id ing t o seek t o adopt c lean technology, o r low o r non-waste technology, i n some European c o u n t r i e s . For example, t o dispose o f metal bear ing hydrox ide sludges t o l a n d f i l l i n t h e Un i ted Kingdom cos ts aprox imate ly $15-20 per tonne. I understand t h a t t h i s i s some ten t imes l e s s than t h e cos ts per drum i n t he USA. There can be no doubt t h a t t h e US r e g u l a t i o n s are more s t r i c t than those c u r r e n t l y a p p l i e d i n some o f t h e Member S ta tes i n the European Community. I t cannot, however, e x p l a i n a 40 - fo ld d i f f e r e n c e i n d isposa l fees . Th is d i f f e r e n c e r e s u l t s i n p a r t f rom a shortage o f f a c i l i t i e s i n the USA which are p e r m i t t e d accord ing t o c u r r e n t r e g u l a t i o n s , and the g rea te r pressure exer ted by l o c a l a c t i o n groups t o prevent the es tab l i shment o f any hazardous waste management f a c i l i t y i n any l o c a l i t y i n t h e Un i ted Sta tes than i n , f o r example, t he

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Uni ted Kingdom. ( I t must be sa id , however, t h a t problems analogous t o those found i n t h e Un i ted Sta tes a re a l s o found i n o the r Member S ta tes of t h e EEC, Germany i n p a r t i c u l a r ) .

The c o n t r a s t s i n c o s t and i n f a c i l i t y a v a i l a b i l i t y have l e d t o an anomalous s i t u a t i o n a r i s i n g , whereby metal bear ing hydrox ide sludges are sent f rom the USA and o the r c o u n t r i e s t o the some c o u n t r i e s c o u n t r i e s i n t h e EEC, where these wastes e i t h e r go through s imple t rea tment ( d r y i n g o r b lend ing , f o r example) be fore being re tu rned t o t h e non- fer rous metal sme l t i ng i n d u s t r y f o r resource r e - u t i l i s a t i o n . A s t h e f a c i l i t i e s concerned a re f u l l y p e r m i t t e d under n a t i o n a l and EEC law, any f e a r s about t h e expor t o f such wastes f rom t h e USA can be t r e b l y assuaged, because t h e m a t e r i a l s a re going t o r e c y c l i n g , because t h e f a c i l i t i e s a re l oca ted i n an i n d u s t r i a l i s e d count ry , and because t h e f a c i l i t i e s a re pe rm i t ted t o undertake these a c t i v i t i e s accord ing t o norms respected by the Un i ted Sta tes .

The a v a i l a b i l i t y o f capac i t y such as t h a t discussed here i s l i k e l y t o become more impor tan t r a t h e r than l e s s impor tan t t o producers o f metal bear ing sludges i n t h e USA as d isposa l v i a t r a d i t i o n a l rou tes becomes more d i f f i c u l t , and u n t i l f a c i l i t i e s pe rm i t ted accord ing t o t h e most recent r e g u l a t i o n s come on stream. Those seeking t o ban a l l expor ts o f hazardous wastes f rom the USA would do w e l l t o consider whether o r n o t t he f o r e c l o s i n g o f t h e above o p t i o n s makes any environmental sense: by a l l means ensure t h a t t h e standards a p p l i e d by t h e count ry concerned a re acceptable c o u n t r i e s ) . The idea o f p rec lud ing a waste management o p t i o n which i s based on resource recovery and r e c y c l i n g appears t o be c o n t r a r y t o the s p i r i t and i n t e n t o f a l l hazardous waste management r e g u l a t i o n s i n a l l t h e i n d u s t r i a l i s e d c o u n t r i e s o f which I am aware, and any proposals t o t h i s end should, i n my op in ion , be considered i n t h i s con tex t .

Conclusions The e l e c t r o p l a t i n g and sur face f i n i s h i n g i n d u s t r y i s cha rac te r i sed by a wide d i s t r i b u t i o n o f company s i zes , f rom very smal l shops t o l a r g e companies i n the automobile, i n d u s t r i a l and defence i n d u s t r i e s . The f i n a n c i a l and t e c h n i c a l capac i t y t o i n t roduce "c lean" technologies v a r i e s between them, w i t h some o f t h e sma l les t "Mom and Pop" p l a t i n g shops o f t e n being on ly vaguely aware o f t he o b l i g a t i o n s imposed on them by regu la t i ons .

I t i s i n t h i s con tex t , I b e l i e v e , t h a t lessons can be learned bo th f rom the USA's exper ience, and from t h a t gained i n Europe, w i t h respec t t o f a c i l i t a t i n g the adopt ion

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o f low and non-waste technologies. A s I have noted above, t h e USA/AESF sponsored conferences represent an e x c e l l e n t v e h i c l e f o r d isseminat ing t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . I am aware t h a t t h e USEPA a l s o funds (a l though I do n o t know t o what e x t e n t ) research and development o f low and non-waste technology research and development.

The exper ience from Europe i s t h a t bo th Compendiums and demonstrat ion p r o j e c t s are u s e f u l , p r o v i d i n g t h a t t he exper iences gained can e a s i l y be shared by o the r people i n t h e i n d u s t r y . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f f a c i l i t i e s i n Europe t h a t can accept U S wastes and p r e t r e a t them f o r r e c y c l i n g i s p o t e n t i a l l y an impor tant , i f sma l l , augmentation o f capac i t y f o r t h e t reatment o f metal bear ing hazardous wastes f rom t h e e l e c t r o p l a t i n g and sur face f i n i s h i n g i n d u s t r y i n t h e U S A . I n the long term, s u f f i c i e n t domestic capac i t y w i l l evo lve; i n t h e medium term such capac i t y o f f e r s some comfor t t o hard pressed US hazardous waste producers. At tempts t o f o r e c l o s e access t o t h i s r o u t e a re a n t i t h e t i c a l t o t h e e n t i r e s p i r i t o f laws and r e g u l a t i o n s t o improve t h e standards app l i ed t o the management o f hazardous wastes.

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MESH ELECT

/ / / ELECTROLYTE

CHEMELEC CELL. Patent No. 1423369

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Compendium on Low and Non-waste Technology: I n t r o d u c t o r y Note by the S e c r e t a r i a t , UNECE, ENV/WP.2/5, Geneva, May 1981.

2 . "Cleaning Copper Pieces: Electrolysis o f Baths of Spent Pickling Liquors", UNECE Compendium on Low and Non-waste Technology, ENV/WP.2.5/Add.97, April 1983.

3 . "Copper P l a t i n g , Recovery of Copper by E l e c t r o d i a l y s i s " , UNECE Compendium o f l o w and Non-waste Technology, ENV/WP.2/5/Add.100.

4. "The 'Chemelec' Cell f o r Recycling of Metal in the Electroplating Industry", UNECE Compendium on Low and Non-waste Technology, ENV/WP.2/5/Add.lOl.

5. Industry and Environment O f f ice: Environmenta7 Aspects o f the Metal F i n i s h i n g I n d u s t r y : a Technical Guide, UNEP, Paris, 1988 (Doc. 0224M/FSB/FB/cc - 31 .5 .88 ) .

6. 75/442/EEC: O J L 194, 15.7.75.

7. 78/319/EEC: OJ L 84, 20.3.78.

8. Formulat ion o f a P i l o t P r o j e c t f o r t he D e t o x i f i c a t i o n of Sewage Sludge by I n t r o d u c t i o n of Clean Technologies, Consultants in Environmental Science Ltd. (for EEC) Brussels, December, 1985.

9. Bentley, J . and Pearce, A . S . : "Efficient Use o f Water in the Metal Finishing Industries", I.Chem. E . Symposium Ser ies No. 52, (undated).

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