Appendix B: Materials not covered by this guideline

Not recommended for inclusion because of its presence, due to natural factors, which would make it impractical to set a limit.

Cobalt

Not recommended for inclusion because the most potentially harmful aspects relate to the radioactivity of Cobalt 60, which is covered by the Radiation Protection Regulations 1982.

Dioxins

Testing for dioxins is not undertaken routinely and is expensive. It is more appropriate to consider the management of waste materials in which dioxin contamination may be suspected on an event-specific basis.

Formaldehyde

Not recommended as it commonly used in processed wood products, and is therefore present in any wastes that contain manufactured wood products. There are issues associated with the handling of some manufactured wood wastes (e.g. dust from sawdust), but these relate more to site management procedures. The groundwater pathway is not the limiting factor in this case.

Iron

Not recommended for inclusion because it may be present naturally at concentrations that may exceed limits as a result of its mobility in reducing environments.

Manganese

Not recommended for inclusion because it may be present naturally at concentrations that may exceed limits as a result of its mobility in reducing environments.

Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (non-carcinogenic)

Napthalene, which has the lowest log Koc (is the most mobile), is considered to be the risk driver for non-carcinogenic PAHs. When considering material contaminated by PAHs for landfill disposal, TCLP/screening criteria for naphthalene and total concentration criteria for benzo(a)pyrene should be used to determine suitability for disposal, because these are likely to be the limiting contaminants for non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic PAHs respectively.

PCB

Waste materials containing PCB should not be disposed of to landfill in New Zealand.

Sodium

Not recommended for inclusion because of its presence, due to natural factors, in a high number of wastes and high leachate concentrations, which would make it impractical to set a limit.

Thallium

Not recommended for inclusion because it is not used widely enough to warrant inclusion. In addition, there is insufficient data for thallium.

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)

Where waste contains elevated levels of TPH (assessed with reference to the Ministry for the Environment's Oil Guidelines, MfE 1999), suitability for disposal should be assessed using BTEX and/or PAH analysis (covered by specific analysis or Volatile Organic Carbon (VOC)/Semi-volatile Organic Carbon (SVOC) analysis respectively). See note regarding PAH analysis.

Uranium

Not recommended for inclusion as it is not used widely enough to warrant inclusion and the most potentially harmful aspects relate to radioactivity. Covered by the Radiation Protection Regulations 1982.