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COMMENTS INVITED BY PARTIES AND OTHERS BY 31 SEPTEMBER 2002 SECRETARIAT OF THE BASEL CONVENTION
ON THE CONTROL OF TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENTS OF HAZARDOUS WASTES AND THEIR DISPOSAL
15, chemin des Anémones, 1219 Châtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland
Tel: [41 22] 917 8218 Fax: [41 22] 797 3454 Email:
sbc@unep.ch
Web: www.basel.int




TRANSMITTAL NOTE FROM THE SECRETARIAT



Draft technical guidelines on the environmentally sound
recycling/reclamation of metals and metal compounds


1. The Technical Working Group at its twentieth session (23-24 May 2002) considered the
revised technical guidelines on the environmentally sound recycling/reclamation of metals and
metal compounds and invited experts to provide further comments to Australia (Mr. Geoff
Thompson (
geoff.thompson@ea.gov.au
)) with copy to the secretariat (
pierre.portas@unep.ch
) by
30 September 2002.



COMMENTS INVITED BY PARTIES AND OTHERS
BY 31 SEPTEMBER 2002



2. In particular, comments on the following specific topics are invited:

toxicity and other hazards
measures currently being taken to reduce or phase out the use of hazardous
metals
dioxins
life-cycle analysis and social issues
waste prevention and cleaner production
examples of specific methods for recovering metals
environmental monitoring

3. The copy posted on the web page has been edited and consolidated by Australia further
to the comments made at the twentieth session of the Technical Working Group.




Secretariat of the Basel Convention
7 June 2002 -
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TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND
RECYCLING/RECLAMATION OF METALS AND METAL COMPOUNDS
CONTROLLED UNDER THE BASEL CONVENTION -
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Table of Contents
FOREWORD ...........................................................................................................3

S
COPE OF THE GUIDELINE
:
METALS
..........................................................................3
S
COPE OF THE GUIDELINES
:
PROCESSES
....................................................................4
S
COPE OF THE GUIDELINE
:
TOPICS
............................................................................6
SOURCES AND USE OF SECONDARY ANNEX I METALS.............................6

A
NTIMONY
..............................................................................................................7
A
RSENIC
.................................................................................................................8
B
ERYLLIUM
.............................................................................................................8
C
ADMIUM
...............................................................................................................9
C
HROMIUM
.............................................................................................................9
C
OPPER COMPOUNDS
............................................................................................. 10
L
EAD
.................................................................................................................... 11
M
ERCURY
............................................................................................................. 12
S
ELENIUM
............................................................................................................. 13
T
ELLURIUM
........................................................................................................... 13
T
HALLIUM
............................................................................................................. 13
Z
INC
..................................................................................................................... 13
SUITABILITY OF WASTE METALS FOR RECOVERY AND
RECLAMATION...................................................................................................14

ESTABLISHING A RECYCLING OR RECOVERY FACILITY......................19

ESTABLISHING A RECLAMATION FACILITY .............................................21

ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND RECLAMATION FACILITIES....................22

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS...............................25

W
ASTES AND
R
ESIDUES
......................................................................................... 25
C
OLLECTION
S
YSTEMS
.......................................................................................... 26
T
RANSPORT AND
S
TORAGE
.................................................................................... 27
E
MERGENCY
R
ESPONSE
......................................................................................... 27
E
NVIRONMENTALLY
S
OUND
M
ANAGEMENT
........................................................... 28
E
NVIRONMENTAL
M
ANAGEMENT
S
YSTEMS
............................................................ 28
ASSESSMENT OF PREDICTED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ..................29

WASTE PREVENTION AND CLEANER PRODUCTION................................30

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND THEIR CONTROL .......31

M
ONITORING
......................................................................................................... 33
SHUT-DOWN OF METALS RECLAMATION FACILITIES ...........................36

GLOSSARY OF TERMS ......................................................................................38

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................................................40

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FOREWORD
1. These technical guidelines are principally intended to provide guidance to
countries who are building their capacity to manage waste in an environmentally
sound and efficient way, in their development of procedures or strategies for the
recycling of metals and metal compounds, and to encourage further recycling of
metals in an environmentally sound manner. Some waste will contain metals and
metal compounds in forms and amounts sufficient to consider recycling and
reclamation in preference to waste disposal, and such recycling and reclamation is
to be preferred.
Scope of the guideline: metals
2. These guidelines focus mainly on the recycling and reclamation of metals and
metal compounds that are listed in Annex I to the Basel Convention as categories
of wastes to be controlled. These categories include the following metals and
their compounds: antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd),
lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te) and thallium (Tl). They
also include compounds (but not the metals) of copper, zinc and hexavalent
chromium. These metals and metal compounds may be referred to as Annex I
metals and metal compounds or, more simply, as Annex I metals. Materials
that contain them are controlled under the Basel Convention if they fall within the
Conventions definition of waste, unless they do not possess any of the hazardous
characteristics listed in Annex III to the Convention.
3. To keep these guidelines to a manageable size, they do not focus directly on
ferrous metals (iron and steel) or precious metals (gold, iridium, osmium,
palladium, platinum, rhenium and ruthenium, silver). Wastes containing ferrous
or precious metals are frequently recycled but are not controlled under the Basel
Convention unless they also contain Annex I material in concentrations sufficient
to exhibit one or more of the hazardous characteristics listed in Annex III. There
are circumstances where materials that contain ferrous or precious metals also
contain Annex I material and these circumstances are dealt with in this guidelines.
4. Much of what is discussed here regarding recovery, recycling, and reclamation
applies to all common nonferrous metalswhether listed in Annex I to the Basel
Convention or not. However, special attention is paid to Annex I , or Y-list,
metals. It will be pointed out that the prime forms for recycling are metals and
their alloys and few compounds or substances in which these metals or their
compounds are present. Compounds by themselves are, as opposed say to
pollution control residues, are products and not destined for the waste stream. The
compounds that are commonly recycled arise as by-products of metals use, such
as galvanising, or metals production, such as pollution control dusts or sludge.
5. Other possible relevant Y-List entries include Y5 wastes from the manufacture,
formulation and use of wood preserving chemicals (e.g., cupric-arsenates or
similar metallic formulations with arsenic); Y7 wastes from heat treatment and
tempering operations containing cyanides, Y14 waste chemical substances arising
from research and development or teaching activities, which are not identified
and/or are new and whose effects on man and/or the environment are not known;
Y17 wastes resulting from the surface treatment of metals and plastics (e.g., from
electroplating). Note that Y16, wastes from production, formulation and use of -
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