ESTONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 2009

9.3. Hazardous waste
generation and handling
Great quantities of hazardous waste are generated in
the production of oil shale energy and oil. Over 95% of all
hazardous waste is generated by production of oil shale
energy and shale oil (figure 9.4). This is also reflected by
the share of hazardous waste out of total waste generated.
In years past, the percentage of hazardous waste
has exceeded 50% of all waste generated. Thanks to some
improvement in production efficiency, this percentage
has consistently dropped, the exception being 2007,
when energy and shale oil production grew abruptly,
also affecting the quantities of waste and the ratio of
hazardous waste to non-hazardous waste.
The amount of other hazardous waste generated has
been more or less stable, and per capita it is comparable
to generation of hazardous waste in other EU member
countries.
The moderate decrease in hazardous waste that took
place in 2005–2006 was due to the fact that Kunda
Nordic Tsement AS did not declare clinker dust that
was recovered in the agriculture sector for use as lime
fertilizer (44,000 and 43,000 tonnes respectively); this
had a noteworthy impact on the overall balance.
After oil shale waste, the primary hazardous waste
generated in 2007 was as follows: clinker dust (60,000 t);
various waste containing petroleum products and oil,
including storage tank waste and bilge water (57,000 t);
soil contaminated by hazardous materials (19,000 t);
asbestos waste primarily categorized as construction waste
including roofing material Eternit containing asbestos
(3,600 t); end-of-life vehicles containing hazardous
liquids (5,400 t); acid waste (3,700 t); slag generated by
recycling of lead batteries (1,200 t); hazardous waste of
household origin (2,700 t) etc.
The relative proportions of solid waste generated by
shale oil production has declined over the years (except
for 2007); this is due to optimized use of oil shale.
10
hazardous waste generation
of which other hazardous waste
of which hazardous oil shale waste
share of hazardous waste in total waste generated, %
8
6
51%
48%
44%
41%
41%
38% 34%
41%
4
millions of tonnes
2
0
5.97
5.95
0.02
6.21
6.04
0.17
6.40
6.17
0.23
7.54
7.36
0.18
7.24
7.07
0.17
7.02
6.86
0.16
6.76
6.64
0.13
8.62
8.40
0.21
2000
2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006
2007
Figure 9.4. Generation of hazardous waste in 2000–2007. Data: EEIC.
Table 9.1. Dependence of solid waste generated in production of shale oil and oil shale energy on production
volumes. Data: EEIC.
Solid waste
per tonne of shale oil, t
Oil shale ash per TJ of energy
generated, t/TJ
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
3.9 3.9 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.2
46.3 48.1 47.9 48.3 44.5 42.9 47.4
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