DIGEST 2006 - Sabita

The status quo on landfill sites:
Disposal of penetration grade
bitumen in South Africa
Dr Mannie Levin
Geohydrologist
Africon Engineering International (Pty) Ltd
In 2002 Sabita undertook
an evaluation study of the
classification and disposal
options for penetration grade
bitumen in South Africa.
Samples of penetration grade
bitumens from the four refineries
in South Africa, labelled, A to D,
were analysed and evaluated
according to the Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry’s
(DWAF) Minimum Requirements
for the Handling, Classification and
Disposal of Hazardous Waste, as
published in 1998. The objectives
were to classify the bitumens and
to determine the type of landfill
required for their disposal.
The approach in the Minimum
Requirements is essentially a Tier
1 or primary assessment of the
risk posed by the materials to the
environment, but the report
includes an assessment of some of
the Tier 2 or waste and site
specific risks.
The analyses undertaken included
a head or total analysis of each of
the samples for organic
components by gas chromatographic
and HPLC methods,
together with leaching of the
samples using the Toxicity
Characteristic Leaching Procedure
(TCLP) of the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). The
leach solutions were analysed for
a wide range of inorganic and
organic analytes.
Classification
The Minimum Requirements
demand a primary classification of
the cold bitumen according to
SABS Code 0228; the four
samples were non flammable, i.e.
the flash point is 61 0 C; corrosive,
i.e. the pH is >6 or