CEN/TR 16376:2012

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2013
Karakterizacija odpadkov - Splošno navodilo za karakterizacijo odpadkov iz
industrije bogatenja mineralnih surovin
Characterization of waste - Overall guidance document for characterization of waste from
the extractive industries
Charakterisierung von Abfällen - Rahmenrichtlinie zur Charakterisierung von Abfällen der
mineralgewinnenden Industrie
Caractérisation des déchets - Document guide pour la caractérisation des déchets issus
des industries extractives
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 16376:2012
ICS:
13.030.01 Odpadki na splošno Wastes in general
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

TECHNICAL REPORT
CEN/TR 16376
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
October 2012
ICS 13.030.01
English Version
Characterization of waste - Overall guidance document for
characterization of waste from the extractive industries
Caractérisation des déchets - Document guide pour la Charakterisierung von Abfällen - Rahmenrichtlinie zur
caractérisation des déchets issus des industries extractives Charakterisierung von Abfällen der mineralgewinnenden
Industrie
This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 24 June 2012. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 292.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2012 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 16376:2012: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword . 5
Introduction . 6
1 Scope . 7
2 Principles and procedures . 7
2.1 Definition and role of waste characterization . 7
2.2 The waste characterization process at a glance . 7
2.3 Choice of test methods . 12
2.4 Health and safety . 14
2.5 Applications . 15
2.5.1 Development of waste management plans . 15
2.5.2 Waste facility classification . 15
2.5.3 Inert waste classification . 16
2.5.4 Prediction of discharge water quality . 16
2.5.5 Assessment of closed waste facilities . 17
2.5.6 Planning for monitoring . 18
3 Waste categories, potential environmental impacts and related characterization
methods . 18
3.1 General . 18
3.2 Characterization during the different phases of extractive operations . 18
3.3 Types of waste facilities . 20
3.4 Associated environmental aspects . 21
3.4.1 General . 21
3.4.2 Risk of dam / slope failure . 21
3.4.3 Risk of dusting and siltation . 24
3.4.4 Risk of contaminated drainage . 25
3.4.5 Risk of spontaneous combustion . 26
3.4.6 Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) . 26
4 Supporting information. 27
4.1 General . 27
4.2 Background information . 27
4.3 Geological background of deposit to be exploited . 28
4.3.1 General . 28
4.3.2 Surrounding geology . 28
4.3.3 Nature of deposit . 29
4.3.4 Mineral deposit . 29
4.3.5 Size and geometry . 29
4.3.6 Weathering stage of deposit . 30
4.4 The waste and its intended handling . 31
4.5 Baseline data for the site of disposal . 32
5 Characterization tools . 32
5.1 General . 32
5.2 Sampling . 33
5.3 Mineralogy . 33
5.3.1 General . 33
5.3.2 Analytical methods . 34
5.3.3 Texture . 35
5.4 Physical and hydraulic properties . 36
5.4.1 General . 36
5.4.2 Overview of types of geotechnical investigations . 36
5.4.3 Test methods for physical and hydraulic properties . 36
5.4.4 In situ investigations of physical and hydraulic properties of deposited waste . 37
5.5 Chemical composition . 38
5.5.1 General . 38
5.5.2 Digestion methods for inorganic substances . 38
5.5.3 Analysis of major, minor and trace elements . 38
5.5.4 Chemical speciation . 39
5.5.5 Sulfur (total, sulfate, and sulfide) . 39
5.6 Determination of acid generation potential . 39
5.6.1 General . 39
5.6.2 Paste pH . 39
5.6.3 Acid-base accounting . 39
5.6.4 Kinetic testing . 40
5.7 Leaching behaviour and leaching tests . 41
5.8 Field Investigations . 42
6 Evaluation and interpretation . 42
6.1 General . 42
6.2 Uncertainties – limitations . 43
6.3 Interpretation and evaluation of geotechnical data . 44
6.4 Mineralogy, chemistry, leaching and A/NRD evaluation . 44
6.4.1 General . 44
6.4.2 Mineralogy . 45
6.4.3 Chemistry . 46
6.4.4 Acid-base accounting . 47
6.4.5 Kinetic testing . 49
6.4.6 Leaching . 51
6.5 Field verification . 52
6.6 Water quality predictions . 52
7 Documentation and reporting . 53
Annex A (informative) Terms and definitions . 55
Annex B (informative) Test methods – Geochemical analysis – Applicability of EN and
ISO Standards . 58
B.1 Introduction . 58
B.2 Evaluation of applicability . 58
B.2.1 General . 58
B.2.2 Procedure . 58
B.2.3 Types of wastes . 59
B.2.4 Levels of applicability . 59
B.3 Methods to analyse waste from the extractive industries. 59
B.3.1 General remark . 59
B.3.2 Sample preparation . 60
B.3.3 Physical-chemical parameters (see also Annex C) . 60
B.3.4 Digestion and extraction methods . 62
B.3.5 Composition: major, minor and trace elements . 62
B.3.6 Organic and inorganic carbon . 64
B.3.7 Sulfur (total, sulfate and sulfidic) (see also Annex F for sulfide analysis) . 66
B.3.8 Eluate and leachate analysis . 67
B.3.9 Eluates: analytical methods referenced in EN 12506 and EN 13370 . 67
B.3.10 Eluates: further analytical methods . 71
Annex C (informative) Physical and hydraulic properties . 72
C.1 Introduction . 72
C.2 Existing standards . 72
C.2.1 Physical properties . 78
C.2.2 Hydraulic properties . 81
Annex D (informative) Leach tests . 83
D.1 Leach tests . 83
D.2 Applicability of leaching tests . 83
D.3 Leaching test procedures . 85
D.3.1 pH-dependence leaching test . 85
D.3.2 Column leaching test . 85
D.3.3 Dynamic monolith leaching test . 85
D.3.4 Compacted granular leaching test . 85
D.3.5 Sequential extraction . 86
D.3.6 Field tests . 86
D.3.7 Short term tests . 87
Annex E (informative) Mineralogical analysis . 88
E.1 Mineralogical analytical methods . 88
E.1.2 X-ray powder diffractometer . 91
E.1.3 Optical microscopy . 92
E.1.4 Electron microscopy techniques . 92
E.1.5 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy . 92
Annex F (informative) . 94
Sulfur speciation in waste from extractive industries . 94
F.1 Total sulphur . 94
F.2 Sulfur species . 94
F.3 Analysis program for sulfur species . 94
F.4 Analytical procedures for sulfides . 95
F.4.1 Sulfides (pyrite) determination by combustion at different temperatures . 95
F.4.2 Sulfides (pyrite) determination (direct) by reaction with HCl . 95
F.4.3 Sulfides (pyrite) determination (direct) by reaction with NaCO . 95
F.4.4 Sulfides (pyrite) determination (indirect) by leaching with HNO . 95
F.4.5 Sulfides (pyrite) by calculation . 96
F.5 Results for sulfide (pyrite) sulfur . 96
F.5.1 Pyrite-rich waste samples . 96
F.5.2 Other waste samples. 97
F.6 Summary and recommendations . 98
Annex G (informative) A/NRD processes and mineralogy . 99
G.1 Introduction . 99
G.2 Natural supergene A/NRD processes . 99
G.3 Mineral oxidation / dissolution . 100
G.3.2 Sulfide . 100
G.3.3 Secondary minerals . 103
G.3.4 Carbonate minerals . 103
G.3.5 Silicate minerals . 104
G.4 Mineralogy issues . 106
G.4.2 Mineral reaction rate concepts . 106
G.4.3 Quantification of the mineral surface . 107
G.4.4 Mineral texture . 107
Annex H (informative) Hydrological and geochemical modelling . 109
H.1 Importance of modelling long-term release . 109
H.2 Uses of modelling . 109
H.3 Commonly used codes . 110
H.4 Challenges . 118
Annex I (informative) Field investigations of tailings management facilities and waste rock
dumps . 119
I.1 Introduction . 119
I.2 Tailings . 119
I.3 Waste rocks . 120
Bibliography . 123
Foreword
This document (CEN/TR 16376:2012) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 292
“Characterization of waste”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
The preparation of this document by CEN is based on a mandate by the European Commission (Mandate
M/395), which assigned the development of standards on the characterization of waste from extractive
industries. The target audience of this guidance document includes all stakeholders concerned with the
management of extractive waste including authorities, regulators, waste producers, consultants and
testing laboratories.
The overall guidance document is one out of three guideline documents (TR, technical reports) and one
technical specification (TS) on aspects related to the characterization of extractive wastes developed by
CEN/TC 292. These four documents are:
 overall guidance document for characterization of waste from extractive industries
(CEN/TR 16376);
 guidance on sampling of wastes from extractive industries (CEN/TR 16365);
 kinetic testing for sulfidic waste from extractive industries (CEN/TR 16363); and
 sampling and analysis of cyanides (WAD) discharged into tailings ponds (CEN/TS 16229).
In addition to these four documents, CEN/TC 292 developed a European Standard (EN 15875) for static
determination of acid and neutralization potential of sulfidic waste (acid-base accounting).
The overall guidance document applies to waste from extractive industries according to the waste
definition in Art. 3 para 1 of the Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste. Therefore, as far as residues from the
extractive industries are mentioned in this document they are only covered if they fulfil the criteria of the
above mentioned waste definition.
This document provides guidance and is not a required procedure. It gives recommendations on what to
evaluate during characterization of waste from extractive industries. It provides a tool box with many
different methods that may or may not be applicable in a specific case, and it is not a legally binding
document.
Introduction
Waste from the extractive industries can only be managed properly if sufficient knowledge about its
geochemical and physical properties and behaviour is available. Such knowledge may be obtained
through characterization of the waste. Consequently, Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries and the
associated Commission Decisions on waste facility classification, inert waste definition and waste
characterization include several requirements related to characterization of waste.
In one of its decisions the European Commission states that: “The purpose of the characterization of
extractive waste is to obtain the relevant information on the waste to be managed in order to be able to
assess and monitor its properties, behaviour and characteristics and thereby ensure that it is managed
under environmentally safe conditions in the long term. Furthermore, the characterization of extractive
waste should facilitate the determination of the options for managing such waste and the related
mitigation measures in order to protect human health and the environment.”
A multitude of methods and tools are available for various waste characterization purposes – some are
standardized and some are not. Often several methods that differ only slightly from each other are
available for the same purpose. Tradition and geography often determine which method is used. In some
cases, the use of specific methods is required by legislation. Within EU legislation, European (CEN)
Standards and methods are generally preferred if they are available. The implementation of Directive
2006/21/EC and the COM decisions calls for appropriate waste characterization which may be achieved
by the use of several characterization methods and standards. Some of these methods and standards
have been applied in the extractive industry for many years, while others have been less commonly used
in this context. In a few cases, it has been necessary to develop or initiate development of new CEN
standards for the purpose.
This overall guidance document has been developed by CEN under mandate M/395 by the European
Commission to support stakeholders in the EU Member States involved in the characterization and
management of extractive waste in selecting the appropriate waste characterization tools (standards or
methods) for a given purpose related to the management of extractive wastes and to the requirements of
Directive 2006/21/EC and the associated COM decisions. Furthermore; it is meant to provide information
on the possibilities and limitations of the methods and to provide some guidance on where to find further
information on the interpretation and application of the waste characterization results. The overall
guidance document is intended to cover all the different waste categories produced by the wide range of
sectors within the extractive industry and to reflect state-of-the-art with respect to waste characterization
methods. It is the purpose of the document to provide the stakeholders with an overall summary of the
specific aspects of characterizing waste from the extractive industries, but it will not replace the in-depth
expertise required in most cases. Stakeholders include authorities, regulators, operators/waste
producers, consultants and test laboratories.
1 Scope
This Technical Report gives guidance and recommendations on the application of methods for the
characterization of waste from extractive industries , i.e. wastes resulting from the prospecting,
extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries. The document covers
characterization methods for both physical and geochemical properties and also other significant aspects,
from planning to interpretation and reporting.
The main purpose of the document is to aid the extractive industry and regulatory agencies in the
member states in understanding how to perform waste characterization for planned, active and closed
extractive operations.
The document includes a discussion on when and why characterization may be needed and on the
contexts within which characterization data may need to be applied. However, it does not cover
information on how to apply these characterization results, e.g. for dam design or closure planning. For
guidance on how to use characterization results correctly for predictive modelling or design purposes
references are made to other sources of information.
The extractive industry covers many different sectors with very different waste categories and
characterization may be carried out with many different objectives. For this reason, a guidance document
on characterization cannot be prescriptive or provide generally applicable instructions on how waste
characterization should be performed in each and every case.
2 Principles and procedures
2.1 Definition and role of waste characterization
Waste characterization is generally understood as the determination of waste properties and behaviour in
terms of geochemical characteristics (e.g. composition, reactivity, thermodynamic stability, mineralogy,
leaching properties) and physical properties (e.g. particle size distribution, density, permeability,
compactibility, physical stability) and the interdependence and changes of these properties under varying
conditions.
Whereas the above more general definition of waste characterization is fairly straightforward, the
Commission (COM) decision 2009/360/EC on waste characterization applies a broader definition which
includes a substantial amount of additional information. The COM decision also addresses background
information on the extractive operation in question, geological background of the deposit to be exploited
and on the origin and amount of wastes occurring during prospecting, extraction and operation as well as
information on the classification, transport and management of the wastes produced . These issues are
discussed in Clause 4.
Waste characterization is primarily a management tool. In the extractive industry, waste characterization
is often carried out to determine or estimate the present and future behaviour of a given type of waste
under specified conditions to facilitate proper management of that waste. One cornerstone of the
European legislation on extractive waste is the development of waste management plans, and one key
component of a waste management plan is the waste characterization. The waste management plans will
cover many aspects related to the waste management. Waste characterization may thus provide
important information in many different contexts. For example, it may constitute an important part of an
environmental impact or risk assessment, it may be used to assist in the definition of the most appropriate
waste management solution in order to achieve physical and geochemical stability of the waste or it may
be used to assess the suitability of an extractive waste for various construction purposes.
2.2 The waste characterization process at a glance
The starting point when designing a plan for waste characterization would normally be a definition of the
general objective of the characterization exercise and the related questions that should be answered or
may need to be answered at some time in the future.

as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2006/21/EC
Sections 1, 2 and 3 of COM decision 2009/360/EC
Waste characterization is related to the short and long-term physical and geochemical stability and
environmental performance of the waste facility and is carried out to understand the relevant waste
properties in order to predict the behaviour of a waste material in a specified scenario. The properties that
are of interest will depend on the situation at hand and the decisions to be made. In many cases, the
leaching behaviour of the waste will be a key concern. Short term and medium term leaching potential will
be an important input in the decision process with regards to the location and design of dumps or tailings
storage facilities and the need for collection and treatment of drainage. The long term leaching potential
will be the critical factor in the development of closure plans.
Sulfidic wastes, primarily from some metal and coal mines, require special attention due to the potential
weathering of sulfides that may lead to the production of acidic (or neutral) and metal laden drainage,
commonly known as acid rock drainage (ARD) or acid/neutral rock drainage (A/NRD).
When the waste management plan includes the construction of waste dumps, or the use of waste for
dams or other construction purposes, stability is an issue and physical properties of the waste become a
key concern.
To obtain a permit for a new or existing operation it is necessary to characterize the waste. The
complexity of this characterization depends on the type of material. For a geologically/mineralogically
uncomplicated case, with access to existing information, a field inspection and comparison with other
sites with the same type of material may provide sufficient information. For geologically/mineralogically
complex sites there may be many samples run for different types of analysis. During operation, sampling
and testing may be carried out to check that the initial characterization remains valid and in some cases
to check compliance when there are certain criteria that need to be met.
When the general objectives of the waste characterization have been defined the next step will be to
define the relevant site specific scenario.
It is only then that decisions can be made on relevant waste properties, which tests to carry out, which
methods to use, how many samples are needed and so on.
The sequence of characterization is illustrated in Figure 1.
Su0ucient information
1. De�ne general objectives      2
2. Identify data needed:
- Describe the scenario
- De�ne issues and solutions
sought                      2, 3
- Identify existing information  4
- Do a gap analysis             5
3. Identify tests that will give
the data sought               5
4. Develop a plan for sampling and
testing CEN/TR 16365
5. Testing and analysis            5.3 - 5.8
6. Analyse / Evaluate data        6
7. Report                        7

Figure 1 — Flow chart of the characterization process, with references to the clauses within this
document
Below follows a simplified, stepwise description of the whole characterization process:
Step 1: Define general objective
As a first step it is important to define and understand the general objective of waste characterization in
the specific case. Characterization should always be done with a purpose. Without keeping that purpose
clearly in mind it is very easy to end up with an overly ambitious characterization program, or, with results
that are too uncertain to allow any conclusions.
Examples of general objectives (most characterization programs will include multiple objectives) with
references to current European legislation include:
 development of waste management plans (Dir 2006/21/EC, Art 5.3); including
 design of waste facilities (Dir 2006/21/EC, Art 11);
 assessment of leachate generation and design of treatment measures (Dir 2006/21/EC, Art 13);
 development of closure plans (Dir 2006/21/EC, Art 12);
 classification of waste facilities (COM decision 2009/337/EC).
 classification of inert waste (Dir 2006/21/EC, Art 3 and COM decision 2009/359/EC);
 calculation of financial guarantee (Dir 2006/21/EC, Art 14 and COM decision 2009/335/EC);
More data needed
 classification of waste categories according to the European waste list (COM decision 2000/532/EC
and subsequent amendments).
Step 2: Identification of data needed
The following four steps will have to be carried out in parallel.
- Describing the scenario
It is useful to document a general description of the scenario at hand (Clause 4) e.g.:
a) the kind of operation, existing or planned (e.g. metal mining, lime stone quarry, salt mining, open-pit
or underground, size of mineral deposit);
b) the phase of operation during which the study is conducted (exploration/pre-mining, on-going
operation, existing waste dump/disposal site);
c) the character of the surroundings (e.g. urban, industrial, farmland, forest, distance to receiving
waters, existence of protected areas, other industrial activities);
d) the kind of waste management foreseen (e.g. disposal in dams, dumps, stockpiling,
saturated/unsaturated, separation/mixing).
- Definition of the issues and the solutions sought
Based on the general objective defined in step 1, information about environmental aspects associated
with different categories of extractive waste (Clause 3) and given the scenario at hand, specific questions
that the operator (or the competent authority) wants to answer by characterizing the waste should be
defined.
Examples of questions;
 Will there be a release of drainage from the waste facility? If so, how will the drainage quality develop
over time? Will drainage water require collection and treatment to meet water quality standards? If
so, what treatment would be appropriate?
 What kind of closure of the waste facility will be needed?
 Will the waste meet short and long-term specifications for construction purposes?
 Is there a potential to optimize the waste management by separation into different categories?
- Identifying existing information
It is not in anyone’s interest to carry out characterization work to produce information that is already
available. Given the questions that need to be answered, relevant existing information should be
identified (Clause 4). This could include:
 mineralogical and geochemical information from exploration/mapping;
 data from previous waste characterization;
 relevant information from comparable operations;
 information on the disposal site, topography, hydrology, geological and geotechnical;
 other local conditions, e.g. climatic data.
- Gap analysis
Does existing data (e.g. available characterization data on the mineralization and on future extractive
waste, background information) give sufficient information to answer the relevant questions and to
support the management decisions that have to be taken? If that is the case, no further testing is needed
at this stage. However, there may still be a need to verify these results over time.
If the conclusion is that more information is needed, these needs should be specified in as much detail as
possible to guide the choice of test method and the development of a characterization plan. Part of this
specification should be an evaluation of the data quality needed, i.e. what level of uncertainty is
acceptable (6.2). This will be important when deciding on a sampling strategy and might influence the
choice of test methods.
The gap analysis might also lead to the conclusion that there is a lack of information regarding local
conditions or other background information.
Step 3: Identify tests that will give the data sought
There are a large number of test methods for determining different waste properties, but also different
methods for determining the same property. Some methods are standardized, some are established
industry practice and some are under development. Some methods are applicable to specific types of
extractive waste, but not to other types. When considering the use of any test method, its applicability and
limitations should be well understood.
Clause 5 gives guidance on what methods are available and may be relevant for the determination of
specific properties of extractive waste. Additional information is given in Annexes B to F.
Based on the informa
...