Chemical characterisation and legal classification of sludges from road sweepings

The current legislation on the disposal of road sweeping sludges is anomalo us because certain road sweeping sludges are exempt from the requirements o f the Special Waste Regulations 1996 - not because of their chemical compos ition but rather as a result of the legal definitions applied by the Contro lled Waste Regulations 1992. This has led to sweepings from trunk roads (un der the control of the Secretary of State) being classified as 'special' wa ste, but sweepings from roads vested in the local authorities classified as 'household' waste. Although the chemical composition and potential health hazards associated with road dust have been studied, data on the chemical c omposition of road sweeping sludges are sparse. This study analyses twenty- four samples of road sweepings in order to chemically characterise the slud ge.