Stabilisation / solidification, as a treatment option, is considered by US EPA for low mercury wastes only, which is limited to Hg up to 260 mg/kg, only.
High Mercury-Inorganic Subcategory Waste with total mercury content greater than or equal to 260 mg/kg is recommended by US EPA for Roasting/ Retorting (RMERC), which includes also Thermal Desorption and in particular Vacuum Distillation.
Why Stabilization / Solidififation is not not applicable as a treatment for high mercury waste as per US EPA?
Thank you and Glück Auf!
Dr. Rüdiger B. Richter
Only as a comparison: With enhanced soil washing, Hg-contaminated material up to 1000 mg/kg (metallic mercury) can be treated. - Since stabilization/solidification is the most commonly used technology, I was thinking that there would be a greater response.
Quite interesting, that nobody really wants to give his statement to such an important question.
The EPA promotes and allows Best Available Technology (BAT). EPA regulations were written with Best Available Information (BAI). BAI (not an EPA term) is what the writers of the regulations had to hand and understood. Authors of regulations are not necessarily experts. Once adopted regulations are hard to change, amend, or revoke.
The likely explanation to your question is that no one was doing treatment of high mercury waste at the time the regulation was written.
Anyone may propose a BAT to the EPA. BAT approval is not easy regardless of how much it improves the approved method.
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