The use of leaching data in LCA: landfilling of Hospital Waste incineration bottom ash

This work analyzes the effects of implementing in LCA experimental leaching data to describe the potential environmental impacts related to the management options selected for a specific type of waste. As a case study the landfilling of Hospital Waste Incineration bottom ash (HW-I BA) was considered. In order to simulate the leaching behavior of the material in the considered scenario, both batch and column leaching tests data were used as input parameters in LCA modelling and the results were compared. Transport of the material to the landfill and the energy consumed for the leachate treatment were also included in the assessment. For both toxic categories (Ecotoxicity and Human toxicity) selected, the environmental impacts related to the use of batch test data resulted slightly higher than those obtained by column tests. Transport proved to play a dominant role on human toxicity especially considering column test data. The non-negligible overall impacts related to the leaching process, pointed out that the leaching behavior should be accounted for in LCA studies when evaluating the environmental impacts related to disposal/reuse options for a waste material.