The issue of hazardous substances in construction
In construction activities, especially in demolition, is very common to have to deal with hazardous substances. They entail greater risk to the environment and human health than non-hazardous waste and thus require a stricter control regime.
For this reason, the articles 17 to 20 Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives, aim to regulate this type of substances.
The mentioned articles establish some obligations concerning hazardous substances: additional labelling, record keeping, monitoring, and control obligations from the “cradle to the grave.
In addition, the Directive bans the mixing of hazardous waste to prevent risks for the environment and human health. Although article 24 of the same Directive permit exemptions that may be granted to installations are more restrictive when treating hazardous waste.
It is also necessary to point out that the classification into hazardous and non-hazardous waste is based on the system for the classification and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations, which ensures the application of similar principles over the whole life cycle of materials.
In this regard, the properties which render waste hazardous are determined in Annex III of the Directive 2008/98/EC and are further specified by the Decision 2000/532/EC establishing a List of Waste, as last amended by Commission Decision 2014/955/EU.
For last, as far as the circular economy is concerned, it should be noted that the occurrence of hazardous substances on demolition sites is a major problem because if they are not detected and decontaminated in time, they will contaminate the surrounding materials, rendering them unsuitable for potential future recycling or reuse.
In this respect, it is of vital importance to identify them before commencing demolition work by carrying out a pre-demolition audit.
For further information about hazardous substances and their decontamination refer to chapter 9 of this publication.
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