Characterization of Finished Products of Building-Street Field Samples: Chemical and Ecotoxicological Approach.

European community has developed waste management norm giving always greater importance to prevention and recycling. In order to avoid a direct and/or indirect negative effect on the environment and human health, there is a need for characterization. Aim of the study was to characterize finished products of building-street field samples by chemical and ecotoxicological approach.Finished products of building-street field samples used for to characterization had the following composition: 50%–60% inert from demolition corresponding UNI10006, 2.5%–3% sodium silicate, <30% waste CER 100207* powders by dangerous smoke, 300 kg/mc cement. Samples were submitted to leaching process defined in EPA Methods, 1991. Eluates were characterized for chemical species: PAH, heavy metals, hydrocarbons C10–C40, and pesticides. Vibrio fischeri and Daphnia magna were use to determine ecotoxicity of the eluates. The same tests were carried out on samples come from: building site, public garden, and uncultivated site. PAH was determined by HPLC with UV-VIS and FL, while heavy metals by AAS after acid mineralization. Hydrocarbons C10–C40 and pesticides after extraction and purification through PSE and GLP, respectively, has been carried out by GC/FID and GC/ECD.Finished products of building-street field samples show an elevated toxicity for Vibrio fischeri before and after pH correction, while they are not toxic for Daphnia magna. Public garden samples result toxic for Vibrio fischeri. Building site and uncultivated site samples result not toxic for Vibrio fischeri.Chemical classification, by comparing results with limit values fixed in CEMWE (Criterion and Evaluation Methods of Waste Ecotoxicity) proposal, indicates that there are strong evidence to classify finished products of building-street field samples as ecotoxic, but not so by biological tests. Similar to scientific evidence in literature our experience evidences the necessity to have a norm, uniform for all European Community countries, to define appropriates chemical and ecotoxicological standards for secure waste characterization before recycling.