Risk management measures against antimony in residue after incineration of municipal waste

In this report the basic information needed for risk assessment, concerning physical properties, toxicity and life-cycle mass flow prior to waste treatment/disposal stage of antimony, was summarized in order to investigate risk management measures against antimony, especially focusing on incineration residue of municipal waste. A rapid and higher-precision analysis technique for antimony (Sb) was developed and the leaching concentration and content of various fly ash and bottom ash were measured with the technique. Evaluation of the potential Sb leaching required measures to prevent Sb from leaching from the fly ash. It was pointed out that reducing the Sb content of the ash will lead to effective risk reduction. Finally it was emphasized that investigation for risk reduction measures over the whole life-cycle of Sb are important, and measures in three stages such as production, consumption/discarding and waste treatment/disposal, were proposed.