Masses contaminated by oil or other substances are dangerous and must be transported and handled by approved treatment facilities.

Sludge, soil, gravel and other waste containing oil residues and other environmentally harmful substances, are in many cases referred to as hazardous waste. Therefore, such waste must not be lost. Norva24 has facilities to receive hazardous waste, and treatment facilities for oil-polluted masses. In these we must follow very strict environmental requirements.

The Environmental Agency clearly states that treatment facilities for hazardous waste must follow the strict environmental requirements in Norway. This means that we, as owners of such facilities, must have full control over the risk of treating the waste, and that we have good enough routines to run a facility in an environmentally safe way.

Strict requirements
In the last years, the Environmental Agency has tightened the requirements for facilities treating hazardous waste. These requirements regard storage, expertise, financial security for the waste and requirements stating that negative value of hazardous waste is to be inserted into the business’ financial account. The financial security requirements are there to ensure that they are able to cover the costs of waste treatment.

Regular check-ups
The Environmental Agency has stepped up the control of all levels of the value chain of hazardous waste, both in business that create the waste, those who collect it and at treatment facilities.

The treatment facilities handle many types of hazardous waste. This must be treated in an environmentally friendly manner, so that various pollutants do not spread to the surroundings. Hazardous waste can also be harmful to health and pose a fire risk.

This is how we do it
At the customer’s location the hazardous waste is sucked into closed compartments in our tankers. It is then transported properly to the waste sites and treatment facilities, where good routines for further handling are in place.

At the treatment facility, various natural substances, like horse manure, are added to the the oil-contaminated waste, which then goes through a process of biological composting, which removes oil and further contamination from the masses.

Norva24 has in-house chemical engineers follow up on the process and perform tests with sampling spears and other suitable equipment. The tests are then analysed by an accredited laboratory. The waste is handled, so that harmful substances and poisons are not spread to the environment. As much waste as possible is recycled, the rest is deposited or destroyed.

An example
As an example we can mention a clean-up project. This can generate digging masses that require different handling: The masses in question must be brought to a waste site or treatment facility for contaminated masses. These may be masses that are to be re-used at the area in question. They may also be masses that can be disposed of regardless of provisions in the Pollution Act, also recognised as clean masses.

Before the digging can start, the area must be sufficiently examined, and a plan of action must be elaborated. The plan of action must describe, inter alia, how the masses are to be handled. Dug-up masses must be sorted according to their state of contamination and in such a way that the contamination in the masses is not diluted.

Masses documented as clean may be disposed of relatively freely, as long as the disposal is in accordance with applicable laws. Contaminated surplus masses that are not to be re-used in the area, are regarded as waste, and must be delivered to an approved waste site or treatment facility with the necessary permissions required by the Pollution Act.

Fylkesmannen is the authority on pollution, and gives permits to operate waste sites, and has an overview over various waste sites and treatment facilities. The Environmental Agency is the authority for waste sites for hazardous waste, and has an overview over these.

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