Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure

The Environmental Compliance Supervisor at a typical municipal landfill (as defined by RCRA Subtitle D) uses TCLP data to determine whether a waste may be accepted into the facility.

The TCLP procedure is generally useful for classifying waste material for disposal options.

Spent abrasive or soil from a construction site usually needs to have a TCLP for lead done to determine where the waste goes next.

TCLP comprises four fundamental procedures: In the TCLP procedure the pH of the sample material is first established, and then leached with an acetic acid / sodium hydroxide solution at a 1:20 mix of sample to solvent.

The leachate mixture is sealed in extraction vessel for general analytes, or possibly pressure sealed as in zero-headspace extractions (ZHE) for volatile organic compounds and tumbled for 18 hours to simulate an extended leaching time in the ground.