AS 4439.3:2019

This Standard provides a method for the preparation of leachates from liquid and solid wastes, sediments, sludges and soils for assessing the potential of non-volatile inorganic and semi-volatile organic contamination of groundwater, in a variety of disposal-to-land scenarios.

This Standard provides a method for the preparation of leachates from liquid and solid wastes, sediments, sludges and soils for assessing the potential of non-volatile inorganic and semi-volatile organic contamination of groundwater, in a variety of disposal-to-land scenarios.
This Standard deals only with the preparation of the leachate.
This Standard excludes procedures prior to submitting samples to the laboratory for analysis or sub-sampling.
The range of analyte compounds includes those compounds with a vapour pressure <10 Pa at 20 °C and with a boiling point greater than 150 °C at one standard atmosphere.
NOTE A list of analyte compounds is given in Appendix A.
The procedure is not applicable to encapsulated wastes which cannot be reduced to the specified maximum particle size without breaking the integrity of encapsulation.
The pH and the oxidation-reduction (redox) potential, or Eh, of a leaching fluid may vary with each disposal environment and is known to affect the leaching of metals and possibly some organic species. No provision is made in this procedure, however, to control pH and Eh during leaching.

First published as AS 4439.3-1997.
Second edition 2019.