Hazardous Properties
Annex III of the Waste Framework Directive lists the properties of waste which render it hazardous. These are:
| H Code | Property | Description |
|---|---|---|
| H1 | Explosive | : substances and preparations which may explode under the effect of flame or which are more
sensitive to shocks or friction than dinitrobenzene |
| H2 | Oxidising | substances and preparations which exhibit highly exothermic reactions when in contact with other
substances, particularly flammable substances. |
| H3-A | Highly flammable | liquid substances and preparations having a flash point below 21 °C (including extremely flammable liquids),
or |
| H3-A | Highly flammable | substances and preparations which may become hot and finally catch fire in contact with air at ambient
temperature without any application of energy, or |
| H3-A | Highly flammable | solid substances and preparations which may readily catch fire after brief contact with a source of ignition
and which continue to burn or to be consumed after removal of the source of ignition, or |
| H3-A | Highly flammable | gaseous substances and preparations which are flammable in air at normal pressure, or |
| H3-A | Highly flammable | substances and preparations which, in contact with water or damp air, evolve highly flammable gases in
dangerous quantities. |
| H 3-B | Flammable | liquid substances and preparations having a flash point equal to or greater than 21 °C and less than
or equal to 55 °C |
| H4 | Irritant | non-corrosive substances and preparations which, through immediate, prolonged or repeated contact
with the skin or mucous membrane, can cause inflammation |
| H5 | Harmful | substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may
involve limited health risks |
| H6 | Toxic | substances and preparations (including very toxic substances and preparations) which, if they are inhaled
or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may involve serious, acute or chronic health risks and even death. |
| H7 | Carcinogenic | substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin,
may induce cancer or increase its incidence. |
| H8 | Corrosive | substances and preparations which may destroy living tissue on contact. |
| H9 | Infectious | substances and preparations containing viable micro-organisms or their toxins which are known or
reliably believed to cause disease in man or other living organisms |
| H10 | Toxic for Reproduction | substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate
the skin, may induce non-hereditary congenital malformations or increase their incidence. |
| H11 | Mutagenic | substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may
induce hereditary genetic defects or increase their incidence. |
| H12 | - | Waste which releases toxic or very toxic gases in contact with water, air or an acid |
| H13(*) | Sensitising | substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or if they penetrate the skin, are capable of
eliciting a reaction of hypersensitization such that on further exposure to the substance or preparation, characteristic adverse effects are produced. |
| H14 | Ecotoxic | waste which presents or may present immediate or delayed risks for one or more sectors of the
environment |
| H15 | - | Waste capable by any means, after disposal, of yielding another substance, e.g. a leachate, which possesses any
of the characteristics listed above. |
Notes
1. Attribution of the hazardous properties ‘toxic’ (and ‘very toxic’), ‘harmful’, ‘corrosive’, ‘irritant’, ‘carcinogenic’, ‘toxic to reproduction’, ‘mutagenic’ and ‘eco-toxic’ is made on the basis of the criteria laid down by Annex VI, to Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances.
2. Where relevant the limit values listed in Annex II and III to Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 1999 concerning the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations shall apply.