Applied Environmental Geochemistry - Anthropogenic impact on the human environment in the SE Europe Ljubljana, 6-9 October 2009 108 Industrial Hazardous Waste in the Republic of Macedonia Trajče Stafilov 1 , Liljana Peeva 2 , Boško Nikov 3 & Ary de Koning 4 1 Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Sts. Cyril and Methodius University, POB 162, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia; trajcest@pmf.ukim.mk 2 LP, F. Ruzvelt 8/1-2, Skopje, Macedonia 3 Nikov Consulting, Veles, Macedonia 4 DHV B.V., Laan 1914 no. 35, 3818 EX Amersfoort, POB 1132, 3800 BC Amersfoort, The Netherlands Abstract: There are many industries in the Republic of Macedonia that use raw materials and/or auxiliary chemical substances in their operations. In many companies toxic, aggressive or flammable goods are used daily and thus hazardous and chemical wastes are generated. All these hazardous and chemical wastes have to be handled and disposed according to the new rules and regulations of Macedonia. In the frame of the project “National Waste Management Plan and Feasibility Studies” a Special Study on Industrial Contaminated Sites in the Republic of Macedonia (“Hotspots”) was accomplished. The findings were that the up-dated list of companies subject of an A-Integrated Environmental Permit (being potentially the biggest generators of emissions waste in particular) may be a good start for estimating the waste generation from the industry sector in the state. The result was that a List of 75 big companies and a separate List of 36 small enterprises (SMEs) has been completed. An inventory made resulted in the identification of 16 major industrial contaminated sites. Additionally, further investigation by field survey and chemical analysis of the actual situation concerning hazardous properties of the dumped waste, and evident soil & groundwater contamination, was carried out on the defined hotspots. The obtained results were used to adjust the priority scores and possibly the ranking of the hotspots. Key words: Hazardous waste, industry, Republic of Macedonia Introduction Industrial solid wastes consist of all solid waste generated in industries, either from the industrial process or any other source within the industrial premises. Distinction has to be made between industrial non hazardous waste (all solid wastes generated within the industrial premises, which don’t comprise any hazardous constituents, or with hazardous waste constituents below the minimum standards/norms) and industrial hazardous waste including all hazardous wastes generated within the industrial premises, e.g. solid hazardous waste according to the EU list. Treated industrial wastewaters (e.g. sludge) that comprise hazardous constituents exceeding minimum standards/norms are included in total hazardous waste quantities. There are many industries in the Republic of Macedonia that use raw materials and/or auxiliary chemical substances in their operations. In many companies toxic, aggressive or flammable goods are used daily and thus hazardous and chemical wastes are generated. All these wastes are dangerous for human and the environment, often even in small quantities. All these hazardous and chemical wastes have to be handled and disposed according to the new rules and regulations of Macedonia and EU (Law on Waste Management, 2004; Draft Regulation on Hazardous Waste Management, 2004; Directive 91/689/EEC on Hazardous Waste; Basel Convention, 1989; National Solid Waste Management System, 1999).