TY - JOUR A1 - Bandow, Nicole A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Ilvonen, O. A1 - Schoknecht, Ute T1 - Evaluation of the impact of construction products on the environment by leaching of possibly hazardous substances N2 - Construction products are in contact with water (e.g., rain, seepage water) during their service lifetime and may release potentially harmful compounds by leaching processes. Monitoring studies showed that compounds attributed to construction products are found in storm water and the receiving bodies of water and that the release of biocides in urban areas can be comparable to the input of pesticides from agricultural uses. Therefore, a prospective risk assessment of such products is necessary. Laboratory leaching tests have been developed by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 351 and are ready to use. One major task in the future will be the evaluation of the leaching test results, as concentrations found in laboratory experiments are not directly comparable to the field situations. Another Task will be the selection of compounds to be considered for construction products, which are often a complex mixture and contain additives, pigments, stabilization agents, etc. The formulations of the products may serve as a starting point, but total content is a poor predictor for leachability, and analysis of the eluates is necessary. In some cases, nontargeted approaches might be required to identify compounds in the eluates. In the identification process, plausibility checks referring to available information should be included. Ecotoxicological tests are a complementary method to test eluates, and the combined effects of all compounds—including Degradation products—are included. A bio test battery has been applied in a round robin test and was published in a guidance document. Published studies on the ecotoxicity of construction products show the tests’ suitability to distinguish between products with small and larger effects on the environment. KW - Prospective risk assessment KW - Groundwater KW - Surface water KW - Soil KW - Ecotoxicological tests KW - Targeted and nontargeted PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-018-0144-2 SN - 2190-4715 SN - 2190-4707 VL - 30 SP - Article 14, 1 EP - 12 PB - SpringerOpen CY - London AN - OPUS4-44914 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heisterkamp, I. A1 - Ratte, M. A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Ilvonen, O. T1 - Ecotoxicological evaluation of construction products: inter-laboratory test with DSLT and percolation test eluates in an aquatic biotest battery N2 - Background A European inter-laboratory test with 29 participating laboratories investigated whether a battery of four ecotoxicological tests is suitable for assessing the environmental compatibility of construction products. For this purpose, a construction product was investigated with the dynamic surface leaching test (DIN CEN/TS 16637-2) and the percolation test (DIN CEN/TS 16637-3). The eluates were produced centrally by one laboratory and were tested by the participants using the following biotests: algae test (ISO 8692), acute daphnia test (ISO 6341), luminescent bacteria test (DIN EN ISO 11348), and fish egg test (DIN EN ISO 15088). As toxicity measures, EC50 and LID values were calculated. Results Toxic effects of the eluates were detected by all four biotests. The bacteria test was by far the most sensitive, followed by the algae test and the daphnia test; the fish egg test was the least sensitive for eluates of both leaching tests. The toxicity level of the eluates was very high in the bacteria, daphnia, and algae test, with lowest ineffective dilution values of LID = 70 to LID = 13,000 and corresponding EC50 values around or even below 1 volume percent. The reproducibility (approximated by interlaboratory variability) of the biotests was good (< 53%) to very good (< 20%), regardless of the toxicity level of the eluates. The reproducibility of the algae test was up to 80%, and thus still acceptable. Conclusion It can be confirmed that the combination of leaching and ecotoxicity tests is suitable to characterize with sufficient reproducibility the environmental impact posed by the release of hazardous substances from construction products. KW - Inter-laboratory test KW - Construction products KW - Leaching tests KW - Ecotoxicity tests KW - Grouts PY - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-529198 VL - 33 IS - 1 SP - Article number: 75 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-52919 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Heisterkamp, I. A1 - Kretzschmar, M. A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Happel, O. A1 - Ilvonen, O. T1 - Release of substances from joint grouts based on various binder types and their ecotoxic effects N2 - Background: The leaching of substances and the ecotoxic effects of eluates were studied for joint grouts that are based on various types of binders. Eight products, two of them containing either epoxy resin, polybutadiene or polyurethane binders, or modifed cement, were investigated using harmonized leaching tests for construction products in combination with ecotoxicity tests on algae, daphnia, luminescent bacteria, fish eggs and mutagenicity in accordance with CEN/TR 17105. In addition to basic parameters, such as pH, TOC, and inorganic components, organic substances in the eluates were analysed by gas and liquid chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry. Quantitative analyses in combination with ecotoxicity data on selected substances were used to deduce which substances cause the observed ecotoxic effects. Results: Different patterns of ecotoxic effects were observed in joint grouts with different binder types. The most ecotoxic effects were observed in epoxy resin-based products, followed by polybutadiene-based products. Fewer ecotoxic effects were observed in polyurethane-based products and modifed cements. Some of these showed no ecotoxicity. Some of the substances in the eluates were identified and related to ecotoxic effects. 4-Tert-butylphenol and amines probably contributed to the ecotoxic effects of at least one of the epoxy resin-based renders, whereas cobalt is assumed to contribute to the toxic effect on algae of one of the polybutadiene-based products. However, only some of the leached substances could be identifed, and only some of the ecotoxic effects can be explained by the available information on the composition of eluates and known ecotoxic profiles of the identified substances. Conclusions: Ecotoxicity tests on eluates from leaching tests indicate whether environmentally hazardous substances can be leached from construction products. Combined ecotoxicity tests and chemical analysis of eluates from EU-wide harmonized leaching tests for construction products can provide information on substances that cause these effects. This supports the identifcation and development of environmentally friendly construction products. This study confirmed that ecotoxicity tests in accordance with CEN/TR 17105 are a tool well-suited to support the implementation of the European Commission’s zero pollution vision for 2050 and to reduce pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. KW - Joint grouts KW - Leaching KW - Ecotoxixity PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-562392 SN - 2190-4707 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Springer Nature CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-56239 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heisterkamp, I. A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Happel, O. A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Kretzschmar, M. A1 - Ilvonen, O. T1 - Investigating the ecotoxicity of construction product eluates as multicomponent mixtures N2 - The release of hazardous compounds from construction products can harm human health and the environment. To improve the sustainability of construction materials, the leaching of substances from construction products and their potential environmental impact should be assessed. Twenty-seven construction products from different product groups were examined with a combination of standardized leaching tests (dynamic surface leaching test and percolation test) and biotests (algae, daphnia, fish egg, luminescent bacteria, umu and Ames fluctuation tests). To identify the released substances, extensive qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses were performed, including gas chromatographic and liquid chromatographic screening techniques. Results: Many of the tested eluates caused signifcant ecotoxic efects. Particularly high ecotoxicities were observed for grouts (lowest ineffective dilution (LID) up to 16384) and cork granules (LID up to 24578). The results of ecotoxicity tests allow the prioritization of the eluates that should be subjected to detailed chemical analyses. Organic screening by different methods and ranking the identifed substances based on recorded hazard classification is a suitable approach to identify the relevant toxic substances. Conclusions: Determining the ecotoxicity of eluates from construction products records the summary effect of all leachable substances. This instrument is especially useful for construction products of complex and largely unknown composition. The ecotoxicological and the chemical–analytical approach complement each other in an ideal way to characterize the potential hazard of eluates from construction products and to identify the environmentally hazardous components in these eluates. Our results confirm that the proposed harmonized methods for testing eluate toxicity are an adequate and applicable procedure to move toward a more sustainable way of building and to reduce toxic effects of construction products in their use phase in the environment. KW - Construction products KW - Building materials KW - Ecotoxicity KW - Biotests KW - Leaching KW - Eluates KW - Chemical analysis KW - Analytical screening techniques KW - Mixture toxicity PY - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-568864 VL - 35 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-56886 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -