Slags from steel-making industry have been recycled at a target rate of 95% and most of them are recycled as media-contact type such as fill and cover materials in Korea. However, as they contain free phase CaO during their generation, they may not only expand and collapse upon contact with water, but high pH leachate and heavy metals leaching may occur. In this study, the Korean leaching procedure (KLP) and up-flow percolation test were performed for the samples collected from 17 steel-making production plants in Korea. The waste quality criteria were met in all tests, but pH of the samples was above 10. There are no regulations on the pH of leachate in most of the countries, however, Germany, Italy, and Australia have set a pH range of 10 to 13 for the leachates. Although slag leachate cannot be considered hazardous based only on its high pH, it is necessary to reduce the pH of leachate to minimize the impact on the surrounding environment. Furthermore, conflicting regulations on wastes handling and management in Korea created confusion on the types of wastes subject to recycling. Therefore, an appropriate management plan for steel-making slags needs to be established. To this end, this study attempted to provide a guideline for managing steel-making slag waste by considering international guidelines and current management practices in Korea.

Keywords: Steel-making Slag, Leaching test, Media-contact recycling, Guideline