IMPACTS OF INCINERATION: EMISSIONS Existing data shows that burning hazardous waste, even in "state-of-the-art" incinerators, will lead to the release of three types of dangerous pollutants into the environment:
Heavy metals Unburned toxic chemicals New pollutants - entirely new chemicals formed during the incineration process. Toxic Metals Metals are not destroyed during incineration and are often released into the environment in even more concentrated and dangerous forms than in the original waste. High-temperature combustion releases toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and chromium from wastes that contain these substances, including batteries, paints and certain plastics. They are released in the form of tiny particles or gases, increasing the risk of inhalation. An average-sized commercial incinerator (32,000 tonnes per year) burning hazardous waste with an average metals content emits these metals into the air at the rate of 92 tonnes a year (total for lead,cadmium, arsenic, mercury and chromium); another 304 tonnes a year will be found in residual ashes and liquids. Pollution control equipment can remove some but not all heavy metals from stack gases. But even then the metals do not disappear; they are merely transferred from the air into the ash, which is then landfilled. Subsequently, metals in the ash may leach into and contaminate soils and potentially groundwater. Presently, ash from incinerators is sometimes being used for construction purposes such as in asphalt, cement and for making paths. This practice can also have implications for the environment and for human health. For instance, metals can leach out of such construction materials. Ash from a municipal waste incinerator in Newcastle, UK, was used on local allotments and paths between 1994 and 1999. All of it had to be removed recently after it was found to contain unacceptably high levels of some heavy metals and dioxins. Unburned toxic chemicals No incinerator process operates at 100 per cent efficiency. Unburned chemicals are emitted in the stack gases of all hazardous waste incinerators. They also escape into the air as fugitive emissions during storage, handling and transport. While incinerators are designed to burn wastes, they also produce them in the form of ash and effluent from wet scrubbers and/or cooling processes. Incinerator ash carries many of the same pollutants that are emitted as stack gases. Studies have identified as many as 43 different semi-volatile organic chemicals in incinerator ash, and at least 16 organic chemicals in scrubber water from hazardous waste incinerators. Ash is commonly buried in landfill, while effluent is often treated before being discharged into rivers or lakes. New pollutants - dioxins and furans One of the most insidious aspects of incineration is the entirely new and highly toxic chemicals that can be formed during the combustion process. When fragments of partially burned waste chemicals recombine within incinerator furnaces, smokestacks, and/or pollution control devices, hundreds, even thousands, of new substances are created, many of which are more toxic than the original waste itself. There has been very little research on the identification of the multitude of pollutants emitted from incinerators. One study identified 250 volatile organic compounds, many of which are known to be highly toxic or carcinogenic, but it is likely that many other compounds are emitted which have yet to be identified. Among these are dioxins and furans (often referred to just as dioxins) a class of chemical compounds widely recognised to contain many highly toxic compounds including TCDD, a chemical which has been described as the most toxic chemical known to man. Dioxins are created when chlorine-containing materials are burned. They have no useful purpose and are associated with a wide range of health impacts including, cancer, altered sexual development, male and female reproductive problems, suppression of the immune system, diabetes, organ toxicity and a wide range of effects on hormones. DIOXINS - GLOBAL KILLERS Once emitted into the environment dioxins can travel vast distances on air and ocean currents, and because of this globe trotting ability are a global contaminant. In 1997, the International Agency for Research on cancer (IARC) classified TCDD, the most toxic dioxin as a human carcinogen. Dioxins are distributed into the environment as part of incinerator stack gases, bottom ash, fly ash and in the effluent of pollution control devices. The main route of exposure to dioxins in humans is through food intake. Once in the body they are only excreted very slowly and build up in fatty tissues. Studies suggest that people in the U.S. and some European countries now carry dioxins and furans that are at or near those levels which are suspected to cause health effects in humans. Dioxin released from an incinerator can be readily taken up by grazing animals and fish. In 1989, 16 dairy farmers downwind of a Rotterdam incinerator were banned from selling their milk, because it contained dioxin levels three times higher than anywhere else in the Netherlands. Residents of one property downwind of a chemical waste incinerator in Pontypool, South Wales, were advised not to consume duck or bantam eggs from their property. Fugitive Emissions Some waste is accidentally released when chemicals are removed from storage containers at the incinerator site, moved to transportation vehicles, or being shipped to and moved about within the incineration facility. An average incinerator burning 32,000 tonnes of waste per year will receive over 1500 tanker-truck shipments of wastes per year, or more than 28 trucks per week. According to the US EPA: "Fugitive emissions and accidental spills may release as much or more toxic material to the environment than direct emissions from incomplete waste incineration ..." There is also the risk of catastrophic waste releases in fires and explosions. Incinerator Ash is Hazardous Waste Leftover incinerator ash can be extremely toxic, containing concentrated amounts of lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, as well as dioxins and other toxic chemicals. Disposal of toxic ash in an environmentally sound manner is problematic and expensive. If handled properly, ash makes incineration prohibitively expensive for all but the wealthiest communities. If handled improperly it poses short and long-term health and environmental dangers. The better the pollution-trapping device in an incinerator smokestack, the greater the quantity and toxicity content of the residues will become. A hundred times more dioxin may leave an incineration facility on ash, than in air emissions. The average cost in the Midwest US for disposing a ton of hazardous waste is $210, compared to $23 for ordinary waste. Some experts recommend burying this ash in a landfill equipped with a plastic liner to prevent leaching into groundwater. But all landfill liners eventually leak. INCINERATION IN ASIA Developing countries in Asia are being swamped with proposals to build waste incinerator plants. Faced with shrinking markets in pollution-conscious Northern countries, incinerator companies are turning to Asia where they see a lucrative market for their outdated and poisonous technology. Today, incinerators are being sold under a variety of guises - such as fluidised bed incinerators, thermal treatment plants or as waste-to-energy systems. Yet in countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany where pollution regulations are impossibly tight, incinerators still continue to incur monumental costs to clean up the pollution they cause. Many of the industrialised countries cited by incinerator salespersons as proponents of incineration technology, are rapidly shutting down their incinerators. By the end of 1998, more than 2000 industrial waste incinerators nation-wide were closed permanently or temporarily in Japan, as a result of tougher limits placed by the Japanese Government on the emission of cancer causing dioxins. However, following developments in technology for controlling emissions to air, new incinerators are again being proposed in some European countries. Governments charged with managing industrial waste stand at a critical juncture. They can continue to approve and promote incineration, or they can encourage the development and use of clean production methods that eliminate toxic processes, products and waste. IMPACTS OF INCINERATION: HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT Increased cancer rates, respiratory ailments, reproductive abnormalities and other health effects have been noted among people living near some waste-burning facilities, according to scientific studies, surveys by community groups and local physicians. Cancer, birth defects, reproductive dysfunction, neurological damage and other health effects are also known to occur at very low exposures to many of the metals, organochlorines and other pollutants released by waste-burning facilities. Many pollutants released in incinerator air emissions have been shown to accumulate in and on food crops, especially crops where the edible portion is exposed such as leafy vegetables. While thorough washing of produce may remove a portion of pollutants on crop surfaces, a significant amount (typically from 15% to 50%) will remain. THE FAILINGS OF INCINERATION Incineration relies upon the continued generation of waste to support the high operating costs. Pressure to pay back the high cost of building incinerators has had the effect of encouraging and perpetuating waste generation. Continued investment in incineration inhibits the development of more sustainable waste minimisation practices, as well as the exploration and development of products and processes that do not use toxic chemicals in the first place. Dispersing persistent, bioaccumulative pollutants into the air from incinerator emissions creates more pollution problems. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sugiarto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 9:28 AM Subject: RE: [Lingk] TSCA Incinerator > Mas Komo dan Mas Djuni yang tidak "Lethek", > > Sebenarnya kita memerlukan info yang berimbang tentang incinerator. > Incinerator yang buruk itu yang bagaimana dan yang masih boleh (baik) > bagaimana? Untuk Indonesia, saya kira kehadiran incinerator masih > diperlukan, tentu saja incinerator yang memenuhi syarat secara > teknologi. Untuk yang anti incinerator, ya sah-sah saja pendapatnya, > yang penting ada teknologi alternatif yang lebih baik dan dioperasikan > semudah incinerator, dan mungkin bisa lebih murah biaya operasinya. > > Yang lebih penting adalah, sebelum dibakar, sebaiknya sampah itu > dipilah-pilah dulu (waste segregation), sampah-sampah yang bisa > didaur-ulang ya diutamakan di daur-ulang, seperti sampah plastik, > botol/gelas/kaca, besi tua/scrap metal, dll.nya. Sampah organik yang > bisa di-composting yang dibuat kompos. Sehingga potensi sampah yang > akan dibakar semakin berkurang, karena membakar sampah perlu energi, > minimal pakai minyak solar, dan itu artinya perlu biaya, sehingga bisa > dicapai MINIMIZE WASTE, SAVING COST! > > Salam, > Sugiarto > > -----Original Message----- > From: Raharja, Sulastama [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 9:51 AM > To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' > Subject: RE: [Lingk] TSCA Incinerator > > > wah Om Lethek kok jadi ikut2an mbanjiri milist dengan incinerator ya?? > seberapa besar sich urgensi permasalahan incinerator dibandingkan dengan > permasalahan lingkungan yang lain di indoz saat ini?? > > komo > > -----Original Message----- > From: Djuni Pristiyanto [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 9:48 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Lingk] TSCA Incinerator > > disetip.... :-) > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 > http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/vbOolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > ===== Petunjuk Milis Lingkungan =========== > > Gunakan bahasa yang sopan dan bersikap dewasa > Berlangganan: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Berhenti : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Milis Lingkungan tidak menerima segala bentuk ATTACHMENT, bila ada > yang akan kirim ATTACH harap di-COPY & PASTE di BADAN EMAIL. > > ===== Motto:Lestari dan berseri Indonesiaku ====== > > Arsip berita-berita lingkungan di Indonesia : > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/berita-lingkungan/ > Berlangganan : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lingkungan/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > _______________________________________________ Pb mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://dml.or.id/mailman/listinfo/pb_dml.or.id
