COM 1062.026 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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"older designs, human error, and equipment failure can result in higher- than-normal, short-term emissions that need to be studied further... the fact that ailments may occur infrequently or take years to appear, and the presence of pollution from other sources, make it difficult to determine if waste incineration can be blamed... follow-up studies were not performed to determine if [worker]... exposure caused disease... emissions... during start-up and shutdown ...are likely to be greater. Sudden increases in emissions also can result from maintenance problems, accidents, a change in the composition of the waste being burned, and poor management of the incineration process." hffp://eetd.lbl.gov/ie/pdf/LBNL-46084.pdf Press release from National Research Council, quoted in "Managing the Health Impacts of Waste Incineration" In November 1999, the National Research Council, the operating arm of the U.S. National Academy of Science, released a report on the impact of waste incineration on public health. The report titled 'Waste Incineration and Public Health" was the result of a multi-year study carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of experts and funded by three federal agencies, the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the U.S. Department of Energy. This report addressed the relationship between waste incineration and human health. This report provided a number of key findings, among them: 1) When operated property by well-trained employees, modern waste incinerators pose little risk to public health. But older designs, human error, and equipment failure can result in higher- than-normal, short-term emissions that need to be studied further. 2) Based on the very limited studies on associations between incinerator emissions and health effects, no association has yet been made but the fact that ailments may occur infrequently or take years to appear, and the presence of pollution from other sources, make it difficult to determine if waste incineration can be blamed for local health problems. 3) Some studies have shown that workers at municipal waste incinerators, who can be exposed to emissions directly or when doing maintenance, have been exposed to high concentrations of dioxins and toxic metals, particularly lead, cadmium, and mercury, but follow-up studies were not performed to determine if this exposure caused disease. 4) Better epidemiological research is needed to assess the health risks of exposure to pollutants from incinerators, including studies that evaluate combined data from all incinerators in a particular area and that compare findings from similar facilities located in different regions studies of poorly performing facilities would be more valuable. The report also calls for better data on the level of emissions that occur during start-up and shutdown, when they are likely to be greater. Sudden increases in emissions also can result from maintenance problems, accidents, a change in the composition of the waste being burned, and poor management of the incineration process. Furnaces designed for municipal-waste incineration prior to the mid-1980s are less efficient at combustion than newer designs. Modern plants often use auxiliary burners to maintain an optimal temperature during start-up and shutdown, though increased emissions can still occur. But with current technology, incinerators can achieve nearly complete combustion of the burnable portion of waste under normal operating conditions, emitting low amounts of unhealthy pollutants. In addition, using highly trained employees can help ensure maximum combustion efficiency and proper operation of emission- control devices.