Relationships between dioxins in soil, air, ash, and emissions from a municipal solid waste incinerator emitting large amounts of dioxins

The Columbus Municipal Waste-to-Energy (Columbus WTE) facility in Columbus, Ohio, began operation in June, 1983 and ceased operation in December, 1994. During its operation, it was estimated to have released nearly 1,000 grams of dioxin Toxic Equivalents (TEQs) per year. This compares to a 1994 estimate of 9,300 g TEQ/yr from all sources emitting dioxins into the air in the United States (EPA, 1994), and to total releases of dioxins near or below 1,000 grams TEQ/Yr for England (Eduljee and Keyke, 1996), Belgium (Wevers and De Fre, 1995), and West Germany (Fiedler and Hutzinger, 1992). Because of the magnitude of emissions from this single source, studies were undertaken to evaluate the impacts to air and soil near the incinerator. This paper presents analyses evaluating dioxin concentrations and profiles in four media: stack gas, ambient air within 3 km of the incinerator, soil samples up to 8 km from the incinerator, and incinerator ash. Principal findings include: 1) an "incinerator signature" profile, as defined by stack gas emissions, was found in the ash and in subsets of the air and soil matrices, 2) soil concentrations declined from directly outside the incinerator property to the city at large, 3) an urban background soil concentration of dioxin Toxic Equivalents (TEQs) was estimated at 4 pg/g, while concentrations generally within 2 km of the incinerator ranged from 4-60 pg TEQ/g, 4) an urban background air concentration was estimated at 0.05 pg TEQ/m3, while air concentrations at a specific location about 2 km in the downwind direction of the incinerator had concentrations of 0.17 and 0.35 pg TEQ/m3 during two sampling dates, 5) analysis of the soil monitoring data in combination with the stack test data suggests that less than 2% of emitted dioxins can be found in the soil near the incinerator, and 6) principal component analysis suggests that the fraction of total concentration of OCDD is the single feature explaining most of the variation of all concentration profiles. This paper discusses these and other findings, and their implications.     

Levels of dioxins, dibenzofurans, PCB and DDE congeners in pooled food samples collected in 1995 at supermarkets across the United States

Food, particularly dairy products, meat, and fish, has been identified as the primary immediate source of intake of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for the general population. We previously reported PCDD/Fs in individual analyses of food samples from a number of countries, including the U.S., the former Soviet Union, and Vietnam. We also previously estimated daily intake of dioxins and related chemicals in Americans at various ages in these reports. In this paper, the levels of dioxins, dibenzofurans, dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs), selected dioxin-like PCBs, and DDE (a persistent metabolite of DDT) were measured in 12 pooled food samples from over 90 individual specimens collected from supermarkets throughout the United States during 1995. Samples were pooled by food groups and then analyzed. Food samples were collected in Binghamton, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; San Diego, California; and Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the meat, dairy, and fish samples, a vegan (all vegetable, fruit and grain, no animal product) diet, was simulated; this showed the lowest level of dioxins.     

A review of the significance of animal food products as potential pathways of human exposures to dioxins

The polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (dioxins) are groups of compounds with similar chemical and toxicological properties. Carcinogenicity was considered the most serious toxic end point when setting previous regulatory policies, but recent concerns have focused on the possible endocrine-disrupting activities of the dioxins. Toxicity is related to the 2,3,7,8 pattern of chlorine substitution, a pattern that also leads to chemical and metabolic stability. Dioxins are practically insoluble in water and concentrate in lipids of biological systems, leading to low background concentrations in fat of the general human population. Major environmental sources of dioxins are emissions from industrial chlorination processes and combustion of materials containing chlorine. Inhalation and water have been ruled out as significant exposure pathways, which suggests that food is the primary source. Pathways of entry into food chains are atmospheric transport of emissions and their subsequent deposition on plants, soils, and water. The major food sources seem to be fat-containing animal products and some seafoods. This conclusion is based on evaluations of potential environmental pathways involving dioxins and related compounds. Generally, dioxins and other lipophilic compounds are not taken up and translocated by plants, so residues in foods and feeds derived from seeds should be negligible. Animals on high-roughage diets, or those that ingest contaminated soil, are the most likely to accumulate dioxin residues from the environment. The conclusion that animal products are a major source of human exposure requires verification by appropriate food sampling programs and animal metabolism studies. If it is desirable to reduce human exposure to dioxins via the food supply, reduction of sources would be a more effective strategy than changing agricultural practices and food consumption patterns.     

水泥窑炉协同处理城市垃圾研究进展

水泥窑炉处理危险废物和城市生活垃圾是众多处理方法中实现减量化、无害化和资源化最好的方法之一。水泥窑焚烧垃圾可以利用垃圾的热量节省燃料,同时垃圾燃烧后的灰渣可以替代原料。另外,CaO和过渡性熟料矿物对有害物质的不良作用有抑制作用,也可以减少二恶英等有害气体的排放。     

钢铁工业中的二恶英和预防措施

介绍了二恶英对人类的危害性和相关的化学基础知识,并阐述了钢铁行业中烧结和电炉冶炼废钢过程的百出废气中二恶英生成的机理和预防措施。在分析了高记喷吹废塑料研究结果的基础上,提出进行塑料的分类和含氯塑料进行脱氯处理,以控制三恶英的生成,并对选用适合喷吹塑料的高炉设备和原料的要求提出了建议。     

去除烧结和电炉废气中二恶英的方案

20世纪90年代初,由于各国政府和绿色环保组织要求极大降低二恶英和其他有害物质的排放量,使钢铁工业遭受巨大压力,从那时起,奥钢联工程技术公司（VAI）就着手进行新一代烧结废气净化系统和创新型电炉废气净化技术的开发,一个主要目标就是要开发出一种新系统,与传统系统相比,不仅具有更高的除尘效率,而且还能够有效地去除二恶英和其他有害物质,努力的结果是,开发出的系统可使二恶英的去除效率达到80％－99％,即净化后气体中二恶英的浓度可降至0．1－0．4ng I-TEQ。     

Nature, extent, and impact of Superfund hazardous waste sites

Uncontrolled hazardous waste sites are major environmental and public health concerns in the United States and elsewhere. The identification and remediation of and public health responses to these sites are mandated by the U.S. federal Superfund statute. Since its enactment into law in 1980, approximately 40,000 uncontrolled waste sites have been identified in the United States. Approximately 1,300 of these sites constitute the current national Superfund priority list of sites for remediation. Results from analyses are described that characterize the priority hazardous substances released from Superfund sites and the extent of hazard posed to residential communities. Findings from the United States' experience in responding to uncontrolled waste sites are relevant to other countries as they address similar environmental and public health concerns.     

Medical waste treatment and disposal methods used by hospitals in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho

This study investigated medical waste practices used by hospitals in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, which includes the majority of hospitals in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 10. During the fall of 1993, 225 hospitals were surveyed with a response rate of 72.5%. The results reported here focus on infectious waste segregation practices, medical waste treatment and disposal practices, and the operating status of hospital incinerators in these three states. Hospitals were provided a definition of medical waste in the survey, but were queried about how they define infectious waste. The results implied that there was no consensus about which agency or organization's definition of infectious waste should be used in their waste management programs. Confusion around the definition of infectious waste may also have contributed to the finding that almost half of the hospitals are not segregating infectious waste from other medical waste. The most frequently used practice of treating and disposing of medical waste was the use of private haulers that transport medical waste to treatment facilities (61.5%). The next most frequently reported techniques were pouring into municipal sewage (46.6%), depositing in landfills (41.6%), and autoclaving (32.3%). Other methods adopted by hospitals included Electro-Thermal-Deactivation (ETD), hydropulping, microwaving, and grinding before pouring into the municipal sewer. Hospitals were asked to identify all methods they used in the treatment and disposal of medical waste. Percentages, therefore, add up to greater than 100% because the majority chose more than one method. Hospitals in Oregon and Washington used microwaving and ETD methods to treat medical waste, while those in Idaho did not. No hospitals in any of the states reported using irradiation as a treatment technique. Most hospitals in Oregon and Washington no longer operate their incinerators due to more stringent regulations regarding air pollution emissions. Hospitals in Idaho, however, were still operating incinerators in the absence of state regulations specific to these types of facilities.     

废弃物焚烧系统中二恶英的形成和控制

介绍了二恶英的化学性质、危害及来源,重点论述了焚烧系统中二恶英的生成途径,并对废弃物焚烧处理技术中二恶英的控制问题进行了探讨,对进一步提高焚烧技术具有一定的指导意义。     

有害废弃物焚烧技术分析

介绍了几种适合有害废弃物焚烧的炉型,分析了其技术特点和值得研究的问题.根据废弃物的特点和焚烧要求,推荐了宜选择的炉型.     

Polychlorinated dioxin and dibenzofuran levels in the environment and food from the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia

The paper summarises systematic 5-year monitoring of the environment, drinking water and food for PCDDs and PCDFs levels in industrial centres and in rural areas of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. It also presents selected data on dioxin concentrations in gas emissions of toxic waste incinerators at chemical plants. The paper gives a comparative analysis of PCDDs/PCDFs daily intake by the population of industrial cities for Bashkortostan and for industrial countries of Europe and North America. The results show that PCDDs/PCDFs levels in the environment, drinking water and food in Bashkortostan are approximately equal to those in other industrial countries.     

膨润土防水毯(GCL)和土工膜(GM)作为危险废物填埋场复合场衬垫系统的研究

根据国家环保总局发布的《危险废物安全填埋处置工程建设技术要求》(环发[2004]75号)中对危险废物填埋场的防渗系统的要求,介绍了膨润土防水毯(GCL)代替压实粘土层(CCL)作为危废填埋场防渗系统的优势,并根据对美国91个已建成的危险废物填埋场所采用的不同的衬垫系统进行综合分析,证明GCL/GM复合衬垫系统较之CCL/GM能达到更优秀的防渗效果。     

Dioxin emission inventories and trends: the importance of large point sources

We estimated atmospheric emissions of TEQ for US municipal solid waste incinerators for which PCDD/PCDF measurements are available (81 of about 160 facilities). We compared our annual totals for 1985-1995 with estimates computed using the emission factor approach. Our estimates for a fraction of the facilities was larger than many estimates for all incinerators combined. Our inventory was dominated by several large sources; two facilities emitted on the order of a kilogram of TEQ annually. Retrofit or closing of several incinerators indicates a substantial decrease in atmospheric emissions. Communities addressing the remaining sources will face a choice between expensive retrofits and adoption of alternative methods of handling waste.     

Congener-specific levels of dioxins and dibenzofurans in U.S. food and estimated daily dioxin toxic equivalent intake

Food, especially meat, milk, and fish, is the immediate source of almost all polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxinlike compounds in the general population. To estimate intake of these highly toxic compounds, we performed congener-specific dioxin analyses for the first time on U.S. food for 18 dairy meat, and fish samples from a supermarket in upstate New York. 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD, "dioxin") toxic equivalents (TEqs) on a wet weight basis for the dairy products ranged for 0.04 to 0.7 ppt, meat TEqs ranged from 0.03 to 1.5 ppt, and fish TEqs ranged from 0.02 to 0.13 ppt. Previous human breast milk and infant formula analyses were used with the current preliminary food data to estimate a range of dioxin intake for Americans. Average daily food intake of TEqs for an adult weighing 65 kg was estimated to be between 0.3 and 3.0 pg/kg body weight, for a total of 18-192 pg TEq, using 1986 American consumption rates. Due to the relatively high level of PCDDs and PCDFs commonly found in human breast milk from American women and from women in other industrial countries, a nursing infant may consume an average of 35-53 pg TEq/kg body weight/day in its first year of life. This may be compared with the current U.S. EPA virtually safe dose of 0.006 pg TCDD/kg body weight per day over a 70-year lifetime based on an upper limit cancer risk of 10(-6), or the 10 pg/kg/day used by some European government agencies.     

垃圾焚烧飞灰熔融无害化及资源化研究现状

垃圾焚烧飞灰因含二噁英和重金属被列为危险废物（HW18）,存在环境污染风险,2020年全国生活垃圾焚烧量高达14607.6万吨,以焚烧量5%（质量分数）计算,全国垃圾焚烧飞灰的产生量为730.4万吨。目前垃圾焚烧飞灰以固化填埋为主,占用土地资源,且堆存量与处理量严重失衡,无法实现资源化,因此垃圾焚烧飞灰的无害化及资源化已成为绿色发展的瓶颈课题。本文详细介绍了垃圾焚烧飞灰经熔融无害化及资源化的研究现状,阐述了熔融处理垃圾焚烧飞灰的重金属固化、二噁英降解机理,结合熔融形成的玻璃渣分析了制备微晶玻璃、泡沫微晶玻璃、胶凝材料的资源化技术,并指出现有玻璃化虽能固化重金属,但在后续资源化以及产品服役过程,重金属的迁移规律、浸出性需要进一步研究,为垃圾焚烧飞灰的综合利用提供了参考。      

Full-scale plant study on low temperature thermal dechlorination of PCDDs/PCDFs in fly ash

The low temperature thermal dechlorination process is an effective technology of dioxins decomposition in fly ash of municipal solid waste incinerators(MSWI). A full-scale dechlorination process was designed and constructed in Matsudo city, Japan. It was confirmed that PCDDs/PCDFs decomposition ratio was more than 99% with temperature of 350 degrees C and retention time of 1 hour, and thermal dechlorination moved on from PCDDs/PCDFs having more chlorine atoms to those of less chlorine atoms.     

Decrease in levels and body burden of dioxins, dibenzofurans, PCBS, DDE, and HCB in blood and milk in a mother nursing twins over a thirty-eight month period

This paper presents measured dioxin, dibenzofuran, PCB, DDE and HCB blood and milk levels and estimated body burdens in a mother who nursed twins for thirty-eight months. A total of thirteen milk samples and three blood samples were collected and analyzed. Measured PCDD and PCDF levels in milk decreased from 309 and 21 ng/kg (ppt) to 173 and 9 ng/kg, respectively, between March 1993 and September 1995. Based on the decrease in breast milk dioxin levels, we estimate that the nursing mother reduced her dioxin body burden from 310 to 96 ng dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs), or approximately 69%. In two and one half years the level of HCB in the mother's milk decreased from 10.7 to less than 1.8 ng/g (ppb), the level of DDE decreased from 246 to 46 ng/g and the total level of non-coplanar PCBs decreased from 285 to 63 ng/g, on a lipid basis. We estimate that the twin's consumption of dioxins, dibenzofurans, and coplanar PCBs from breast feeding was approximately 115 ng TEQ per twin.     

除尘灰水洗对烟气颗粒物组成和二噁英的影响

为研究除尘灰配入烧结对烟气颗粒物组成和二噁英的影响,利用水洗方式对烧结除尘灰进行除杂改性,然后采用烧结杯测定改性前后配入对烧结矿性能的影响,并通过撞击式颗粒物采样器和二噁英采样器对烟气污染物进行采样分析,研究改性前后配入烧结对颗粒物组成碱金属和重金属含量以及烟气二噁英和前驱体物质排放量的影响.结果表明:烧结除尘灰中的K和Cl在水洗除杂改性过程中被有效去除,除杂后的除尘灰配加烧结有助于改善烧结矿粒度组成、减少烟气颗粒物和二噁英排放浓度;K组成在烧结颗粒物排放中占有较高比例,远高于金属Na、Pb和Zn的含量,且在粒度较细的细颗粒物中占比更高,水洗除杂后配入烧结可显著降低烧结配料中的K组成,使得烟气排放的K组成显著降低,进一步降低颗粒物的排放浓度,其中又以1.10~2.10 μm粒度范围的颗粒物和K组成的减排比例最高;烧结原料Cl组成和烧结过程中的有机前驱体氯苯、多氯联苯是烟气二噁英生成的重要诱因,除尘灰水洗在降低Cl组成的同时也显著降低烟气前驱体多氯联苯排放量达40%,有利于降低烟气中二噁英的排放浓度.      

Love Canal Tragedy

The purpose of this environmental failure case study paper is to provide educational materials for environmental engineering courses dealing with design and operation of landfills for hazardous waste. In 1978, it was discovered that hazardous waste had contaminated homes and schools in the Love Canal area, a former chemical landfill which became a 15 acre neighborhood of the City of Niagara Falls, New York. On August 7, 1978, the United States President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency at the Love Canal. The Love Canal became the first man-made disaster to receive such a designation based on a variety of environmental and health related studies. Background, causes and effects of environmental failure, and remediation actions of the Love Canal superfund site are described in this paper. Lessons learned from this case study show the importance of identification of hazardous waste and the proper disposal of hazardous waste for the protection of the public health and the environment.     

钢铁工业烧结过程二噁英的产生机理与减排研究进展

 铁矿石烧结是目前一个重要的二噁英（PCDD/ Fs）产生工业源,烧结过程二噁英的生成机理复杂,主要由前驱体化合物经有机化合反应生成和碳、氢、氧和氯等元素通过“从头合成”生成,其中以“从头合成”为主,二噁英在烧结机上不仅在干燥带中产生,而且在燃烧带和烧结带的排烟道中也产生。烧结过程二噁英的减排主要方法分为源头控制、过程与操作控制以及末端治理3种,源头控制是烧结过程抑制二噁英产生的最佳选择,现行工艺往往选择末端治理。烧结烟气成分复杂,单一的二噁英减排技术减排幅度未必奏效,而且投资比较大。针对烧结工序的技术特点和烧结烟气的特征,烧结污染物协同减排是烧结工序节能减排的最佳途径,如烧结烟气循环不但可以减少二噁英产生,还可以同时减少[NOx]和粉尘量的排放,这是今后烧结协同减排发展的一个方向。