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HOW IMPORTANT ARE DIOXIN EMISSIONS FROM THE OPEN BURNING OF WASTE?

HOW IMPORTANT ARE DIOXIN EMISSIONS FROM THE OPEN BURNING OF WASTE?. How do we get exposed to dioxins? How does waste burning contribute to exposure?. Soil ingestion. Vegetable fat. Soil dermal contact. Other meats. Poultry. Freshwater fish and. shellfish. 6%. Pork. 5%. 19%.

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HOW IMPORTANT ARE DIOXIN EMISSIONS FROM THE OPEN BURNING OF WASTE?

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  1. HOW IMPORTANT ARE DIOXIN EMISSIONS FROM THE OPEN BURNING OF WASTE? • How do we get exposed to dioxins? • How does waste burning contribute to exposure?

  2. Soil ingestion Vegetable fat Soil dermal contact Other meats Poultry Freshwaterfish and shellfish 6% Pork 5% 19% Marine fish and shellfish Beef 7% 14% 1% Inhalation 4% 16% Eggs 21% Milk Dairy US Adult Average Daily Intake of CDDs/CDFs/dioxin-like PCBs 2000 Draft Estimate: ~ 65 pg TEQDFP-WHO98/day

  3. Sources and Pathways to Human Exposures SOURCES DEPOSITION FOOD SUPPLY TRANSPORT Reentrainment Runoff Erosion

  4. Dioxin Exposure and Food Distribution • In the US, exposure to most individuals is not strongly influenced by their local sources of dioxin. • Food is the primary route of exposure • Meat and diary production is concentrated in a few geographic areas • This production is nationally distributed, driven primarily by market forces • Consequently, most US consumers eat from a common meat and dairy supply that is produced a significant distant from where they live • In many other countries meat and dairy production is more localized and local sources may dominate exposure.

  5. How much dioxin in the environment comes from open burning • Historical levels • Current levels in the US

  6. 20th Century Trend

  7. Decline in US Dioxin Releases 1987-1995-2004* 1987 1995 2004 * 2004 projections are preliminary and not part of the reassessment

  8. In the US most open burning is through the use of Burn Barrels in rural areas

  9. OPEN BURNING TEST FACILITY

  10. Open Burn Test Facility

  11. Backyard Burning of Household Waste Waste Composition

  12. Results: TEQ Values 10000 1000 I-TEQ (ng/kg waste burned) 100 10 1 Open CaCl2 CaCl2 Wetted Wetted Double Double Double High Cu High Cu PVC=1% Baseline Baseline Baseline Baseline Baseline Baseline Baseline PVC=0% PVC=0% PVC=1% PVC=7.5% PVC=7.5% Compressed Compressed

  13. Statistical Analysis Results • Waste Chlorine Effect Statistically Significant Only at High Cl Levels • At Normal Cl Levels (< 1 % Cl), Other Parameters Dominate • Gas-Phase Conditions Important (HCl, T, Cu, burning rate) • Majority of PCDD/F Emissions During Smoldering Phase of Burn

  14. ActivityLevel • -In 1992, 51.8 Million People Lived in Nonmetropolitan Areas (U.S. DOC, 1997). • -Of the Rural Population in the United States, 40 Percent Are Assumed to Burn Their Household Waste in a Barrel (Two Rivers Region Council of Public Officials 1994). • -On Average, Each U.S. Citizen Generates 3.72 Pounds of Solid Waste (Excluding Yard Waste) Per Day (or 616 kg/person-yr) (U.S. EPA, 1996b). • -On Average, in Households that Dispose of Household Waste by Burning, Approximately 63 Percent of Waste Generated Is Burned (I.E., 63 Percent of 616 Kg/person-yr = 388 Kg/person-year) (Two Rivers Region Council of Public Officials 1994).

  15. Emissions Estimate Emissions = (51.8 x 106 people)(40%)(388 kg/person-yr) (77.7 ng WHO TEQDF/kg) = 604 g TEQDF-WHO98

  16. Summary and Conclusions • For commercial scale incinerators, dioxin emissions are primarily a product of incinerator design • Commercial scale incinerators with proper design, along with good operating practices, can prevent waste incineration from being a significant source of dioxin. • The uncontrolled burning of waste in communal burning dumps or by individual households can be a major dioxin source and for many countries it can be the dominate source . • The conversion of burning dumps to sanitary landfills and the phase out of most residential burning of waste is a key element for dioxin exposure reduction in both develop and developing countries.

  17. Soil ingestion Vegetable fat Soil dermal contact Other meats Poultry Freshwaterfish and shellfish 6% Pork 5% 19% Marine fish and shellfish Beef 7% 14% 1% Inhalation 4% 16% Eggs 21% Milk Dairy US Adult Average Daily Intake of CDDs/CDFs/dioxin-like PCBs 2000 Draft Estimate: ~ 65 pg TEQDFP-WHO98/day

  18. Dioxin Uptake Into Meat And Dairy

  19. Emissions from Industrial Scale Sources Unlikely to Correlate Proportionally With General Population Exposures. • A Majority of the Combustion Sources Are Limited to a Few States • The Production of Animal Fats Is Also Concentrated in a Few States • Most Major Food Production States Are Are Upwind of Major Emission Production States • Open Burning Likely to be a Significant Source of Exposure • Reservoir Sources Could Be Significant Source of Exposure

  20. Ongoing EPA Activities • Develop quality public information material that could be used by states, tribes, and localities to educate public officials and the general public about the detrimental consequences of BYB • Maintain the EPA BYB web site • Document successful case studies on education, legislation and infrastructure • Establish Peer to Peer mentoring network based around case studies • Continue to provide general technical and scientific support to the States

  21. Three Tiered Approach: Education, Enforcement, and Infrastructure • Educate government officials and the general public on the concerns of BYB. • Strengthen State local ordinances and compliance programs. • Strengthen infrastructure to provide real alternatives to BYB in rural areas.

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