"Energy from Waste Incinerators produce more CO2 than the equivalent gas fired power station"
Health
Modern incinerators release harmful air-borne fine particles and produce hazardous ashes containing poisonous dioxins and toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury. Most modern incinerators are large so if something does go wrong, the impact on the area near the facility will be much bigger, just as is the case when modern bulk carriers founder.
It is true that modern waste incinerators, in comparison to old incinerators, are designed to meet stricter emission standards when operating under “optimum conditions”. We do not know how much contamination is discharged when their operating conditions are not optimum as regulations do not require continuous measurements of key contaminants such as dangerous fine particles, heavy metals and dioxins. Ten incinerators in UK committed 553 pollution offences in a two year period, leading to only one prosecution(Greenpeace, “A Review of the Performance of Municipal Incinerators in the UK”). Fines are minimal and have no deterrent value.
Four separate studies have shown increases in children's cancers and leukaemias, one showing a doubling within a 5 mile radius. According to British Society for Ecological Medicine, “A previous report to Parliament (Memorandum by Public Interest Consultants DSW 56) in 2000 estimated that incinerators would cause hundreds of deaths each year. The BSEM report discusses the study by Elliot who found an excess of 11,000 cancer deaths around incinerators and this may have been a considerable underestimate. In fact in the USA the building of new incinerators has virtually been stopped since the mid 1990s.
The United States Department of Energy has published a list of eight groups of pollutants from an incinerator in Tennessee. They include acidic gases & unburned hydrocarbons, in addition to very fine air-borne particles, toxic heavy metals. They also produce dioxins and furans which can act as "Gene Switches" causing birth defects, mutation and cancer. They have actually identified more than 500 individual substances a large number of which are harmful to human life. Of course they also produce huge amounts of CO2 in contradiction to the UK’s commitment to reduce global warming.
UK Government regulations should protect public health, but according to Parliamentary Post 149, December 2000, 'Incineration of Household Waste’, where they state that emission control can be balanced against EXCESSIVE COST, without stating who decides what is excessive cost. This clearly means that emission standards are NEVER guaranteed to be at a safe level and clearly raises concerns over whether the setting and enforcement of standards, and process authorisation fulfil the Agencies' requirement to protect human health.
Particulate Matter: Contradiction between Science and EU policy
One of the major concerns of BRAINS is that an incinerator sited in the densely populated area of South Bucks will be detrimental to Public Health. The fine particles of 2.5 micrometers and less (PM2.5) are of major concern. Scientific evidence justifies our concern!
Long-term exposure to PM2.5 is strongly associated with increased mortality and reduced life expectancy. Worldwide studies have shown that a 10μg/m3 elevation in PM2.5 is associated with a 7% and 14%-17% increased risk of all-cause cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality respectively. In the light of several new findings regarding the health effects of airborne particulate matters the Environment and Health Committee of the European Respiratory Society have recently published their concerns on the mismatch between the best scientific evidence and EU policy, Click here to read 'Report'
The authors call for stringent caps on PM concentrations, and more ambitious targets and enforcement of actual and upcoming air quality directives.
This clearly means that emission standards are NEVER guaranteed to be at a safe level and raises concerns over whether the setting and enforcement of standards, and process authorisation fulfil the Agencies' requirement to protect human health.