Document 7OrqRMgw5nJq9nwvOKmD1bE0R

HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #31 From RACHEL: Weekly news and resources for citizens fighting toxics -- June 29, 1987 W ILL NEW 'MASS BURN' INCINERATORS PRODUCE ANY AIR POLLUTION THAT TH R EA TEN S TO HARM HUMAN HEALTH? A re th e re v a lid reasons fo r people to be w orried about a ir pollution from garbage in c in e ra to rs ? The incineration of garbage (often called mass b u rn , resource reco very or "w a ste -to -e n e rg y" ) seems to produce the fam ily of to xic chem icals known as d io xin s. The dioxins are p a rtly released from the smoke stack of the in cin e ra to r, and they are p a rtly retained in the a s h , w hich is e v e n tu a lly sen t to a la n d fill. No one seems to d ispute th at b u rn in g garbage produces d io x in s. People argue about the amount of dioxins produced, and they argue about which p a rticu la r components of garbage cau se the p ro ductio n of d io x in s . B u t no one seems to arg ue th a t you can burn garbage without producing d io xin s. Given thatm ass burn produces d io xin s, w henever someone proposes a mass burn in cin e ra to r fo r g arb ag e , we need to ask o u rselves w hether d ioxins are really d ang erou s to hum ans. No one seems to doubt th at d io xin s are harm ful to anim als. T h e o nly unsettled question seems to be w hether d io xin s are harm ful to hum ans. W riting in the Jo u rn a l of the Am erican Medical A sso ciatio n A p ril 18, 1986 (p g s . 2031-2038) a team of doctors and sc ie n tists rep o rted on th e ir stu d y of 154 humans who had been exposed to d io xin s d u rin g a twoy e a r period (ancT th e ir s tu d y of a control g roup of 155 people who had not been exposed to d io x in s ). T h e exposed group had live d fo r two y e a rs in a t r a ile r p a rk w here dioxins had been mixed with waste oil and sp ra y e d on roads to su p p re s s d u s t. T h e doctors repo rted no d iffe re n c e s in the medical h isto ries of the exposed and non-exposed groups; physical exams show ed no d iffe re n c e s ; stu d ie s of blood and u rin e ch e m is try showed no d iffe re n c e s ; n eu rologic te sts showed no d iffe re n c e s . Y e t th e doctors repo rted th a t p ro te c tiv e ce lls in the immune system s of the d io xin -exp o sed humans were reduced in num ber or im p a ire d , not operating at peak levels, compared to the immune system s of the unexposed control group. The results were e x p re s s e d in term s of im paired liv e r fu n c tio n , and in term s of im paired T - c e ll c h a r a c t e r is t ic s . It is the immune system in humans th a t fig h ts o ff d ise a se , so an impaired immune system would expose a person to ris k of disease from non-dioxinrelated causes. Fo r a fre e re p rin t of the medical a rtic le , w rite to D r. R ich ard E . Hoffman, MD, Division of Environm ental Hazards and Health E ffe c ts , C en ter fo r Environm ental H ealth, C enters fo r Disease C ontrol, U . S . Departm ent of Health and Human S e rv ic e s , A tla n ta , GA 30333; or phone (404) 329-3311 and ask fo r D r. Hoffman. Request a copy of "Health Effe cts of Long-term Exposure to 2 ,3 ,7 ,8 -T e tra ch lo ro d ib e n zo -p -D io xip ." * ** The California A ir Resources Board (the state agency concerned with a ir pollution) in 1986 asked a S c ie n tific R eview Panel on T o x ic A ir C o ntam inants to look at a vailab le e vid e n ce on d io x in s . D r . Emil M. M rak, C h an cello r Em eritu s of the U n iv e rs ity of C a lifo rn ia at D a v is , on May 23, 1986, WELCOME TO NEW READERS We got your name from friends who told us you are interested in solving the problem of toxics. You will receive four free issues of Hazardous Waste Hews; if you do not subscribe by the fourth issue, we will stop bothering you. Our regular subscrip tion rate is $12 per year. Stories in the Hews are drawn from a large pool of information in RACHEL, the Remote Access Chemical Hazards Electronic Library, a computerized database we maintain as a resource for this news-sheet and for use by the media, local governments, schools, libraries, and citizen activists. Anyone with a tabletop computer (Apple, Commodore, IBM-PC or whatever) can dial into Rachel with a modem and extract useful information. For free access to RACHEL, write us. Is vour town's library plugged in? Your school? Funaed by foundations and Dy in dividual donations. RACHEL is a resource for you and your children. C0007.2 submitted the findings of the Scientific Review Panel, which he chaired. The report sa y s, in part, "Dioxins are potent toxins and are known carcinogens and/or promoters of carcinogenesis in animals. D io x in s... are potential carcinogens or promoters of carcinogenesis in humans. The current and planned,waste-to-energy facilities in California will provide a high potential for emissions of dioxins into air in the state. An exposure level [at] which no significant health effects will occur cannot be identified. For these reasons, we agree that dioxins should be listed by the ARB [Air Resources Board] as toxic air contaminants with no determined threshold below which adverse health effects will not occur." The report goes on to say, "Dioxins and dibenzofurans are stable, lipophilic [fatsoluble] compounds that may be expected to accumulate up the food chain. T h u s, airborne dioxins emitted during combustion may contribute to dioxin intake by humans not only via inhalation but by other routes such as ingestion of food. Assessment of dioxin intake only via inhalation may thus underestimate total intake. "Given that tissue levels of these compounds [in humans] are measurable, we expect measurable levels in a ir, and we feel that the expense involved in obtaining baseline data [on dioxins in air] is small compared to the potential risk . Monitoring of ambient dioxin levels should be com menced before any w aste-to-energy facilities go on line____ "Since there is good evidence that dioxins can enhance the action of other carcinogens, the potential for the harmful interaction of dioxins with other en vironmental toxins could be important and must not be forgotten or underestimated when considering research reports on the actions of dioxins alone." The two-page report, "Findings of the Scientific Review Panel on the Report on Chlorinated Dioxins and Dibenzofurans as Adopted at the April 16, 1986 Meeting" is a v a ila b le from Mr. William Lo ckett, California A ir Resources Board, P . 0 . Box 2815, Sacramento, CA 95812; phone (916) 322-8168; or from D r. Emil Mrak, Chancel lor Em eritus, U niversity of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616; phone (916) 7522442. NEW STU D Y SHOWS HOW ONE TOWN CAN R E C Y C L E AND C U T LA N D FILL USE 70% The town of East Hampton, New Y o rk, hired B arry Commoner's Center for the Biology of Natural Systems (CBNS) to devise a plan for handling the town's garbage without using an incinerator. The town has 15,000 winter time residents but it swells with tourists during summer. The resulting report recommends a combination of recycling and composting that would reduce by 70% the amount of garbage going to the landfill. Get An Intensive Trash Separation and Recycling System for the Town of East Hampton for $10 from CBNS, Queens College, Flushing, NY 11367; phone (718) 670-4182. fbrardous Haste M e n is published weekly by Environmental Research Foundation, P.O. Box 3541# Princeton, NJ 08543. Editort Peter Montague, Ph.D.i Assistant Editori Annette Eubank. The M e n is mailed first class every Monday frw&' Princeton, NJ. Subscription! $1Z per year for individuals and non-profits, $5 for students and senior citizens, $100 for businesses. You may reprint everything from the News please credit us (including our address 1 and mail us a copy. If you find the Mews useful, please drop us a note. swsnviprn--order form Kamei Address i " Environmental Research Foundation P.O. Box 3541 Princeton, NJ 08543-3541 RETURN REQUESTED Cityi TOt 11 ' j 'r- i i. 1 State and zipi F U S T CLASS M AIL