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Incineration has been the globally controversial and concerned method of solid waste disposal. Energy recovery and volume reduction are the benefits from waste incineration, but risk due to release of persistent organic pollutants is the major public concern in the world. In this study, the emission of organic pollutants including dioxins and polychlorinated naphthalenes from solid waste incineration in China was comprehensively evaluated, and a relationship between energy benefit and pollutant emission was firstly established. The results show that production of medical and industrial waste was smaller than that of municipal waste but yielded comparable or even higher emission of dioxins. The energy benefit-to-emission index for organic pollutants (EBEI OP ) for evaluation of solid waste management on a local or regional scale was proposed. Significant correlations between net energy benefit and pollutant emission for provinces with higher EBEI OP values were found. Furthermore, higher EBEI OP values were associated with economic factors while lower values were influenced by emission from incineration of medical and industrial waste. We suggest that an EBEI OP value of R60 can serve as a reference for "profitable" solid waste management, assisting decision making during energy benefit and environmental risk assessment.

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This paper examines the form and chemical composition of metal artifacts of three successive cultures of the Hami region. The metal artifacts of the Tianshanbeilu culture are rather diverse in both type and material; body ornaments are dominant, whereas tools and weapons are quantitatively modest. The typological composition and the predominance of body ornaments made of tin bronze, pure copper, and arsenic copper are reminiscent of the Karasuk culture in the Minusinsk Basin and the Siba culture in the Hexi Corridor. Apart from the bulk metal types, there are gold, lead, and antimonial copper. The metal artifacts of the succeeding culture of Yanbulake are morphologically derived from Tianshanbeilu. In the subsequent Heigouliang culture, apart from old types of metal artifacts inherited from the Yanbulake culture, there are a number of new types of artifacts that are morphologically derived from nomadic cultures in the Eurasian steppe. In the cultures of Yanbulake and Heigouliang, the use of tin bronze, arsenic copper, and pure copper prevailed. The source of minerals, especially tin, which is used throughout the three successive cultures, awaits further investigation. Keywords: Xinjiang, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, metallurgy, Eurasia