Characterization of Persistent Organic Pollutants Emitted from a Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator in Taiwan

Abstract

No information is currently available on the emission of brominated flame retardant (BFR) compounds from stack flue gases of municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) because of the limitations of standard methods of BFR sampling and analysis. This study presents sample cleanup procedures that are combined with a multiple column approach to determine the quantities of five persistent organic pollutants (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/ dibenzofurans [PCDD/Fs], polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans [PBDD/Fs], polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs], polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], and polybrominated biphenyls [PBBs]) simultaneously from single stack gas samples collected from a large-scale MSWI in Taiwan. Mean concentrations of PCDD/Fs, PBDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs, and PBBs in the flue gases of MSWI were 0.0719 ng WHO-TEQ/(N Á m 3 ), 0.00169 ng WHO-TEQ/(N Á m 3 ), 0.00546 ng WHO-TEQ/(N Á m 3 ), 20.7 ng/(N Á m 3 ), and 0.958 ng/( N Á m 3 ), respectively. Emission factors of PCDD/Fs, PBDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs, and PBBs were 0.300 mg WHO-TEQ/ton-waste, 0.00667 mg WHO-TEQ/ton-waste, 0.0207 mg WHO-TEQ/ton-waste, 84.5 mg/ton-waste, and 1.05 mg/ton-waste, respectively. Therefore, the emissions of not only PCDD/Fs but also BFRs from MSWIs should be of concern and further investigation is needed.

A preliminary investigation of unintentional POP emissions from thermal wire reclamation at industrial scrap metal recycling parks in China

“…The average dl-PCB TEQ concentrations from flue gas samples at P1 and P2 were 1.1 and 1.7 ng WHO-TEQ N m −3 , respectively. As with the PCDD/Fs, the mean dl-PCB TEQs in flue gas released from thermal wire reclamation were much higher than the values reported by Ba et al in stack gases released from secondary aluminum and copper metallurgy (0.019 and 0.023 ng TEQ N m −3 , respectively) [16], and by Wang et al in the flue gas of a municipal solid waste incinerator (5.5 pg WHO-TEQ N m −3 ) [26]. In this study, the average dl-PCB concentrations in the residual ash samples from P1 and P2 were 13.6 and 25.3 ng g −1 , respectively (Table 2).…”

Concentrations and Profiles of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans in Air and Soil Samples in the Proximity of a Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Plant

“…Exposure to PCDD/Fs is of great concern because of their toxicity, which may induce hormonedependent cancers and reproductive effects in humans and wildlife (Liu et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2010). Thermal or combustion processes, chemical-industrial sources, and reservoirs are the three important categories of dioxin sources.…”