Pollutants produced and emitted by incinerators that currently appear to have the potential to cause the largest health effects are particulate matter, lead, mercury, and dioxins and furans.
On the basis of available data, a well-designed and properly operated incineration facility emits relatively small amounts of those pollutants, contributes little to ambient concentrations, and so is not expected to pose a substantial health risk. However, such assessments of risk under normal operating conditions may inadequately characterize the risks or lack of risks because of gaps in and limitations of existing data or techniques used to assess risk, the collective effects of multiple facilities not considered in plant-by-plant risk assessments, potential synergisms in the combined effects of the chemicals to which people are exposed, the possible effect of small increments in exposure on unusually susceptible people, and the potential effects of short-term emission increases due to off-normal operations.
Reductions in emissions will certainly reduce public health risks from direct and indirect exposure to those emissions. Whether there is a minimal emission rate below which there is no further reduction in health risk has not been established, and the indirect effects of emission reductions (for example, health risks associated with efforts to reduce emissions, as through substitution of other processes or materials, the use of more energy or materials for control equipment, and the manufacture of control equipment) have not yet been evaluated....
Scientific assessments in this study in the year 2000 concluded the evaluation of health effects on the community is flawed because the methodologies are not conclusive. There needs to be a better assessment in order to draw real conclusions about waste incinerators, including medical incinerators.
Recommendations
To increase the power of epidemiologic studies to assess the health effects of incinerators, future multi-site studies should be designed to evaluate combined data from all facilities in a local area as well as multiple localities that contain similar incinerators and incinerator workers, rather than examining health issues site by site.
In addition to using other exposure assessment techniques, worker exposures should be evaluated comprehensively through biological monitoring, particularly in combination with efforts to reduce exposures of workers during maintenance operations.
Assessments of health risks that are attributable to waste incineration should pay special attention to the risks that might be posed by particulate matter, lead, mercury, and the dioxin and furans, due to their toxicity and environmental prevalence.
Health risks attributable to emissions resulting form incinerator upset conditions need to be evaluated....
