=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #35
—July 24, 1987—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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PART 2: DO GARBAGE INCINERATORS PRODUCE AIR POLLUTION HARMFUL TO
HUMANS?
Does burning municipal garbage produce air pollution that might harm humans?[1] This is part 2 of our
series to answer that question.
We know that “mass burn” or “trash to steam” plants produce dioxin. Part of the dioxin goes up the stack
and becomes air pollution and the remainder of the dioxin stays with the ash. If the ash is thrown into a
landfill, the dioxin goes with it. If rain enters the landfill and soaks the ash, the water that runs off (or sinks
through the bottom of) the landfill will contain small amounts of dioxin. In this way, dioxins may be spread
through the local environment.
But what other chemicals will be produced by burning garbage? What other chemicals will be emitted from
the stack, or will stay with the ash, ready to enter the local environment later on? The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) conducted research on this question in 1979. At their Ames, Iowa, laboratory, two DOE
researchers (G.A. Junk and C. S. Ford) looked through a large body of scientific literature, seeking studies
that had measured one or more organic chemicals in the ash or in the flue gases of plants burning municipal
garbage. Organic chemicals are chemicals that contain carbon atoms. (Inorganic chemicals do not contain
carbon atoms.) The resulting list of chemicals was published in 1979 in a scientific journal called
CHEMOSPHERE, Vol. 9, pgs. 187-230. The Junk-Ford study identified 217 individual organic chemicals that
have been identified by one researcher or another studying the ash or flue gases from mass burn plants.
This does not mean that ONLY 217 organic chemicals are produced by mass burn plants; it means AT
LEAST 217 are produced. Studies since 1979 has revealed others, but here we’re going to focus on just the
original Junk-Ford list of 217.
We wanted to know if any of these 217 chemicals had been studied for their effects on humans or laboratory
animals. So we turned to Irving Sax’s standard reference book, DANGEROUS PROPERTIES OF
INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS and we looked up the 217 chemicals. If we didn’t find a particular chemical in
Sax, we then looked it up in the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health book, REGISTRY OF
TOXIC EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES, which we call RTECS for short.
Inside parentheses, following the name of each chemical, we list what we found in Sax or RTECS. Sax
assigns toxicity ratings: low, moderate and high. We have reported those ratings. If a chemical is known to
cause cancer in humans or animals, we report that. If a chemical causes neoplasms, we report that;
neoplasms are tumors that don’t metastasize (spread) the way cancer tumors spread. The word “Sax” or the
word “RTECS” by itself inside parenthese indicates that that chemical is listed by that source but the
chemical is not noted as a particular hazard. (This is not to say we are volunteering to breathe it; it just
means that Sax or RTECS don’t list it as a special hazard.) If a chemical has the words “no data” inside
parentheses, it means either the chemical wasn’t listed in Sax or RTECS, or the listing said that nothing was
known about the hazards of that chemical. An incinerator that puts chemicals into the human environment
when there is “no data” on the effects of those chemicals, is conducting an (uncontrolled) experiment on the
affected humans.
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
=============== [1] Information in this newsletter derived from: Irving Sax, DANGEROUS PROPERTIES
OF INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS [Fifth edition] (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1979); and Richard J.
Lewis, Sr., editor, REGISTRY OF TOKXIC EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES [1978 edition]
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979); and G.A. Junk and C.S. Ford, “A Review of
Organic Emissions From Selected Combustion Processes,” CHEMOSPHERE Vol. 9 (1980), pgs. 187-230.
acenaphthene (animal neoplasms: Sax). acenaphthylene (animal cancer: RTECS). acetaldehyde (toxicity
moderate: Sax). acetic acid (toxicity moderate: Sax). acetone (toxicity moderate: Sax). acetonitrile (Sax).
acrylonitrile (human cancer: Sax). aldrin (animal cancer: Sax). aniline (animal cancer: Sax). anthanthrene
(animal neoplasms: RTECS). anthracene (human cancer: Sax). anthracenonitrile (No data). anthraquinone
(animal neoplasms: Sax). benz(c)phenanthrene (animal cancer: Sax). benzene (human cancer: Sax).
benzilbutylphthalate (No data).
benzo(a)anthracene (animal cancer: RTECS). benzo(a)pyrene (animal cancer and a mutagen: Sax).
benzo(b)fluoranthene (animal cancer: Sax). benzo(b)fluorene (No data). benzo(b)phenanthrene (animal
cancer: RTECS). benzo(c,d)pyrenone (No data). benzo(def)dibenzothiophene (No data). benzo(e)pyrene
(animal cancer suspected: RTECS). benzo(ghi)fluouranthene (No data). benzo(ghi)perylene (animal cancer:
Sax). benzo(k)fluoranthene (animal cancer: Sax). benzo(l)fluoranthene (No data). benzofluoranthene (No
data). benzofuran (RTECS). benzotetrahydrofuran (No data). benzylbenzoate (toxicity moderate: Sax).
benzylchloride (toxicity high: Sax). biphenyl (animal cancer: Sax). butadiene (RTECS). 1,3-butadiyne (Sax).
butane (toxicity moderate: Sax). 1-buten-3-yne (RTECS). 3-butene (No data). 1-butene (Sax). carbazole (Sax).
carbon disulfide (Sax). cis-chlordane (RTECS). chlorinated terphenyls (No data). chloroacetophenone
(toxicity high, and a military poison: Sax). p-chlorobenzylchloride (No data). chlorobiphenyl (animal cancer:
Sax). chloronaphthalene (toxicity moderate: Sax).
chrysene (animal cancer: Sax). coronene (animal cancer: Sax). cresols (Sax). cumene (RTECS). cyclobutane
(Sax). cyclohexane (toxicity moderate: Sax). cyclopentadiene (toxicity moderate: Sax). cyclopentane (toxicity
moderate: Sax). cyclopentene (toxicity moderate: Sax). cyclopenteno(c,d)pyrene (No data). cyclopropane
(toxicity moderate: Sax). p,p’-DDE (animal cancer: RTECS). o,p’-DDT (No data). decachlorobiphenyl (No
data). dibenz(a,h)anthracene (animal cancer: Sax). dibenzo(a,e)pyrene (animal cancer: Sax).
dibenzofluoranthene (No data). dibenzoheptafulvene (No data). 1,1-dichloro-3-phenylpropane (No data).
dichlorobenzene (RTECS). dichlorodibenzofuran (No data). dichlorophenol (RTECS). dicyclohexyladipate
(No data). dieldrin (animal cancer: Sax). diethylisophthalate (No data). diethylterephthalate (No data). 1,1-
difluoroethylene (Sax). difluoromethane (No data). diisobutylphthalate (animal birth defects: Sax). 9,10-
dimethylanthracene (animal cancer: Sax). 7,12-dimethylbenzo(a)anthracene (animal cancer, birth defects:
Sax).
dimethylcyclopentane (No data). dimethylcyclopentene (No data). dimethyldisulfide (Sax). dimethylindole
(No data). 1,5-dimethylnaphthalene (No data). 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene (No data). 2,7-dimethylnaphthalene
(No data). 1,6-dimethylnaphthalene (RTECS). dimethylpiperidene (No data). dimethylpyridene (No data).
dimethyltetrahydrofuran (No data). dioctylphthalate (animal birth defects: Sax). diphenylacetylene (Sax).
diphenylbiphenyl (No data). diphenylmethane (RTECS). divinylbenzene (Sax).
ethane (Sax). ethylbenzene (Sax). ethylcyclopentane (RTECS). 1-ethylcyclopentene (No data). 3-
ethylcyclopentene (No data). ethylene (toxicity moderate: Sax). ethylnaphthalene (No data). ethyne (Sax).
fluoranthene (RTECS). fluorene (No data). formaldehyde (animal cancer: Sax). henene (Sax).
heptachlorocyclohexane (No data). heptachlorodibenzofuran (No data). heptane (toxicity moderate: Sax).
hexachlorobenzene (animal birth defects: Sax).
hexachlorobiphenyl (No data). hexachlorobutadiene (toxicity high: Sax). hexachlorocyclohexane (toxicity
high: Sax). hexachlorocyclopentadiene (toxicity high: Sax). hexachlorodibenzofuran (No data).
hexachloroethane (toxicity high: Sax). hexachloronaphthalene (toxicity high: Sax). hexachloropropane (No
data). hexafluoro-1-propene (No data). hexafluoroethane (No data). hexane (Sax). indene (toxicity moderate:
Sax). indeno(1,2,3-cd)fluoranthene (No data). indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene (animal cancer: RTECS). indoline
(RTECS). isobutane (Sax).
isodrin (toxicity high: Sax). isopentane (Sax). methane (Sax). methanol (Sax). 3-methyl-1-butene (No data). 3-
methyl-2-butene (No data). 2-methyl-2-butene (toxicity moderate: Sax). methylanthracene (animal neoplasms:
Sax). methylbenzoanthracene (No data). methylbenzophenanthrene (No data). methylchloride (Sax).
methylchrysene (No data). methylcyclohexane (toxicity moderate: Sax). methylcyclohexene (RTECS).
methylcyclopentane (RTECS). methylcyclopentene (No data).
methylenechloride (animal cancer: Sax). methylindole (No data). methylmercaptan (Sax). methylnaphthacene
(No data). 1-methylnaphthalene (RTECS). 2-methylnaphthalene (RTECS). methylpentane (RTECS).
methylphenanthrene (No data). methylpyrene (No data). methyltetrahydronaphthalene (No data).
monochlorobenzene (toxicity moderate: Sax). monochlorodibenzofuran (No data). naphthalene (toxicity
moderate: Sax). naphthonitrile (No data). nonodecane (No data). octachlorodibenzofuran (No data).
octachlorostyrene (No data). octane (Sax). pentachlorobenzene (animal birth defects: Sax).
pentachlorobiphenyl (No data). pentachlorodibenzofuran (No data). pentachloroethane (toxicity high: Sax).
pentachloropropane (No data). pentachloropropene (No data). pentadecane (No data). pentadiene (No data).
pentane (RTECS). 2-penten-4-yne (No data). 2-pentene (No data). pentyne (No data). perfluoro-1-butene (No
data). perfluoro-2-butene (Sax).
perylene (animal neoplasms and cancer: Sax). phenanthrene (toxicity moderate: Sax). phenol (animal cancer:
Sax). phenylisocyanurate (No data). polychlorinated biphenyls (animal cancer: Sax). propane (Sax). propanol
(animal cancer: Sax). propionaldehyde (toxicity moderate: Sax). propylcyclohexane (No data). propylene
(Sax). pyrene (animal cancer: Sax). pyrenonitrile (No data). pyridine (RTECS). pyrrole (toxicity probably
moderate: Sax). pyrrolidone (toxicity high: Sax). rubicene (No data).
styrene (Sax). tetracenonitrile (No data). tetrachlorobenzene (No data). tetrachlorobiphenyl (No data).
tetrachlorodibenzofuran (No data). tetrachlorophenol (No data). tetrachloropropane (No data). tetradecane
(). toluene (Sax). p-toluidine (animal cancer: Sax). tolunitrile (No data). trichlorobenzene (No data).
trichlorodibenzofuran (No data). trichlorophenol (No data). tridecane (No data). trifluoromethane (Sax).
1,2,3-triphenylbenzene (No data). triphenylene (No data). triptycene (No data). vinylchloride (toxicity high,
and human cancer: Sax). xanthone (No data). o,m,p-xylenes (Sax).
Descriptor terms: incineration; air pollution; acenaphthene; acenaphthylene; acetaldehyde; acetic acid;
acetone; acetonitrile; acrylonitrile; aldrin; aniline; anthanthrene; anthracene; anthracenonitrile;
anthraquinone; benz(c)phenanthrene; benzene; benzilbutylphthalate; benzo(a)anthracene; benzo(a)pyrene;
benzo(b)fluoranthene; benzo(b)fluorene; benzo(b)phenanthrene; benzo(c,d)pyrenone;
benzo(def)dibenzothiophene; benzo(e)pyrene; benzo(ghi)fluouranthene; benzo(ghi)perylene;
benzo(k)fluoranthene; benzo(l)fluoranthene; benzofluoranthene; benzofuran; benzotetrahydrofuran;
benzylbenzoate; benzylchloride; biphenyl; butadiene; 1,3-butadiyne; butane;
Descriptor terms: 1-buten-3-yne; 3-butene; 1-butene; carbazole; carbon disulfide; cis-chlordane; chlorinated
terphenyls; chloroacetophenone; p-chlorobenzylchloride; chlorobiphenyl; chloronaphthalene; chrysene;
coronene; cresols; cumene; cyclobutane; cyclohexane; cyclopentadiene; cyclopentane; cyclopentene;
cyclopenteno(c,d)pyrene; cyclopropane; p,p’-DDE; o,p’-DDT; decachlorobiphenyl; dibenz(a,h)anthracene;
dibenzo(a,e)pyrene; dibenzofluoranthene; dibenzoheptafulvene; 1,1-dichloro-3-phenylpropane;
dichlorobenzene; dichlorodibenzofuran; dichlorophenol; dicyclohexyladipate; dieldrin; diethylisophthalate;
diethylterephthalate; 1,1-difluoroethylene; difluoromethane; diisobutylphthalate; 9,10-dimethylanthracene;
7,12-dimethylbenzo(a)anthracene; dimethylcyclopentane; dimethylcyclopentene; dimethyldisulfide;
dimethylindole; 1,5-dimethylnaphthalene; 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene; 2,7-dimethylnaphthalene; 1,6-
dimethylnaphthalene; dimethylpiperidene;
Descriptor terms: dimethylpyridene; dimethyltetrahydrofuran; dioctylphthalate; diphenylacetylene;
diphenylbiphenyl; diphenylmethane; divinylbenzene; ethane; ethylbenzene; ethylcyclopentane; 1-
ethylcyclopentene; 3-ethylcyclopentene; ethylene; ethylnaphthalene; ethyne; fluoranthene; fluorene;
formaldehyde; henene; heptachlorocyclohexane; heptachlorodibenzofuran; heptane; hexachlorobenzene;
hexachlorobiphenyl; hexachlorobutadiene; hexachlorocyclohexane; hexachlorocyclopentadiene;
hexachlorodibenzofuran; hexachloroethane; hexachloronaphthalene; hexachloropropane; hexafluoro-1-
propene; hexafluoroethane; hexane; indene; indeno(1,2,3-cd)fluoranthene; indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene; indoline;
isobutane; isodrin; isopentane; methane; methanol; 3-methyl-1-butene; 3-methyl-2-butene; 2-methyl-2-
butene; methylanthracene; methylbenzoanthracene; methylbenzophenanthrene; methylchloride;
methylchrysene; methylcyclohexane; methylcyclohexene; methylcyclopentane; methylcyclopentene;
methylenechloride; methylindole; methylmercaptan;
Descriptor terms: methylnaphthacene; 1-methylnaphthalene; 2-methylnaphthalene; methylpentane;
methylphenanthrene; methylpyrene; methyltetrahydronaphthalene; monochlorobenzene;
monochlorodibenzofuran; naphthalene; naphthonitrile; nonodecane; octachlorodibenzofuran;
octachlorostyrene; octane; pentachlorobenzene; pentachlorobiphenyl; pentachlorodibenzofuran;
pentachloroethane; pentachloropropane; pentachloropropene; pentadecane; pentadiene; pentane; 2-
penten-4-yne; 2-pentene; pentyne; perfluoro-1-butene; perfluoro-2-butene; perylene; phenanthrene;
phenol; phenylisocyanurate; polychlorinated biphenyls; propane; propanol; propionaldehyde;
propylcyclohexane; propylene; pyrene; pyrenonitrile; pyridine; pyrrole; pyrrolidone; rubicene; styrene;
tetracenonitrile; tetrachlorobenzene; tetrachlorobiphenyl; tetrachlorodibenzofuran; tetrachlorophenol;
tetrachloropropane; tetradecane; toluene; p-toluidine; tolunitrile; trichlorobenzene; trichlorodibenzofuran;
trichlorophenol; tridecane; trifluoromethane; 1,2,3-triphenylbenzene; triphenylene; triptycene; vinylchloride;
xanthone; o,m,p-xylenes; toxicity;