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Investigation on dioxin level of ambient air,vegetation and soil nearby large-scale municipal solid waste incinerators

Absrtact	The main objective of this study is to investigate the total dioxin toxicity equivalency quotients (TEQs) of PCDD/Fs in the multi-media of the area around three large municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) facilities; i.e., Hsingden Plant, Houli Plant, and Kaoshung City Southern District Plant. The results show that the mean dioxin TEQs of the ambient air, soils, and vegetations around the Hsingden plant were 0.046 pg I-TEQ/m3, 13.6 ng I-TEQ/kg d.w., and 2.59 pg I-TEQ/g d.w., respectively. In the case of the area around the Houli plant, the dioxin TEQs were 0.045 pg I-TEQ/m3, 7.51 ng I-TEQ/kg d.w., and 2.58 pg I-TEQ/g d.w. in the ambient air, soils, and vegetations, respectively. For the area around the Kaoshung City Southern District Plant, the dioxin TEQs of the ambient air, soils, and vegetations were determined to be 0.120 pg I-TEQ/m3, 3.36 ng I-TEQ/kg d.w., and 3.89 pg I-TEQ/g d.w., respectively. The possible emission sources of PCDD/Fs at each sampling site were further investigated by carrying out PCA and Cluster analysis using data collected from this study and the dioxin congener pattern established from local stack emission database. It was found that, for a given tested facility, the variation of PC1 (Principal Factor 1) was above 90%. Therefore, the operations of the three investigated MSWI facilities are unlikly the major sources of the dioxin to their surrounding area. In addition, this project reviewed and analyzed the data collected from previous similar studies conducted by Taiwan’s EPA from 2000-2007. According to the results from Mann-Kendall Trend test, neither increasing nor decreasing trend was statistically observed on the concentrations of PCDD/Fs in the ambient air, soils, and tree leaves of each sampling site. Therefore, it can be concluded that the operations of large MSWI facilities in Taiwan did not observably affect the concentrations of PCDD/Fs in the surrounding environments. In summary, the dioxin emission regulations for specific industries implemented by Taiwan’s EPA since 1997 have effectively controlled the emissions of PCDD/Fs from various incineration/combustion processes.
Keyword	incinerator,dioxin,ambient air,vegetation,soil

Absrtact

The main objective of this study is to investigate the total dioxin toxicity equivalency quotients (TEQs) of PCDD/Fs in the multi-media of the area around three large municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) facilities; i.e., Hsingden Plant, Houli Plant, and Kaoshung City Southern District Plant. The results show that the mean dioxin TEQs of the ambient air, soils, and vegetations around the Hsingden plant were 0.046 pg I-TEQ/m3, 13.6 ng I-TEQ/kg d.w., and 2.59 pg I-TEQ/g d.w., respectively. In the case of the area around the Houli plant, the dioxin TEQs were 0.045 pg I-TEQ/m3, 7.51 ng I-TEQ/kg d.w., and 2.58 pg I-TEQ/g d.w. in the ambient air, soils, and vegetations, respectively. For the area around the Kaoshung City Southern District Plant, the dioxin TEQs of the ambient air, soils, and vegetations were determined to be 0.120 pg I-TEQ/m3, 3.36 ng I-TEQ/kg d.w., and 3.89 pg I-TEQ/g d.w., respectively. The possible emission sources of PCDD/Fs at each sampling site were further investigated by carrying out PCA and Cluster analysis using data collected from this study and the dioxin congener pattern established from local stack emission database. It was found that, for a given tested facility, the variation of PC1 (Principal Factor 1) was above 90%. Therefore, the operations of the three investigated MSWI facilities are unlikly the major sources of the dioxin to their surrounding area. In addition, this project reviewed and analyzed the data collected from previous similar studies conducted by Taiwan’s EPA from 2000-2007. According to the results from Mann-Kendall Trend test, neither increasing nor decreasing trend was statistically observed on the concentrations of PCDD/Fs in the ambient air, soils, and tree leaves of each sampling site. Therefore, it can be concluded that the operations of large MSWI facilities in Taiwan did not observably affect the concentrations of PCDD/Fs in the surrounding environments. In summary, the dioxin emission regulations for specific industries implemented by Taiwan’s EPA since 1997 have effectively controlled the emissions of PCDD/Fs from various incineration/combustion processes.

Keyword

incinerator,dioxin,ambient air,vegetation,soil