Air pollution is especially harmful to children, older people, people with respiratory illnesses, and people who exercise outdoors. Long-term exposure to moderate levels of air pollution can damage even healthy people's lungs. Air pollution is also bad for the economy. The costs of air pollution include health care expenses, lost work due to illness, and damage to agricultural crops, buildings, paint, and rubber. Air pollution can also affect tourism and the ability of businesses and institutions to recruit quality employees. Technically, any compound that is in the air and has the potential to produce adverse health effects is an air toxic. PENNSYLVANIA EARTH MINUTE for air week of Jan. 13, 1997

With another Pennsylvania Earth Minute…I'm Susan Rickens. SOURCE: The PROPonent, News for Public Recycling Officials of Pennsylvania. . The Pennsylvania Earth Minute is available to radio stations free of charge to air as a public service announcement. It's available Monday mornings on the Governor's Radio News Service at 800 932-0380 or 0381. Before Burning Trash, Consider The Risks And Alternatives 11-15-96 University Park, Pa. -- Burning trash is a common practice in many rural areas, but rural residents need to keep the risks of open trash burning in mind, says a waste management specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Years ago, waste burned in open fires usually included paper, cardboard, metal cans, yard trimmings and food. "But today's waste also may contain many types of plastics and synthetic materials, adding different types and amounts of toxic pollutants," says James Garthe, instructor in agricultural and biological engineering. A 1994 study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that each pound of garbage burned in a burn barrel emits 40 times more particulates than if that same pound of garbage was burned in a high-temperature incinerator with air pollution controls. The amount of pollution emitted depends on the type of waste being burned and the method of combustion. Municipal waste incinerators, for instance, burn at temperatures over 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. "Fires that reach these high temperatures can completely eliminate many dangerous compounds," Garthe says. "But backyard open fires burn at temperatures between 400 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. "Open fires that burn at low temperatures can result in more particulate emissions, heavy metal vapors, acid gases and other pollutants, some of which are highly toxic and can cause cancer," Garthe says. The most common and frequently measured of these compounds is benzopyrene. "Benzopyrene is a potent carcinogen," Garthe says. "One study revealed that open fire smoke contains 70 parts per million of carcinogenic benzopyrenes, about 350 times more than cigarette smoke." Materials containing chlorine, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), can emit highly corrosive and toxic hydrogen chloride when burned. PVC also is a source of dioxin when burned at temperatures below complete combustion. Phosgene, an odorless gas that can damage the lungs, also is emitted by burning PVC. Some plastics contain metal additives used as heat stabilizers and colorants. "When burned, these plastics may emit arsenic and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium," Garthe says. "Like anything in life, breathing emissions from burning trash has a risk associated with it," he adds. "The concentration of gases or particulates you are subjected to and the duration of exposure have a profound effect on your level of risk. Emissions from a burn barrel become mixed with surrounding air, diluting them enough that, in most cases, you can walk away without any obvious side effects. But then again, scientists don't have all the answers on breathing or lung disorders, and they are regularly finding new evidence against breathing these emissions. Why subject yourself or your neighbors to these unknowns if there are other practical waste management solutions?" Garthe recommends exploring other options before burning waste. "The words to remember are reduce, reuse and recycle," he says. "You can reduce the amount of waste you dispose of by purchasing products that have less packaging. With a little bit of creative thinking, sometimes you can find other uses for greenhouse covers, bale wraps, containers and other non-degradable wastes. And you can recycle materials such as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metals." Food scraps, grass clippings and leaves can be composted. "Any remaining wastes can be taken to a licensed landfill or a waste-to-energy facility," Garthe says. If you must burn trash, burning it at higher temperatures can reduce pollutant emissions. "Expose the waste to air, allowing the fire to burn hotter and more efficiently," Garthe suggests. "Instead of a burn barrel, use grates or heavy expanded wire mesh to allow air to enter through the waste material. Also, agitate the waste while burning to make sure all materials are incinerated. Never start a trash fire and walk away. While standing upwind, poke it, prod it and encourage it to burn completely." Performing these steps does not mean that the fire is burning clean, Garthe notes. "Pollutants are still emitted at lower levels, and still may impact human health or the environment." For more information about open burning and other methods of waste disposal, contact Agricultural and Biological Engineering Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 246 Agricultural Engineering Building, University Park, PA 16802. ### EDITORS: For more information, contact James Garthe at (814) 865-7154. Eston Martz (814) 863-3587 office #237 eston_martz@agcs.cas.psu.edu RELATED: Stories Newsgroups Sites Books < PREVIOUS NEXT > Source: American Chemical Society (http://www.acs.org/)

Date: Posted 1/4/2000 Backyard Burning Identified As Potential Major Source Of Dioxins Family's Daily Trash Burn Can Rival Emissions from Municipal Waste Incinerator A family of four burning trash in a barrel in their backyard - still a common practice in many rural areas - can potentially put as much dioxin and furan into the air as a well-controlled municipal waste incinerator serving tens of thousands of households, according to a new study. Under intense scrutiny in recent years because of their varying degrees of toxicity, these polychlorinated compounds can be formed simply by burning common household trash at low temperatures. The finding is reported in the Jan. 4 web edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology by researchers from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Health. The peer-reviewed journal is published by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The report will appear in the journal's Feb. 1 print edition. "Open burning of household waste in barrels is potentially one of the largest sources of airborne dioxin and furan emissions in the United States, particularly as EPA standards force major reductions in emissions from municipal and medical waste incinerators," says Paul Lemieux, Ph.D., one of the study's co-authors. He is with the EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Emission measurements from burning of "typical" household trash in 55-gallon drums were done at the EPA's Open Burning Test Facility in North Carolina. The composition of the trash included newspapers, books, magazines, junk mail, cardboard, milk cartons, food waste, various types of plastic, and assorted cans, bottles and jars. No paint, grease, oils, tires or other household hazardous wastes were included in the burning. The barrel burn results were compared with emission data from a "well-controlled incinerator performing better than the dioxin requirements set by recent EPA standards," according to Lemieux. "Recognizing that there are varied wastes and methods of burning, this particular study found that under test conditions, more polychlorinated compounds were emitted from barrel burning than municipal incinerators because of lower incineration temperatures and poor combustion conditions (in barrels)," says Lemieux. Under the conditions studied, and when using comparable weights of trash, "emissions from open burning are several orders of magnitude higher than for controlled combustion in a modern, clean-operating MWC (municipal waste combustor)," the article claims. "Triggered by the study being reported, EPA has launched follow-up studies at its North Carolina test facility to better understand the nature and magnitude of backyard trash burning as a significant dioxin source," notes Lemieux. The study could help resolve a long-standing discrepancy as a result of a 1994 EPA assessment that identified a "significant gap" between estimates of dioxin emissions and actual deposition measurements, according to the journal article. Emissions of dioxins and furans from burn barrels "may be an important missing link to help close the gap between measured deposition rates and the emissions inventories," the article points out. Burning trash in open barrels is banned in most areas of the U.S., says Ann Brown of the EPA's Public Affairs Office in Research Triangle Park. "The areas of the country where burning trash is permitted are mostly confined to rural areas," she adds. Although dioxins and furans have been shown to damage the health of laboratory animals, direct evidence of the compounds' effects in humans is less clear but still cause for concern, according to Scott Matsen, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park. "Exposure to certain dioxins has been clearly shown to cause adverse effects in laboratory animals, such as immune dysfunction, cancer, hormonal changes and developmental abnormalities," says Matsen. "Although the available evidence for adverse effects in people is more limited than for laboratory animals, the sum total of the information is cause for concern about the human health hazards of environmental exposure to this class of chemicals." Editor's Note: The original news release can be found at http://center.acs.org/applications/news//story.cfm?story=197 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society for journalists and other members of the public. If you wish to quote from any part of this story, please credit American Chemical Society as the original source. You may also wish to include the following link in any citation: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/01/000104064534.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------