State Amends Incinerator Rule

But the dirty, obsolete practice of Incineration continues

by Brandie Smith, WTC

The burning of garbage is a dangerous game that poses unnecessary risks to human health and the environment. When wastes such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and mercury-containing products are burned, dioxin, mercury, and other persistent toxic chemicals are emitted into the air. In addition, these chemicals end up in a toxic ash that must be landfilled. Incineration has become an obsolete technology in many communities due to health and environmental concerns as well as its cost. By far, incineration is the most expensive form of waste management.

Washington is home to only two garbage incinerators, one in Spokane and one in Tacoma, which are affected by a new rule adopted in late December by the Department of Ecology. The rule also allows other facilities around the state to burn solid waste as fuel in their operations.

The new rule adopted by Ecology contradicts their policy to eliminate persistent toxic chemicals because it allows the continuation and expansion of solid-waste incineration in Washington. The burning of garbage exposes people to the devastating impacts of persistent toxic pollution on human health, including effects on the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, and genetic damage.

The rule will do the following:

• Allow the currently closed Tacoma Steam Plant to reopen. The Steam Plant has been closed since September 2001 because it cannot comply with the current incinerator requirements.
• Allow the Spokane incinerator to continue operations with the option of either complying with the proposed rule or operating under less-stringent existing standards.
• Allow the burning of creosote-treated wood at the Kimberly-Clark facility in Everett.
• Allow cement kilns, such as Ash Grove and LaFarge, to continue burning tires and other wastes such as PCB-contaminated oil.

Despite many comments submitted to Ecology asking to eliminate incineration, the rule continues to allow the dirty practice of incineration. The reopening of the Tacoma Steam Plant will create a new source of persistent toxic pollution as the plant begins to fuel its operations by burning solid waste, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC) found in the waste stream.

We are also concerned about the burning of creosote-treated wood. The new rule justifies the practice of burning creosote-treated wood by explaining that a facility must obtain a permit before burning the wood. However, the required permit does not require testing for persistent toxic chemicals, even those already present in the creosote.

As mentioned previously, the new rule allows cement kilns to continue burning tires and PCB-contaminated waste oil. Cement kilns should not even be allowed to burn wastes, particularly in urban areas that suffer from poor air quality. According to US EPA, tire combustion is a source of dioxins, furans, lead, and PCBs. Under the new rule, tires are excluded from the definition of solid waste in order to allow Portland-cement plants to use tires as a fuel source. This exclusion results in allowing cement kilns to burn tires, a source of persistent toxic chemicals, without triggering the new state incinerator rule, which includes emission limits for dioxin and mercury.

The Department of Ecology's new rule does not go far enough to protect the health of Washington's people and environment. Eliminating incineration is an essential step for reducing persistent toxic pollution and should be a key part of Ecology's program to eliminate persistent toxic chemicals.