Dioxins & Incineration Dr Paul Connett

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Dioxins & Incineration

Dr Paul Connett
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
St Lawrence University, Canton, NY
Paul@AmericanHealthStudies.org

OUTLINE

Dioxins & incineration:
A) history
B) chemistry
C) biology
D) health threat

History

1960s, 1970s Most people hear of dioxins in relation to use of Agent Orange in Vietnam
1949 - 1976 dioxins produced in industrial accidents in plants making 2,4,5 Trichlorophenol. Most famous Seveso, Italy in 1976.
1977 dioxins found in trash incinerator emissions (Olie et al)
1977 -’85 Engineers argue that dioxin problem solved by running incinerator furnaces at high temps. They were wrong
1985 - Ozvacic et al. find dioxins formed after the furnace.

Dioxin 1980s - 1990s

Biggest source of dioxin is from food, particularly animal fat.
Biggest source of dioxin entering food chains = combustion
Medical, municipal and hazardous waste incineration, backyard burning (PVC), Fires (PVC), copper recycling (PVC), metal smelting
1990’s better dioxin control from incineration. Many plants retrofitted and older plants closed down.

DIOXINS The chemical structures

Dioxin like compounds (DLC)

3 families
PCBs
PCDFs (furans)
PCDDs (dioxins)

Benzene

Other Dioxin like compounds

PBBs (poly brominated biphenyls)
PBDFs (poly brominated dibenzo furans)
PBDDs (poly brominated dibenzo dioxins)
PBCDDs and PBCDFs (mixed brominated and chlorinated dibenzo dioxins and furans)
PBDPE (poly brominated diphenyl ethers)
Poly brominated and chlorinated napthelenes
Nitrogen and sulfur analogues!

The biology

Two remarkable things about the

1) After 30 years of research scientists do not know what it is in the cell for. They have not identified its normal ligand or function.
?
2) The Ah receptor appears in evolution at the same time as the backbone appears in fish. Every species above invertebrates has the Ah receptor.

Dioxins - major health concerns

Dioxins accumulate in animal fat. One liter of cows’ milk gives the same dose of dioxin as breathing air next to the cows for EIGHT MONTHS (Connett and Webster, 1987).
In one day a grazing cow puts as much dioxin into its body as a human being would get in 14 years of breathing (McLachlan, 1995)!
Dioxins steadily accumulate in human body fat. The man cannot get rid of them BUT A woman can…
…by having a baby!
Thus the highest dose of dioxin goes to the fetus and then to the new born infant via breastfeeding…

Dioxins interfere with fetal and infant devlopment

Dioxins act like fat soluble hormones
Disrupt at least six different hormonal systems: male and female sex hormones; thyroid hormones; insulin; gastrin and gluocorticoid.
Linda S. Birnbaum (Health Effects Research Laboratory, US EPA) Developmental Effects of Dioxins Environmental Health Perspectives, 103: 89-94, 1995

Effects of dioxins on thyroid function of new born babies

H.J. Pluim et al., The Lancet, May 23, 1992. (Volume 339, 1303)
Examined 38 new born babies, divided them into 2 groups:
Low-exposed (mothers had average 18.6 ppt dioxins in milk fat, range 8.7 - 28)
High-exposed (mothers had average 37.5 ppt dioxins in milk fat, range 29 - 63)

Effect of Dioxins on Neonatal Thyroid Function after Low-exposure and High-exposure at various ages

Our Stolen Future How Man-made Chemicals are Threatening our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival

Theo Colborn
John Peterson Myers
Dianne Dumanoski
1994

Institute of Medicine, 2003

Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds in the Food Supply
Strategies to Decrease Exposure
July 1, 2003

Institute of Medicine, 2003

Fetuses and breastfeeding infants may be at particular risk from exposure to dioxin like compounds (DLCs) due to their potential to cause adverse neurodevelopmental, neurobehavioral, and immune system effects in developing systems…

Institute of Medicine, 2003

…The committee recommends that the government place a high public health priority on reducing DLC intakes by girls and young women in the years well before pregnancy is likely to occur.
(by) Substituting low-fat or skim milk, for whole milk, (and)… foods lower in animal fat…

Do not build incinerators within 50 km of food production - particularly grazing animals

Promoters say that modern incinerators have solved the dioxin problem, but have they?

Yang & Kim (2004). Characteristics of dioxins and metals emission from radwaste plasma arc melter system. Chemosphere 57: 421-428

When PVC was fed into the high-temperature melter, a significant quantity of PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead was emitted.
Wet scrubbing with rapid quenching, as well as a low temperature two-step fine filtration, or both of them together cannot effectively control the volatile metal species and gas-phase PCDD/Fs.
The removal of PVC from the feed waste stream must also be effective to reduce the emissions of the PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead species.

While modern incinerators have reduced dioxin emissions there is no real accountability in most countries

DIFFERENT TIMES DEMAND DIFFERENT QUESTIONS

Incineration is not sustainable

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Dioxins & Incineration Dr Paul Connett

Dioxins & Incineration

Dr Paul Connett

Professor Emeritus of Chemistry

St Lawrence University, Canton, NY

Paul@AmericanHealthStudies.org

OUTLINE

Dioxins & incineration:

A) history

B) chemistry

C) biology

D) health threat

History

1960s, 1970s Most people hear of dioxins in relation to use of Agent Orange in Vietnam

1949 - 1976 dioxins produced in industrial accidents in plants making 2,4,5 Trichlorophenol. Most famous Seveso, Italy in 1976.

1977 dioxins found in trash incinerator emissions (Olie et al)

1977 -’85 Engineers argue that dioxin problem solved by running incinerator furnaces at high temps. They were wrong

1985 - Ozvacic et al. find dioxins formed after the furnace.

Dioxin 1980s - 1990s

Biggest source of dioxin is from food, particularly animal fat.

Biggest source of dioxin entering food chains = combustion

Medical, municipal and hazardous waste incineration, backyard burning (PVC), Fires (PVC), copper recycling (PVC), metal smelting

1990’s better dioxin control from incineration. Many plants retrofitted and older plants closed down.

DIOXINS The chemical structures

Dioxin like compounds (DLC)

3 families

PCBs

PCDFs (furans)

PCDDs (dioxins)

Benzene

Other Dioxin like compounds

PBBs (poly brominated biphenyls)

PBDFs (poly brominated dibenzo furans)

PBDDs (poly brominated dibenzo dioxins)

PBCDDs and PBCDFs (mixed brominated and chlorinated dibenzo dioxins and furans)

PBDPE (poly brominated diphenyl ethers)

Poly brominated and chlorinated napthelenes

Nitrogen and sulfur analogues!

The biology

Two remarkable things about the

1) After 30 years of research scientists do not know what it is in the cell for. They have not identified its normal ligand or function.

?

2) The Ah receptor appears in evolution at the same time as the backbone appears in fish. Every species above invertebrates has the Ah receptor.

Dioxins - major health concerns

Dioxins accumulate in animal fat. One liter of cows’ milk gives the same dose of dioxin as breathing air next to the cows for EIGHT MONTHS (Connett and Webster, 1987).

In one day a grazing cow puts as much dioxin into its body as a human being would get in 14 years of breathing (McLachlan, 1995)!

Dioxins steadily accumulate in human body fat. The man cannot get rid of them BUT A woman can…

…by having a baby!

Thus the highest dose of dioxin goes to the fetus and then to the new born infant via breastfeeding…

Dioxins interfere with fetal and infant devlopment

Dioxins act like fat soluble hormones

Disrupt at least six different hormonal systems: male and female sex hormones; thyroid hormones; insulin; gastrin and gluocorticoid.

Linda S. Birnbaum (Health Effects Research Laboratory, US EPA) Developmental Effects of Dioxins Environmental Health Perspectives, 103: 89-94, 1995

Effects of dioxins on thyroid function of new born babies

H.J. Pluim et al., The Lancet, May 23, 1992. (Volume 339, 1303)

Examined 38 new born babies, divided them into 2 groups:

Low-exposed (mothers had average 18.6 ppt dioxins in milk fat, range 8.7 - 28)

High-exposed (mothers had average 37.5 ppt dioxins in milk fat, range 29 - 63)

Effect of Dioxins on Neonatal Thyroid Function after Low-exposure and High-exposure at various ages

Our Stolen Future How Man-made Chemicals are Threatening our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival

Theo Colborn

John Peterson Myers

Dianne Dumanoski

1994

Institute of Medicine, 2003

Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds in the Food Supply

Strategies to Decrease Exposure

July 1, 2003

Institute of Medicine, 2003

Fetuses and breastfeeding infants may be at particular risk from exposure to dioxin like compounds (DLCs) due to their potential to cause adverse neurodevelopmental, neurobehavioral, and immune system effects in developing systems…

Institute of Medicine, 2003

…The committee recommends that the government place a high public health priority on reducing DLC intakes by girls and young women in the years well before pregnancy is likely to occur.

(by) Substituting low-fat or skim milk, for whole milk, (and)… foods lower in animal fat…

Do not build incinerators within 50 km of food production - particularly grazing animals

Promoters say that modern incinerators have solved the dioxin problem, but have they?

Yang & Kim (2004). Characteristics of dioxins and metals emission from radwaste plasma arc melter system. Chemosphere 57: 421-428

When PVC was fed into the high-temperature melter, a significant quantity of PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead was emitted.

Wet scrubbing with rapid quenching, as well as a low temperature two-step fine filtration, or both of them together cannot effectively control the volatile metal species and gas-phase PCDD/Fs.

The removal of PVC from the feed waste stream must also be effective to reduce the emissions of the PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead species.

While modern incinerators have reduced dioxin emissions there is no real accountability in most countries

History