Hazardous waste dioxin problems

Until recently most people and nearly all corporations accepted the release of at least some level of hazardous wastes into the environment as an unpleasant, but necessary, consequence of the huge success of modern chemical technology. Certainly no one is happy about the presence of dioxins (and PCBs and PAHs and other hazardous chemicals) in the environment. They undoubtedly result in some number of health problems and deaths around the world each year. But that is a small price to pay, some would argue, for having such a diverse and rich supply of pesticides, drugs, perfumes, synthetic foods, medicines, and other chemical products. 

Kociba RJ (1987), in Solving Hazardous Waste Problems - Learnings from Dioxins" Analysis of animal toxicity studies of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin , p. 54-67, Exner JH (Ed.), American Chemical Society, Washington DC... 

Exner, J. Perspective on hazardous waste problems related to dioxins. In Solving Hazardous Waste Problems, edited by J. Exner, Washington, DC, American Chemical Society, pp. 1 -19, 1987. 

Perspective on Hazardous Waste Problems Related to Dioxins... 

Rappe, C. in "Solving Hazardous Waste Problems Dioxins,"... 

The problem of hazardous wastes is truly international in scope. As the result of the problem of dumping such wastes in developing countries, the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1989, and by 1998 had been signed by more than 100 countries. This treaty defines a long List A of hazardous wastes, a List B of nonhazardous wastes, and a List C of as yet unclassified materials. An example of a material on List C is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated wire, which is harmless itself, but may release dioxins or heavy metals when thermally treated. 

In spite of some economical advantages, the idea of incineration is not accepted everywhere, the major problem being environmental hazards generated during combustion—the toxic gases and contamination of heavy metals (acid rain), dioxins and chlorine chemicals (mainly from PVC). Wherever incineration is used, plastics are not usually separated from the total waste, which reduces the energy recovery, and also creates more ash. Japan leads in the use of incineration of MSW at about 50% (including 67% of plastics wastes), compared to 30% in Europe and about 15% in the United States. 

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