Emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans from the open burning of household waste in barrels

Backyard burning of household waste in barrels is a common waste disposal p ractice for which pollutant emissions have not been well characterized. Thi s study measured the emissions of several pollutants, including polychlorin ated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), fro m burning mixtures designed to simulate waste generated by a "recycling" an d a "nonrecycling" family in a 208-L (55-gal) burn barrel at the EPA's Open Burning Test Facility. This paper focuses on the PCDD/ PCDF emissions and discusses the factors influencing PCDD/ PCDF formation for different test b urns. Four test burns were made in which the amount of waste placed in the barrel varied from 6.4 to 13.6 kg and the amount actually burned va ri ed f rom 46.6% to 68.1%. Emissions of total PCDDs/ PCDFs ranged between 0.0046 a nd 0.48 mg/kg of waste burned. Emissions are also presented in terms of 2,3 ,7,8-TCDD toxic equivalents. Emissions of PCDDs/PCDFs appear to correlate w ith both copper and hydrochloric acid emissions. The results of this study indicate that backyard burning emits more PCDDs/PCDFs on a mass of refuse b urned basis than various types of municipal waste combustors (MWCs). Compar ison of burn barrel emissions to emissions from a hypothetical modern MWC e quipped with high-efficiency flue gas cleaning technology indicates that ab out 2-40 households burning their trash daily in barrels can produce averag e PCDD/PCDF emissions comparable to a 182 000 kg/day (200 ton/day) MWC faci lity. This study provides important data on a potentially significant sourc e of emissions of PCDDs/PCDFs.