bill@persci.UUCP (08/20/85)
Several cities and counties in Washington are poised to start building
garbage incinerators. The reasons given for the incinerators are: 1) to
reduce the amount of trash going into landfills (an article in Sunday's
Seattle Times states that the Peekskill NY plant reduces the volume by
a factor of 10), and 2) to generate power.
I have three concerns over these incinerators.
The first is the impact on recycling efforts, which appear to be running well
in Washington. The incinerators require all the paper they can get to support
combustion.
The second is acid rain. Will these plants contribute significantly to the
acid rain falling east of us, both in the US and Canada?
The third concern is about the poisons emitted by these incinerators. Again,
from the newspaper article, dioxin is formed when paper and plastic are burned
together. Is the amount significant? What about other wastes emitted by the
incinerators, both organic and inorganic? How safe are they?
The article mentions "showcase" incinerators in Saugus MA and Peekskill NY.
What about other incinerators? Is anybody on the net familiar with the
problems, hazards, and benefits of commercial (1000 ton/day and up) garbage
incinerators?
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William Swan {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!persci!bill