1

Dioxins, Furans and HCBsinventoryfor CEPA

Jan 1999

Federal provincial task force &

Environment Canada

2

Caveats: letters were sent to the sectors identified to request release of information

• Voluntary reporting by industry and public agencies

• required reporting from pulp and paper industry, cement industry and some incinerators

• estimated data

• initial compilation of date, not exhaustive or complete

3

Figure 1 - PCDDs/PCDFs Releases in grams TEQ/y in Canada to all Media (1999:

projections) (Soil data are incomplete)

40

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1990 1997 1999

soil air w ater

5

PCDDs/PCDFs Summary ( g TEQ/y)

1990 1997 1999

Air releases 353 290 199Effluents 454 5 5

To Soil (not complete) 173 173 173Total Releases 980 468 377

In Products 226 226 226

HCB Summary ( kg/y)2

Air releases 71 55 55Effluents 1 0 0

To Soil (not complete) 2 2 2

Total Releases 74 57 57

In Products 2 2 2

1 Projections for 19992 HCB summary not including all sources (information not available)

6

“Effluents”

Definition:

WATER (not air, soil)

7

Figure - 5 Atmospheric releases of PCDDs/PCDFs

in grams TEQ/y

8

CA

NA

DA

NF

ON

QU

BC

AB

NS

SA

NB

MA

PE

YK

NW

1999

1997

19900

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

9

Atmospheric releases

• 43% reduction

• captured in stacks and sent to Soil releases??

10

Water releases

• 99% reduction

• result of regulation changes in pulp and paper industry

• captured and sent to Soil releases??

11

Soil releases

• Pesticides: PCDDs/PCDFs are released to all media due to the use of pesticides.

• Inservice treated wood(utility poles,RR ties)

• No mention of pulp and paper effluent such as black liquor, e.g. Domtar Dombind)

• sewage sludge on agricultural land

• what about incinerator fly/bottom ash??

12

Municipal Waste Incineration (151.7 gram TEQ/y - 50.8% of total)

• Largest sources of dioxin and furan

• existing incinerators (9 large, many small, and as well back yard barrell burning

• future incinerators

13

Ontario municipal waste incinerators

• Oshawa GM EFWfacility

• Hamilton SWARU solid waste reduction unit

• London Victoria Hospital EFW

• Brampton Peel EFW resource recovery unit

14

Federal Incinerators All Types (0.6 gram TEQ/year)

• Before 1990: 241 federal incinerators in operation in Canada releasing an estimated 1.3g TEQ/y.

• 1997, approximately 93 federal incinerators, releasing 0.6 gm TEQ/y.

• burn municipal or biomedical waste, etc.

15

Residential wood burning

• 12% of chlorinated dioxin/furan input

• How can this be so?

• Burning treated wood?

• Burning pvc plastics?

• Back yard barrell burners?

16

Figure 2 - Expected PCDDs/PCDFs Atmospheric

Releases in 1999 (200 grams TEQ/y)

Canada,

all provinces total

17Mun. Waste Inc.

Resid. Wood Comb.

Sintering Plants

Burning Salt Laden Wood

Steel Manufacturing

Fuel Comb. (Traff ic)

Resid. Oil Comb.

Electric Pow er Generation

Wood w aste combustion

Cement Kilns

Hospital Incinerators

18

1995 TSMP

• In 1995, the Federal Government adopted the Toxic Substances Management Policy (TSMP). The policy has two key management objectives:

virtual elimination from the environment of toxic substances that result predominantly from human activity, and that are persistent and bioaccumulative (Track 1 substances); and …….

19

1997, Track 1

• In 1997, Environment Canada indicated its intention to manage PCDDs/PCDFs and Hexachlorobenzene as Track 1 substances and published the Scientific Justification for PCDDs/PCDFs - Candidate Substances for Management under Track 1

20

Hospital incinerators,1995

• 219 incinerators burning biomedical waste in Canada. Testing for dioxins/furans has been completed at 6 typical Ontario incinerators and the results of these tests extrapolated to all facilities in Canada based on the quantity of material burned. The estimated PCDDs/PCDFs emissions from hospital incinerators in Canada was 8.3 grams TEQ /y. in 1995.

21

Hospital incinerators,II

• Since 1995, a number of hospital incinerators has been shut down, thus reducing the total number of hospital incinerators to 160 and the total PCDDs/PCDFs releases to 2.5 g TEQ/y. All Hospital Incinerators in B.C. are expected to shut down by December 1998. This would further reduce the release from this sector.

22

Hospital incinerators, III

• No mention of or accounting for:

• fly/bottom ash,

• accounting for 1/3 the original volume

• landfilled

• in the US : hazardous waste

• maybe no dioxin/furan in Ash?

• Old units: no air emission controls at all

23

Hazardous waste incineratorsin Canada 1.3 gram TEQ/y

• 4 facilities, 5 incinerators • Emissions testing for dioxins/ furans has been

performed at all 4 facilities

• Swan Hills, AB (2) (one closed Feb98)

• Sarnia, ON (1)

• Bruce Nuclear Power, ON (1)

• Mercier, QUE (1)