Indirect Pathways as the Primary Source of Human Exposure to Emissions from a Minnesota Municipal Waste Combustor

Conference · Sun Jun 16 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:6005262

Neely, Beth L. ^[1]; Hester, Sheri Tickle ^[2]; Yambert, Mark W. ^[1]; Cleverly, David ^[3]; Travis, Curtis C. ^[1]

---

1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
2. Integrated Lab. Systems, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
3. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States). Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support

Increasing problems of land disposal have forced many communities to actively consider incineration as a disposal alternative. With the growth of incineration arises the fundamental issue of the environmental impact of pollutants in combustor emissions. Municipal Waste Combustors (MWC) are known to release both metals and organics into the environment. In the past, most analyses of human health risk associated with atmospheric emissions from combustion sources have focused only on exposures resulting from direct inhalation. Recent studies, however, have linked elevated levels of pollutants in soils, lake sediments, and cow's milk to atmospheric transport and deposition of pollutants from combustion sources. These studies indicate that deposition of atmospherically emitted pollutants could result in indirect pathways of exposure for humans. Indirect exposure pathways include ingestion of contaminated drinking water, crops, fish, or even soil, although food ingestion is the primary route of indirect exposure. The purpose of the present study is to assess the extent to which indirect exposure pathways, particularly the terrestrial food chain, pose risks to human health. This will be accomplished by applying the U.S. EPA Methodology for Assessing Health Risks Associated with Indirect Exposure to Combustor Emissions to a MWC in Minnesota. This study will focus on the following toxic organic compounds and heavy metals: benzo(a)pyrene, dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and nickel.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States). Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support; Integrated Lab. Systems, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USEPA
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6005262
• Report Number(s): CONF-910659--8; ON: DE91009934
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AROMATICS
ARSENIC
BENZOPYRENE
CADMIUM
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHROMIUM
COMBUSTION
CONDENSED AROMATICS
CONTAMINATION
DEPOSITION
DIOXIN
Disposal Alternatives
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FOOD CHAINS
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYDROCARBONS
INCINERATORS
Indirect Exposure Pathways
LEAD
MASS TRANSFER
MERCURY
METALS
MUNICIPAL WASTES
Municipal Waste Combustors (MWC)
NICKEL
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
SEMIMETALS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
WASTES