title: Dioxin emission inventories and trends: the importance of large point sources.
abstract: We estimated atmospheric emissions of TEQ for US municipal solid waste incinerators for which PCDD/PCDF measurements are available (81 of about 160 facilities). We compared our annual totals for 1985-1995 with estimates computed using the emission factor approach. Our estimates for a fraction of the facilities was larger than many estimates for all incinerators combined. Our inventory was dominated by several large sources; two facilities emitted on the order of a kilogram of TEQ annually. Retrofit or closing of several incinerators indicates a substantial decrease in atmospheric emissions. Communities addressing the remaining sources will face a choice between expensive retrofits and adoption of alternative methods of handling waste.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, MA 02118, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Connett
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004867:Equipment Design; D017745:Incineration; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins