title: Stack gas emissions of PCDD/Fs from hospital waste incinerators in China.
abstract: Stack gas samples from 14 domestic-made hospital waste incinerators (HWIs) in China were collected and analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). The waste burning capacities of the investigated HWIs ranged from 5 to 25 ton d(-1). The stack gas emissions of PCDD/Fs from HWIs exhibited a large variation (0.08-31.60 ng I-TEQNm(-3)). Nine incinerators had the emission levels below the current emission standard in China (0.5 ng I-TEQN m(-3)), while only two facilities exhibited emission levels below the European Union directive emission limit (0.1 ng I-TEQN m(-3)). For two plants, concentrations of PCDD/Fs in stack gas were above 10.0 ng I-TEQN m(-3). The emission factors of PCDD/Fs from the investigated HWIs were in the range of 0.78-473.97 microg I-TEQ ton(-1) medical wastes. It was estimated that 4.87 g I-TEQ of PCDD/Fs was annually released from HWIs to the atmosphere in China in 2006. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were applied to analyze the congener profiles of PCDD/Fs from HWIs in China.
authors.affiliation: Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan Road 457, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Hongcai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yuwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Haijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xueping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jiping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D017745:Incineration / Q000379:methods*; D008506:Medical Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D008506:Medical Waste; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins