Science Inventory

PCDD/F, PBDD/F, and PBDE emissions from open burning of a residential waste dump

Citation:

GULLETT, B. K., B. Wyrzykowska, E. GRANDESSO, A. TOUATI, D. G. TABOR, AND G. Ocha. PCDD/F, PBDD/F, and PBDE emissions from open burning of a residential waste dump. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 44(1):394-399, (2010).

Impact/Purpose:

journal article

Description:

This work reports on the first known field study determining emission factors for polychlorinated and polybrominated dibenzodioxinsldibenzofurans (P[C/B]DDs/Fs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from open burning of domestic waste. Two burning waste dump sites in Mexico were sampled using high-volume samplers mounted to a mobile sampling boom. Concurrent measurements of CO and CO2 allowed determination of emission factors via the carbon balance method. PCDD/F emission factors averaged 823 ng toxic equivalency (TEQ)/kg C-burned (N = 8, 68% relative standard deviation, RSD), a value at least five times higher than those from previous tests with domestic waste burned in barrels and approximately 2000 times higher than those from stacks of modern municipal waste combustors. These emission factors appear to be related to combustion quality, as conditions conducive to smoldering combustion, rather than flaming combustion, resulted in higher emission factors. Emissions of 40 PBDE congeners, likely originating from brominated flame retardants, averaged 724,ug/kg C-burned (RSD = 96%) and had congener patterns similar to those of reported atmospheric sampling. Emissions of PBDDs/Fs were similar in magnitude to their chlorinated counterparts, averaging 470 ng TEO/kg C-burned (RSD = 105%), and may originate as reaction products of PBDE combustion or as thermally desorbed impurities from the PBDE flame retardant.

Record Details:

Record Type:DOCUMENT( JOURNAL/ PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL)
Product Published Date:01/01/2010
Record Last Revised:06/09/2010
OMB Category:Other
Record ID: 224483