(in Hong Kong 13 million cubic meters of methane are flared off each year from chimney stacks at our landfills)
24. Are there health risks from energy from waste plants?
Energy from waste (EfW) plants are frequently perceived by some of the public to be a particular risk
to human health. However, despite many detailed studies into the health of communities living near to
EfW plants, none have been able to demonstrate a conclusive link between incinerator emissions and
public health impacts. Modern EfW plants must meet tight emissions standards so they make a very
small contribution to the background levels of air pollution.
25. What were the findings of the Defra review into the health effects of waste management?
The most recent independent review of evidence on the health effects of management and disposal of
household and similar waste was published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra) in 2004. The “Review of the Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management:
Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes” considered 23 high quality studies of the patterns of
disease around energy from waste (EfW) plants and also four review papers looking at the health
effects of EfW plants.
The report considered cancer, respiratory disease and birth defects and found no evidence for a link
between the incidence of the disease and the current generation of EfW plants.
27. How can you be sure modern energy from waste (EfW) plants are much safer?
There have been substantial cuts in emissions from incinerators since 1996. All EfW plants are new o
have been significantly modified to meet the much tighter emission standards under the European
Waste Incineration Directive.
The contribution to pollution from EfW plants is very small compared to other sources, such as traffic
road development and other industrial sites.
33. Is it true that a study established a definite link between cancer and living near an energy
from waste plant?
This is not true. Even the most careful and detailed high quality research studies have failed to
demonstrate elevated risks of cancer associated with the emissions from energy from waste (EfW)
plants. Work by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU) at Imperial College, London
University, which examined cancer incidence of over 14 million people living near to 72 municipal solid
waste incinerators in Great Britain (from 1974-1986 (England), 1974-1984 (Wales), and 1975-1987
(Scotland) failed to find any convincing evidence of an increase in cancer rates due to the incinerators.
This is despite the fact that emissions of dioxins from the older generation of incinerators are around
ten to one hundred times greater than those from modern EfW plants.
The UK Government’s expert advisory Committee on Carcinogenicity reviewed the results of this
further investigation and concluded that any potential risk of cancer due to living near to EfW plants for
more than ten years was exceedingly low.
Impact on the environment
35. Don’t energy from waste plants produce more carbon emissions than coal fired power
stations?
No. Coal-fired power stations produce many more time more carbon dioxide than incinerators. Whilst
a coal-fired power will generate energy more efficiently than an incinerator generating electricity only
(i.e. no CHP) these stations are much larger than incinerators and use more carbon rich fuels.
36. Do energy from waste plants contribute more to global warming than landfilling waste?
No. Energy from waste plants do produce carbon dioxide gas as a result of burning waste. However,
the energy they produce replaces that generated by other fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas that
would otherwise be burnt at power stations to generate electricity. Landfilling waste generates both
methane and carbon dioxide gases. Methane has a global warming potential of more than twenty
times that of carbon dioxide.
Environment Agency publications
What’s in my backyard?
Position statement on waste incineration in waste management strategies
Booklet on municipal waste incineration
Regional Strategic Waste Management Assessments
Technical guidance on waste incineration
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy
All of the above can be obtained via our website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
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