Comparative Assessment of Particulate Air Pollution Exposure from Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Emissions

Background. Research to date on health effects associated with incineration has found limited evidence of health risks, but many previous studies have been constrained by poor exposure assessment. This paper provides a comparative assessment of atmospheric dispersion modelling and distance from source (a commonly used proxy for exposure) as exposure assessment methods for pollutants released from incinerators. Methods. Distance from source and the atmospheric dispersion model ADMS-Urban were used to characterise ambient exposures to particulates from two municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in the UK. Additionally an exploration of the sensitivity of the dispersion model simulations to input parameters was performed. Results. The model output indicated extremely low ground level concentrations of PM10, with maximum concentrations of <0.01？μg/m3. Proximity and modelled PM10 concentrations for both MSWIs at postcode level were highly correlated when using continuous measures (Spearman correlation coefficients ~ 0.7) but showed poor agreement for categorical measures (deciles or quintiles, Cohen’s kappa coefficients ≤ 0.5). Conclusion. To provide the most appropriate estimate of ambient exposure from MSWIs, it is essential that incinerator characteristics, magnitude of emissions, and surrounding meteorological and topographical conditions are considered. Reducing exposure misclassification is particularly important in environmental epidemiology to aid detection of low-level risks. 1. Introduction Incineration is being increasingly used as a waste management option in the United Kingdom (UK). This is in response to EU legislation restricting the amount of waste disposed of in landfills [1]. Up until the 1990s incineration in the UK was largely uncontrolled. Legislation pertaining to all incinerators in the UK, the EU Waste Incineration Directive (WID) (2000/76/EC), came into operation for new incinerators in 2002 and older ones in 2005. This has set strict limits on emissions into the air [2]; nonetheless, there remains public concern and scientific uncertainties about possible health risks from pollutants emitted from incinerators. European waste legislation uses the Waste Hierarchy Framework to guide the use of different waste management options, prioritising the more environmental desirable and sustainable options. Incineration falls above disposal of waste in landfills within this framework but is not as desirable as recycling and composting, reuse, and prevention [3]. Municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) burn waste assembled by collection