Non-profits urge “strictest possible” measures on waste incinerators as biomonitoring report reveals toxin levels

19 Jan 2023 --- Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) commissioned research has found “high levels” of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in biomarkers such as eggs of backyard chicken, pine needles and mosses in the vicinity of three waste-to-energy incinerators.

ToxicoWatch Foundation analyzed the deposition in the vicinity of the incinerators at UAB Kauno Cogeneration Power Plant (Kaunas, Lithuania), Valdemingómez (Madrid, Spain) and ZEVO Chotíkov (Pilsen, Czech Republic). 

The most polluted area in this biomonitoring research is in Madrid near Valdemingómez installation, one of the oldest waste incinerators in Europe.

“Our study showed that the immediate surrounding of incinerators is highly contaminated with POPs. The majority of backyard chicken eggs are too contaminated and if sold for consumption then they should be removed from the shelves of supermarkets,” Janek Vähk, climate, energy and air pollution program coordinator at ZWE, tells PackagingInsights.

“There is a growing public awareness and concern over the potentially toxic effects of POPs on human health and the environment. In particular, people living near waste incineration facilities need to be reassured about their health risks, the safety of such combustion facilities and compliance with regulations.”

Protest against Europe’s “oldest waste incinerator”
On January 22, the working group for the closure of the Valdemingomez incinerator will organize a march from the Ensanche de Vallecas – a neighborhood in Madrid close to the installation – to Valdemingómez incinerator to demand the closure of this facility.

The working group is formed by the NGO Ecologistas en acción, Regional Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Madrid and Grupo de Acción para el Medio Ambiente.

“The previous City Council of Madrid published a strategy on waste (2018-22) which included a plan to phase out the Valdemingómez incinerator by 2025. However, the current City Council has not followed up on this plan, so the aim of this protest is to put pressure on the Council to do so,” Vähk clarifies. (Image credit: 2023 Biomonitoring Report).Policy change recommendations
The biomarkers were analyzed for POPs, such as dioxins (PCDD/F and DL-PCB), Per- and PolyFluoroAlkyl Substances (PFAS) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH).

“It is strongly recommended that bioassays should also be included as standard in the (EU) regulated monitoring of POPs from emission sources, such as waste incinerators,” the report states.

“Waste combustion installations emit toxic substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in ecosystems and have significant negative effects on human health and livelihoods,” says Vähk.

“Thousands of people live near such combustion facilities all over Europe. To date, they have not been reassured about the health risks and safety of these facilities nor have the compensation right for the harm they suffer when these installations break the law.”

Industrial Emissions Directive
ZWE is calling for the “strictest possible” emission limit values for POPs consistent with the “lowest emissions achievable” by applying Best Available Technology. The policy should also ensure compensation rights for the damage caused when these facilities break the law.

“The EU law requires that authorities investigate the source of the contamination when they exceed action limits set by the EU Regulation 2017/644,” Vähk details.

Vähk informs us that there is an ongoing revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive to align it with the Zero Pollution strategy. 

“This is currently discussed in the ENVI committee of the European Parliament with the vote in April. This revision is key to tightening the legislation on incinerator emissions,” he shares. 

Key changes 
The key changes ZWE is lobbying for are:

Inclusion of more pollutants in the list of mandatory pollutant monitoring. “In addition to the current monitoring of chlorinated dioxins, we would like to require that other POPs such as brominated dioxins are monitored as well as they are equally toxic,” Vähk underpins.New ZWE biomonitoring report alerts of a high level of dioxins around 3 European incinerators (Image Credit: ZWE).

A mandate on sorting of waste before it's incinerated to sort out recyclables and hazardous materials, and enhancing transparency by obliging operators to publish all documents with gross values (not only calculated figures and averages) and original laboratory reports, are suggested.

Lastly, ZWE recommends requiring biomonitoring to find out about the real health and environmental impacts of waste incineration emissions. 

“Regular annual monitoring of the impact of the installation on the surrounding environment should be conducted. This shall cover at least dioxins and metals, and must in particular include the determination of the concentration of these pollutants in the immediate vicinity of the installation,” Vähk asserts.

Biomonitoring research findings
The report summarizes the results for 2022, the second year of biomonitoring, in Kaunas, Pilsen and Madrid as below:

1. Most backyard chicken eggs near the three incinerators exceeded EU limits for the Dioxin Responsive Chemical Activated LUciferase gene eXpression (DR CALUX) bioassay and the Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) chemical analysis as regulated in EU Regulation 2017/644.

2. Analysis of the vegetation, pine needles and moss shows high concentrations of dioxins in the areas around the waste incinerators in all three countries, according to the DR CALUX bioassay.

3. High quantities of PFAS were found in moss, pine needles and backyard chicken eggs in all three areas around the waste incinerators, according to FITC-T4 bioassay measurements.

4. High levels of PAH were found in moss and pine needles around all three waste incinerators, according to the PAH CALUX bioassay.

By Radhika Sikaria