Patel-Mandlik, KJ; Manos, CG; Lisk, DJ
Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills can reduce nearby property values and result in groundwater pollution. Incineration of such refuse is therefore underway or being planned by many communities. A wide variety of material types comprise the combustible portion of MSW including paper, cardboard, wood, plastics, leather, rubber and textiles as well as food and yard wastes. Other classes of noncombustible refuse include glass, ceramics, ferrous and nonferrous metals, ash, soil and stones. Specialized incinerators may also be used to burn animal carcasses, organs and organic wastes from hospitals, laboratories or pounds. Most existing incinerators in the United States are of the mass burn type, i.e. the refuse is burned as received without prior removal of noncombustible material. The resulting heat may or may not be used to generate steam and/or electricity, i.e. refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plants.
The ash which results from incineration includes bottom ash (slag) and fly ash, the latter being trapped in electrostatic precipitators or fabric filtration systems (baghouses, etc.). These ashes are collected separately or mixed and usually disposed in secure landfills with or without prior recovery of reusable metals. Whereas many published surveys have dealt with the concentrations of heavy metals and toxic organics in such ashes, very little has been reported on the possible presence of asbestos in them. In the work reported here, an analytical survey was conducted of the possible presence of asbestos in 20 such ashes from 18 incinerators in the United States.
Asbestos, Serpentine; Waste Products; Asbestos, Amosite; 12172-73-5; Asbestos; 1332-21-4; Index Medicus; Asbestos -- analysis; Waste Products -- analysis; Refuse Disposal