Subject: Re: Incineration Questions
From: jfpco@infi.net (Jack Painter)
Date: Jan 12 1996
Newsgroups: sci.environment

In article <4d1oc2$60a@madeline.INS.CWRU.Edu>, (William Fuller) 
bq050@cleveland.Freenet.Edu says...
/snip/
>Here are some primary questions that I hope someone might
>be able to answer (with reference if available).

>Is there any pending legislation on incineration?

Always.  Call EPA and request the report of the workshop
group on Basic Industrial Furnaces (BIF) waste burning #
EPA-A530-R-94-046 Jan 95.  It has good discussion on the answers
you should have for opponents of burning anything that didn't come
from their mother's breast.

>Does anyone have current data on the amount of waste produced,
>and the percentages that are recycled, landfilled, and incinerated?
>[this can be municiple, hazardous, medical]  In paritcular the US
>or Louisiana.

EPA released a Windows 3.1 multi-media program on waste management
in 1995 that EPA knew had gross inaccuracies concerning the
alleged shortage of U.S. landfill capacity, but they released it
anyway citing "the long time period from our publisher to rewrite
the software would negate the educational benefits this program
contains".  Government-Science at it's best.  In a program just
for the media and our kids.  Oh boy.  Get this one, its fun.

>Any other thoughts you might have on why incineration is the 
>thing to do (I'd also be interested in hearing why it's not 
>the thing to do).  /snip/

Reasons NOT to burn:

1. Not efficient while landfills are so plentiful.
2. Supreme Court may reverse itself every few years on whether
   Municipalities can support mafia-owned haulers to cover the
   State-ordered tipping fees and mandatory use of incinerators.
3. Enough cities aleady broke over the now "junk" bonds used
   to finance these once "guaranteed money-makers".
4. EPA still chasing Dioxin and other Goblins of the Week.

Reasons to burn:

1. Permanently alters haxardous matter to a safe condition and
   can then encapsulate it for longer than its half-life.

2. Can co-generate and recover waste heat for other site remediation.

3. Fun to attend permit meetings with the Sierra Club & NRDC.

-- 
=================================================================
John F. (Jack) Painter               Federal Contracts Accountant
804-464-1007                         VA-SAB Air Pollution Control
jfpco@infi.net Fax 804-464-1064      Electric Power Research Inst