Incinerators are a health hazard — UK doctors

Having examined available literature about the health effects of incinerators, a doctor’s group in UK asserts they are hazardous and unjust, and advises that no more incinerators be built.

The British Society for Ecological Medicine (BSEM) has announced itself convinced by the evidence that waste incinerators are dangerous – just as incineration is being pushed as a solution to the waste problem in UK and other countries. BSEM is a professional body that promotes the study and good practice of allergy, environmental and nutritional medicine.

"The Health Effects of Waste Incinerators", written by BSEM members Dr. Jeremy Thompson and Dr. Honor Anthony, reveals that large epidemiological studies have shown higher rates of adult and childhood cancers and of birth defects around incinerators. Waste burners are major generators of fine particulates, heavy metals, dioxin and of more than 200 organic chemicals.

The doctors draw attention to the lethal potential of toxic particulates from incinerators. These miniscule particles are breathed deeply into the lungs and absorbed directly into the blood stream. Elevated pollution of fine particulates has been associated with increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease and mortality.

"Taking account of all the information available, including research indicating that there are no safe levels for fine particulates, we can see no reason to believe that the next generation of incinerators would be substantially safer than the previous ones," says Dr. Thompson and Dr. Anthony

The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) welcomes the report from the British medical body: "The UK doctors are right in pinpointing that incineration is not only unhealthy, but also unjust due to its highest toxic effect on defenseless high risk groups such as the pregnant women and the fetuses, the children, the underprivileged and the chemically sensitive," comments Manny Calonzo, GAIA co-coordinator based in the Philippines.

The report underlines the long-term impacts of incinerator emissions on the developing embryo and infant, and the real possibility that genetic changes will occur and be passed on to succeeding generations. Far greater vulnerability to toxins is documented for the very young, particularly fetuses, causing cancer, spontaneous abortion, birth defects or permanent cognitive damage.

Waste incineration, the report says, is prohibitively expensive when health costs are taken into consideration. The EC Commission figures indicate that a single incinerator could cost the taxpayer up to £50 million a year (approximately P4.5 billion). The health costs should therefore be routinely taken into account when deciding on waste disposal technologies, the report says.

An ideal waste strategy, the report notes, should aim for no toxic emissions, no toxic by-products, no toxic residues that need landfilling, and good recovery of materials. Once this aim is made clear then incineration becomes a poor choice.

The BSEM report is available to download at http://www.bsaenm.org.

For more information, contact the GAIA Secretariat at 929-0376.