Waste Management - WHO policy and activities
Environmental impact of incineration
Incineration of injection waste, particularly using small-scale incinerators, is still undertaken in some countries.
Concerns have, however, been growing during recent years concerning the release of toxic pollutants from incineration, especially dioxins and furans, into the environment. In view of this, in 2003, WHO commissioned an analysis of the emissions from a number of incinerators.
Results from the testing of small-scale incinerators for emissions of dioxins/furans/co-planar PCBs
| Incinerator | Emissions ng TEQ*/m3 |
| De Montfort 1 | 20 |
| De Montfort 2 | 13 |
| Sicim 1 | 26 |
| Sicim 2 | 560 |
| Vulcan 1 | 7 |
| Vulcan 2 | 2 |
ng = nanograms. TEQ = Toxicity equivalent.
The 1 and 2 for each of the incinerators mentioned in the above table refer to different trials with the same incinerator. For the de Montfort, the same type of waste was used in both trials. For the SICIM and Vulcan different types of waste were used in the two trials.
The difference in dioxin emissions between Tests 1 and 2 for the SICIM incinerator could be explained by a differing volume ratio of hospital waste (safety boxes and medical waste) to incinerated complementary fuels (dry leaves and paper).
For further information on the above, please contact Mr Yves Chartier, Technical Officer, Water, Sanitation and Health, at chartiery@who.int
Emissions standards for dioxins/furans/co-planar PCBs for small-scale incinerators
| Country | Emissions standards Ng TEQ/m3 |
| Germany | 0.1 |
| Netherlands | 0.1 |
| Sweden | 0.1 |
| USA | 2.3 |
| Japan | 5 |