Incineration and human health

By Michelle Allsopp, Pat Costner and Paul Johnston. Abridged version

Publication date: November 2001

Summary
The United Kingdom currently faces a wave of new incinerators with proposals for more than eighty plants already identified.This massive expansion is largely driven by the impact of the EU landfill directive which requires that by 2010 the UK will have to reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill by 25%measured against a 1995 baseline.By 2013 the reduction has to be 50%and by 2020 it must reach 65%.This legislative pressure has driven both central and local government into embracing incineration technology as a 'quick fix 'without necessarily considering all of the impacts on health,the environment and the economy.

There are many powerful arguments against incineration. Some focus on how it deflects waste from being recycled, some on environmental damage and some on jobs and the economy.Perhaps the greatest concerns relate to human health.Greenpeace International has recently published a report Incineration and Human Health which reviews what is known about the impacts of incineration on human health and the effects of specific chemicals discharged from incinerators.