POTENTIALLY TOXIC PARTICULATES IN THE BREATHING ZONE ADJACENT TO A WASTE INCINERATOR – SOURCES AND HEALTH EFFECTS

This study reviewed 2012 Ohio EPA air quality data from four air monitors at three sites adjacent to the WTI hazardous waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. Samples had been gathered by pumping air through fine-mesh, fabric filters that trap particulates (<2.5 microns in diameter) every six days for 24-hours. Analytic data were averaged per six-day sampling and/or averaged monthly, measuring the concentrations (μg/m³) of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead. These particulates collected are present in the breathing zones of local inhabitants and are fine enough to pass through their respiratory passages unobstructed to the lungs and, potentially, into the bloodstream and other parts of the body.

Bursts of increased concentrations are represented by spikes (high peaks in the graphs) of these elements. Natural sources of increased concentrations, e.g., dust storms eroding unprotected soils are not common in this region, so they do not explain the short-term spikes. At this site, spikes most likely were produced by WTI incinerator emissions from incinerating various industrial wastes that contain these elements (e.g., paints, metal scraps, batteries and corrosion inhibitors). Monthly graphs, averaging lows and highs in the data, mask these spikes. Although the monthly averages of these elements from incinerator stack emissions are higher than those in surrounding small cities, those in the East Liverpool area are currently below levels considered to be risks to human health from chronic exposure. Furthermore, as indicated by autoregressive moving average models, trends in the averages are not increasing.