Thank you for printing the survey of Rep. Nick Manolakos. Perhaps I should have returned my copy, then the dismaying percentage of people wanting to see the ban on incinerators lifted so trash can be burned to produce energy would have been slightly lower.
On the face of it, we have trash, which is a problem to dispose and we need more sources of energy, so burning trash would seem to solve two problems at once. But the truth is that even with the most advanced incinerators three groups of dangerous substances will be emitted: toxic metals, unburned toxic chemicals (in the ash and effluent used to cool) and hundreds of new pollutants - organic compounds such as dioxins and furans.
Increased cancer rates, respiratory ailments, reproductive abnormalities and other health effects are noted among people living near some waste-burning facilities.
Incineration removes the incentive to recycle and reuse materials. It perpetuates the use of landfills because of the large quantities of leftover ash produced by incinerators. An excellent report is available here.
David McCorquodale
Sherwood Park II
