Rubbish incineration not as clean as its advocates say

reelpower

Rubbish incineration not as clean as its advocates say
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/27/focus/14072119&sec=focus

LETTER to editor, THE STAR, 27 April 2006
CHAN CHIAN WEN,
Birmingham, Britain.

I DISAGREE with Ridzuan Jusoh over our waste management system, “Time to get tough and build the incinerator” (The Star, April 26).

Landfills should not be considered primitive and Third World. I am studying in Britain and I know for a fact that only 8% of the country's waste is being incinerated.

An incinerator is not as clean as one thinks it is. It spews out hazardous gases such as dioxin and nitrogen oxide.

Dioxin is cancerous. The two gases will be precipitated as rain, polluting our rivers, forests and land.

Incinerators are more appropriate in places where land is scarce such as Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.

Depending on the type of rubbish collected, the incinerator is not as energy productive as one thinks it is, not to mention the amount of extra carbon dioxide that will be released into the atmosphere, causing global warming.

Landfill spillage into rivers is the result of local councils mismanaging them. And illegal dumping is caused by lack of enforcement.

Rather than spending a considerable amount of energy, the production of which will affect the environment, would it not be more practical to spend slightly extra to improve the efficiency of our waste management system?

The average citizen is guilty of pollution, too. Just take a walk down any commercial centre and see the amount of litter everywhere.

The combined rubbish generated is much more than the amount spilled from landfills or illegal dumpsites.

CHAN CHIAN WEN,
Birmingham, Britain.

Want clean rivers? Scrap Broga incinerator!

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/50106

Want clean rivers? Scrap Broga incinerator!
Andrew Ong
Apr 22, 06 12:07pm


As the government hints at the closure of open dumpsites nationwide to protect rivers from pollution, the proposed waste incinerator in Kampung Broga, Semenyih must also be scrapped as well.

Stating this, Broga No-incinerator committee pro tem chairperson Zulkefly Mohamad Omar added that the government should be far sighted and scrap the project to avoid future mishaps.

“Ammonia in the water can be easily detected. But (cancer causing) dioxins (emmited from waste incinerators and dissolved in water) cannot be seen nor does it have taste, and it is even more dangerous,” he told reporters after submitting a memorandum on the matter to the Department of Environment (DOE) in Putrajaya yesterday.

This was the latest move by the committee who have been struggling over the past three years to stop the project.

Two rivers - Sungai Rinching and Sungai Seringgit - are within close vicinity of the proposed site. Both rivers flow towards Sungai Semenyih, a water catchment area which supplies water to about two million people in the Klang Valley.

Cabinet committee

Zulkefly urged the authorities to heed of the recent incident where leachate from a landfill near Sungai Kembong had caused ammonia levels to rise in the Sungai Semenyih, forcing water supply disruption to a large area of the Klang Valley.

“Instead of spending money to clean up rivers, the government can save money by not building incinerators, otherwise they have to spend again to clean the rivers later,” he added.

He hoped that the DOE would relate the committee’s concerns to the cabinet committee on environment and disasters chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, which will meet on April 28.

Among matters expected to be deliberated is a proposal to close all open dumpsites by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Azmi Khalid and the fate of the Broga incinerator.

On the possibility of the government establishing a Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF) plant within Semenyih as an alternative to the controversial incinerator, Zulkefly said that the committee can accept it, if it was a ‘temporary’ solution.

“But that doesn’t mean everyone can dump their garbage in Broga. Every council should have their own RDF facility,” he said.

Green light given?

Earlier, the committee members and about 20 residents of Kampung Broga turned up for a meeting with DOE deputy director-general Dr Shamsuddin Abd Latif.

Shamsuddin was met with a barrage of questions from anxious residents, mostly concerning more details to the addendum of the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project, published late last year.

“Who has the final say in approving the EIA? The DOE or the politicians?” asked Alice Lee (right), a resident and ardent critic of the project.

Shamsuddin avoided Lee’s questions and those from other residents, repeatedly saying that he would pass on their concerns and issues raised in the memorandum to his superior.

However, when asked if the ‘green light’ has been given to the EIA, Shamsuddin said, “That would be a question of interpretation. For now, EIA has not been finalised”.

Toxic waste

The project, said to be the biggest of its kind in the region, is capable of processing more than 1000 tonnes of municipal waste daily, but according to the addendum to the EIA, produces 400 tonnes of toxic slag daily as well.

The addendum makes no reference to how the slag would be brought out of the incinerator, nor where it would be disposed off.

According to Zulkefly, this may potentially expose nearby residents to the toxic waste.

“What happens if the transport used to carry the toxic materials meet an accident in a busy street?” he asked Shamsuddin, to which the latter did not answer.

He added that water pumped from nearby rivers to wash the interior of the incinerator would flow back into the water system, bringing along toxic ash and other poisonous materials.

BN MP raises concern over incinerator

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/50041

BN MP raises concern over incinerator
Beh Lih Yi
Apr 20, 06 6:58pm

A government backbencher today raised concerns over the controversial RM1.5 billion mega incinerator project proposed in Broga amid strong opposition from the residents.

“My house is just about 2km away from the incinerator site. I am seeking an explanation on the impact of this project,” said Markiman Kobiran (BN-Hulu Langat) during the ministerial winding-up on the Ninth Malaysian Plan debates in the Dewan Rakyat.

He also asked why an information committee set-up by the government in relation to the project was not doing its job.

“The committee is supposed to disseminate information on the project, but I see non-governmental organisations are more active in explaining the negative impacts,” he added.

He also asked about the implication of a court injunction over the Broga incinerator and whether the ministry will be using an existing road to transport solid waste to the plant.

Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting however refrained from commenting on the MP’s concerns, saying that answers would be given at a meeting to be held on April 28.

The meeting will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to determine, among others, the government’s policy in handling solid waste and landfills nationwide.

On Feb 14 last year, Broga residents won a temporary reprieve when the court granted an interim stay order on all project work pending the disposal of a main suit filed by the residents.

Take it to Putrajaya

The multi-billion ringgit project was earlier relocated to Broga from the heavily populated southern suburb of Puchong after strong protest from the residents there.

Interjecting during the winding-up, Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) reiterated her opposition to the project since it is located at a water catchment area and could prove to be an environmental hazard.

Replying, Ong said: “When the project was in Kg Bohol (Puchong), YB Seputeh (Kok) went there everyday to collect signatures and said ‘no’ to incinerator.”

“I still remember then, someone was saying the project should be relocated to Semenyih but when the relocation was done, there is still objection, so where shall we go?” asked the minister.

A smiling Kok responded: “Putrajaya, Putrajaya”.

To this, Ong said: “It would be unfair to take the rubbish from other places to Putrajaya, I shouldn’t take the rubbish from Seputeh to Putrajaya right? The point I want to make is it is a big problem to handle solid waste.”

Broga incinerator a chemical bomb

reelpower

Broga incinerator a chemical bomb
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=13512

Thu, 23 Mar 2006


MENTION "INCINERATOR" IN Japan and chances are the name of veterinarian
Miyata Hideaki will come to the fore.


In the Land of the Rising Sun and of rising dioxin levels more than
three-quarters of the garbage, including loads of plastics, are reduced to
dust in more than 4,000 government- approved incinerators, not to
mention illegal, privately operated burners.


Dioxin gas is an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) released when
plastics and other wastes containing chlorinebased chemicals are burnt.


In recent decades, dioxin pollution had grown to become a national
nervousness in Japan and the man to be credited for the paranoia is
Hideaki.


Years ago, he told the international news media that the saying "as
pure as mother's milk", no longer holds true, at least for many Japanese
mothers who live in the cities surrounded by incinerators.


Hideaki, who had first read about dioxin in a US government research
paper in the 70s, had long suspected that mother's milk might be
contaminated with dioxin.


It was only a hunch, but when he carried out tests, he found traces of
incinerator gas in the milk of lactating women! That was when he issued
a shocking scare: "I think it is safe to keep our babies away from
mother's milk" and the media went to town with it.


His terse comments were a wake-up call for the industrial nation and
since then, higher standards and tough regulations were put in place with
the aim of cutting dioxin release by 90%.


In the last few years in Malaysia, the people of Broga, Semenyih and
Kajang have been shouting themselves hoarse about the government's plans
to locate a mega incinerator in their midst.


In a media statement three years ago, DAP National Publicity Bureau
assistant secretary John Chong expressed grave concerns about the project.


He said it is highly irresponsible for the Housing and Local Government
Ministry and the state government to insist on building the
incinerator, without coming clean on the project's impact on public safety.


But all that shouting and protests from various groups and NGOs fell on
deaf ears and the project has been slated to take off.


Perhaps we need a Hideaki in our own country, but for the moment, we
could do with the "ammunition" that the Consumers Association of Penang
(CAP) has in store.


CAP president S.M. Mohd Idris told theSun, the government should
monitor and control the widespread threat of EDCs in the country.


EDCs, including dioxin and furan, are toxic chemicals that cause
anything from cancer, heart and lung diseases, liver, reproductive and
neurological disorders to birth defects and kidney damage in humans.


Idris said incinerating wastes releases EDCs such as dioxin and furan
and this is a major emerging problem in the world.


"Both dioxin and furan are some of the most hazardous chemicals known
to science.


"They were the primary components of Agent Orange and furan are also
by-products of chemical, manufacturing and combustion processes," he
said.


These poisons would leave the incinerator either as air emission or
ash, said Idris. Purifying the emission would only make the ash more
lethal.


"The more hi-tech an incinerator is, the cleaner its air emission will
be, but the resulting residue of ash will be more noxious," he warned.


Idris said instead of building incinerators, the government should look
into the use of other alternatives such as intensive waste segregation,
promoting waste minimisation, reduction in the use of non-biodegradable
materials and material recovery options such as composting and
recycling.


If the Selangor government and the Housing and Local Government
Ministry continue to throw conventional wisdom to the wind, then perhaps what
will return from the wind, will be nothing short of a "chemical
holocaust".