Re: PCBs burned in the South make their way up to the Great Lakes

[asagady@sojourn.com]

  >>Burning 500 million pounds at 99.9999% destruction removal equivalence
  >>(DRE) may release 5,000 pounds of PCBs if the dielectric fluid is one
  >>million parts per million; 3,750 pounds of PCBs released at 750,000 ppm,
  >>and 2,500 pounds PCBs at 500,000 ppm PCBs. Dielectric fluids range from
  >>50% - 100% pure PCBs (or 500,000 - 1,000,000 ppm). We do not need any
  >>more PCBs in the air, water, food chain or ecosystems. Incineration will
  >>certainly release PCBs since it ain't perfect, and the potential is for
  >>far more PCBs to be released than this conservative calculation.
  >>99.99999% is based upon a Trial Burn using a surrogate chlorinated
  >>compound-NOT PCBs-and this is pie in the sky as far as incineration
  >>goes.
  >>
  
  The math is off in this statement concerning PCB waste burning theoretical
  calculations
  circulated on dioxin-l from a Houston web site
  
  Why would burning PCB waste with 1 PPM PCB release at 99.9999%
  theoretical DRE release more PCB than burning the same amount of PCB waste
  at the same DRE if the waste had 750,000 ppm or 500,000 ppm PCBs
  for theoretical undestroyed PCBs?
  
  
  500,000,000 pounds =  5  E8 pounds of waste
  
  99.9999% DRE is equivolent to  0.0001% PCB undestroyed/released
  
  0.0001% PCB undestroy/released =  1 E-6 proportion of PCB release during burning
  
  1 ppm PCB content = 1E-6 proportion of PCB in a waste which is 1 PPM PCB
  
  
  
  Therefore, for your  1 PPM PCB waste:
  
  In 500,000,000 pounds of  1 PPM PCB waste
  there is    5 E8  * 1 E-6 total PCBs
  or 500 pounds of PCBs in the waste to be burned.
  
  If these 500 pounds of PCBs are burned with a DRE of 99.9999% then after
  incineration there is     5 E 2   *  1 E-6 or  5 E -4   undestroyed or  
  
  0.0005 pounds of PCB emitted/undestroyed at  99.9999% theoretical DRE
  
  
  
  For your 500,000 ppm PCB waste:
  
  In 500,000,000 pounds of 500,000 ppm PCB waste 
  there is  5 E8  *  5 E 5  * 1 E-6 total PCBs
  or 25 E7 pounds or  250,000,000 pounds of PCB
  
  If these 250,000,000 pounds of PCB are burned with a DRE of 99.9999% then 
  after incineration there is  2.5 E7 * 1 E-6  or    2.5 E 1    or
  
  25 pounds of PCBs emitted/undestroyed at 99.9999% DRE
  
  
  
  The above are theoretical emission rates and do not deal 
  with PICs, PCDD/F, HCL, etc.
  
  Neil Carman's point about fugitive emissions is a good one.
  
  
  
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  Alex J. Sagady & Associates        Email:  asagady@sojourn.com
  Environmental Consulting and Database Systems
  PO Box 39  East Lansing, MI  48826-0039  
  (517) 332-6971 (voice); (517) 332-8987 (fax)