Re: Waste To Energy

[Alan Muller <amuller@dca.net>]

At 04:50 AM 9/4/99 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Hi all,
>
>This may not be the right forum but we need some information.

This is a good forum for asking about incinerators, especially if you do
not like them.
>
>A  WTE plant is coming up in Chennai (MAdras). 

(1)	I suggest never to use the expression Waste to Energy.  This is a
propaganda expression.  Call it an incinerator, which is what it is.

(2)	You say "coming up."  Has it been built?  Are you trying to stop it, or
do you regard it as inevitable?
>
>It is an Australian firm and they plan to use something called 'autoclaving
>and pyrolysis gasifier'. 

This sounds familiar.  Do not consider that because they claim to have
fancy technology that the plant would be OK.  All incinerator promoters
tend to say that their proposal "is not an incinerator" and "won't pollute,
or cause any problems, because of our special technology....."

>They have installed a plant in Louisiana that has had a 1000 hr run
without any glitches.

Have you confirmed this independently?  (1000 hours is less than 2 months
in any case.)  Remember that harmful pollution is legal (especially in
Louisiana), and a plant might be running as designed, and complying with
govenrment regulations, and still be emitting large amounts of harmful
pollutants.
>
>Does any one know what does IT do. 
>
>They say ' In this technology, the
>entire garbage is first made into pulp and heated to about 1300 degrees
>Celsius to extract gas. The gas is then used to work a turbine  to produce
>electricity...'
>
>Can you help.

My suggestion:  Pay no attention to what IT says, but rather get facts,
such as:

What is the history of this company?

What is the source of their technology?  (From whom is it licensed.....)

What sort of permits have they applied for and what do those permits say?
(That is, what sorts of emissions are they asking
permission for?  You want actual amounts)

What other substances would be emitted that are not mentioned in the permits?

What is their operating history elsewhere with the same type of plant?
(According to both them, and local regulators and community groups!)

What are the environmental health issues facing communities near the
proposed location and how would the proposed facility effect them?

How much electricity would the plant generate, and how is this to be
compared to the negative environmental and health impacts?

How much ash would be produced?  What would be in it?  How would it be
monitored and analyzed?  Where would it go?

How many people would work in this plant?  How would their health be protected?

I could go on for pages and pages, but you will get my drift from this.

Feel free to post more questions.

am

Alan Muller, Executive Director
Green Delaware
Box 69
Port Penn, DE 19731 USA
(302)834-3466
fax (302)836-3005 
greendel@dca.net
http://members.dca.net/greendel/