What about toxic ash from incinerators?
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Updated: July 03, 2009 11:17 AM
It seems that the pressure is on over garbage incineration but now another consideration has come to light.
You may have heard of the court case in Florida concerning toxic synthetic gyproc that was manufactured by a German company at its facility in China. Some of this gyproc was shipped to Canada and used in new home construction.
According to a report I read as few as three sheets can mean that a home should be demolished as the toxicity permeates everything with a smell of rotten eggs. The alleged toxic component is incinerator ash but whether it is just from coal-fired power plants, bottom or fly ash or a mixture is not known. Sweden exports its toxic garbage ash to somewhere, and where does all the other European toxic ash go? It would appear that ash is not something we should be reducing our garbage to period as there is no safe place to put it.
Can we trust those charged with the responsibility of disposal to follow environmental regulations? For years England’s waste disposal companies mixed the highly toxic flyash and bottom ash from waste-to-energy plants together and dumped it in landfills until the practice was brought to light by Greenpeace. Even if it were possible to build an incinerator where no pollutants were discharged into the atmosphere those pollutants would still be there in the form of toxic ash.
For years Asia has been the rug under which we have swept our toxic discards and judged them for not being environmentally responsible but now they have found a way to ship unwanted contaminants right back over our doorstep. I wonder what other imported products toxic ash may be in?
Gary Huntbatch
Abbotsford
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