The threat from the Chinese incinerator

In a developing city in southeastern China, a huge incinerator is born, emitting stench from the kilometers and emitting a lot of black smoke and toxic chemicals, making it difficult for the people around.

After surpassing the United States to become the world's largest household waste water dispenser, China has implemented a large-scale program to build incinerators, in the situation that burial sites are overloaded. But private incinerators like Shenzhen's Longgang kiln have become a source of toxic waste, from dioxin to mercury, and can destroy the human nervous system.

These toxic substances, especially long-lasting substances such as dioxin and mercury, pose a danger not only in China. They float in the air, crossing the Pacific Ocean and reaching the US coasts.

The Chinese incinerator can be more friendly. On the other end of Shenzhen City, there was no smoke rising from the Baoan incinerator, built by a multinational company. Tests show that this incinerator hardly emits dioxin and other toxic substances. However, the construction cost for Baoan furnace is 10 times more expensive than Longgang furnace.

Workers shoveling garbage outside Baoan incinerator in Shenzhen.(Photo: NYT)

The difference between the Baoan and Longgang furnaces lies in the growing conflict in China. Incinerators are being built to completely different standards throughout the country and right in the cities. For years, Chinese lawmakers have discussed the need to impose tighter limits on emissions. But they cannot do anything because of internal conflicts between government agencies, a Chinese official said.

The Chinese government is struggling to cope with the rapid rise of garbage mountains when the world's most populous country is trying to escape poverty to enter the market mechanism. In June, Beijing officials also warned that every city landfill would run out in the next five years.

The governments of several cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have set strict emissions standards like those in Europe. But in fact, protests against the upcoming incinerators still erupt in Beijing, Shanghai and even Shenzhen.

Residents of big cities do not believe that new incinerators will meet international standards. 'It is difficult to know whether this standard is achieved - maybe the incinerator is designed to international standards, but how do we know it will work properly?', Zhao Yong , a computer engineer in Beijing said.

However, incinerators continue to be built in remote cities where people are less aware of environmental pollution.

Research at the University of Washington and Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, USA, estimated that one-sixth of the current mercury falls into North American lakes comes from Asia, especially China, primarily from coal-fired plants and metal incinerators, but also from incinerators . The amount of toxic metals, like cadmium, that incinerators burn out is even higher than in coal kilns.

Incinerators also play an important role in the release of dioxin. The analysis has shown that dioxin can move very far.

A 2005 report by the World Bank warned that if China built too many incinerators without limiting the amount of waste, the dioxin level in the atmosphere worldwide would double. Since then, China has reduced the construction of incinerators and also somewhat reduced emissions, but then the World Bank has not yet issued any further reports.

Airborne toxins are not the only problem caused by incinerators. The remaining residues after burning also carry dioxin and other poisons. Zhong Rigang, the chief engineer at the Baoan incinerator, said their system discharged ash to a special landfill designed to treat toxic waste. But a scientific study last year found that most toxic waste disposal sites were overloaded, so the ashes were buried.

The incinerator has two advantages that Japan and most of Europe pursue: they occupy less space than landfills and the heat from burning garbage can be used to generate electricity. Baoan incinerators create enough weight to light 40,000 homes.

The landfill also has its own environmental hazard. Compost from waste also produces a large amount of methane - a greenhouse gas. Methane from landfills is a much more serious problem than poisons from incinerators.

Chinese regulations still allow incinerators to emit 10 times more dioxin than the European Union. The tightening of national standards in the country has been deadlocked in the past three years due to a conflict between the Ministry of Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission, an official in Beijing, said.

Both agencies agreed to tighten dioxin emission standards. But they disagree on whether the Ministry of Environment should have the right to terminate inconsistent incinerator projects, or whether the National Development and Reform Commission reserves the right to decide to license projects.

Yan Jianhua, director of the waste treatment group in Zhejiang, defends his industry and believes that the burning of outdoor waste by families also releases more dioxin. ' The burning of outdoor waste is a matter of greatest concern ,' Yan said. According to him, China needs a better sort of waste to dispose of waste properly.

Fans of incinerators also called for increased recycling and limited use of plastic bags to reduce waste. Even when not recycled, waste sorting also helps incinerators work cleaner, because the temperature in the furnace can be adjusted accurately to limit the formation of dioxins.