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Sources
Backyard Burning of Trash is now the #1
Dioxin Source!
*OTHER category includes: diesel heavy-duty trucks, industrial
wood combustion, diesel off-road equipment, EDC/VCM production,
sintering plants, automobiles using leaded gasoline, land
applied 2,4-D, iron ore sintering, oil-fired utilities, lightweight
aggregate kilns that combust hazardous waste, petroleum refining,
catalyst regeneration, cigarette smoke, boilers/industrial
furnaces, crematoria, and drum reclamation.
Note: "Dioxin" here is defined
as the totality of 7 dioxins and 10 furans. "TEQ" denotes
"toxic equivalent," a quantitative measure of the combined
toxicity of a mixture of dioxin-like chemicals.
Source: U.S. EPA (Environmental
Protection Agency). 2006. An inventory of sources and environmental
releases of dioxin-like compounds in the United States for
the years 1987, 1995, and 2000. National Center for Environmental
Assessment, Washington, DC; EPA/600/P-03/002F. (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=159286)
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1987
|
1995
|
2000
|
|
RANK
|
Source
|
Amount
|
% Total
|
Source
|
Amount
|
% Total
|
Source
|
Amount
|
% Total
|
|
1
|
Municipal Waste Combustion
|
8905
|
63.8%
|
Municipal Waste Combustion
|
1394
|
40.5%
|
Backyard Barrel Burning
|
498.5
|
35.1%
|
|
2
|
Medical Waste Incineration
|
2570
|
18.4%
|
Backyard Barrel Burning
|
628
|
18.2%
|
Medical Waste Incineration
|
378
|
26.6%
|
|
3
|
Secondary Copper Smelting
|
983
|
7.0%
|
Medical Waste Incineration
|
487
|
14.1%
|
Municipal Wastewater Treatement
Sludge
|
89.7
|
6.3%
|
|
4
|
Backyard Barrel Burning
|
604
|
4.3%
|
Secondary Copper Smelting
|
271
|
7.9%
|
Municipal Waste Combustion
|
83.8
|
5.9%
|
|
5
|
Bleached Pulp & Paper Mills
|
370
|
2.6%
|
Cement Kilns
|
156
|
4.5%
|
Coal-fired Utility Boilers
|
69.5
|
4.9%
|
|
6
|
Cement Kilns
|
118
|
0.8%
|
Municipal Wastewater Treatement
Sludge
|
133
|
3.9%
|
Diesel Heavy-duty Trucks
|
65.4
|
4.6%
|
|
7
|
Municipal Wastewater Treatement
Sludge
|
85
|
0.6%
|
Coal-fired Utility Boilers
|
60
|
1.7%
|
Industrial Wood Combustion
|
41.5
|
2.9%
|
|
8
|
Coal-fired Utility Boilers
|
51
|
0.4%
|
EDC/VCM Production
|
36
|
1.0%
|
Diesel Off-road Equipment
|
33.1
|
2.3%
|
|
9
|
Automobiles Using Leaded Gasoline
|
38
|
0.3%
|
Diesel Heavy-duty Trucks
|
33
|
1.0%
|
EDC/VCM Production
|
30
|
2.1%
|
|
10
|
2,4-d
|
33
|
0.2%
|
Bleached Pulp & Paper Mills
|
30
|
0.9%
|
Sintering Plants
|
27.6
|
1.9%
|
| |
OTHER
|
208
|
1.5%
|
OTHER
|
216
|
6.3%
|
OTHER
|
104.9
|
7.4%
|
| |
TOTAL
|
13,965
|
100%
|
TOTAL
|
3,444
|
100%
|
TOTAL
|
1,422
|
100%
|
|
Source: U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). 2006.
An inventory of sources and environmental releases of dioxin-like
compounds in the United States for the years 1987, 1995, and
2000. National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington,
DC; EPA/600/P-03/002F. (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=159286)
- Environmental releases of dioxin-like compounds decreased
by approximately 90% between 1987 and 2000. Most of these
reductions, almost 75%, occurred between 1987 and 1995.
These reductions were achieved through a combination of
regulatory activities, improved emission controls, voluntary
actions on behalf of industry, and the closing of a number
of facilities.
- Declining levels of environmental dioxins are characterized
by a changing pattern of emission sources over time. Industry
and regulatory controls on waste incineration have resulted
in a significantly lower contribution of dioxins from this
source since 1987.
- As dioxin emissions from industry decline, unregulated
sources such as backyard barrel burning of garbage and residential
wood burning rise in significance as contributors to dioxin
emissions.
- The combined dioxin emissions from ethylene dichloride
(EDC) and vinyl chloride manufacture contributed 30 g-TEQ,
or just over 2% of the total amount, of 2000 dioxin emissions.
Backyard barrel burning, on the other hand contributed more
then 35% of total dioxin emissions for the same year.
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Dioxin TRI Data - Cl2 Sector
