Emission factors for PM 10 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from illegal burning of different types of municipal waste in households

Abstract. It is a common practice in developing countries and in some\nregions of Europe that solid wastes generated in households (e.g.\nplastic beverage packaging and other plastic wastes, textile wastes,\nfibreboards, furniture, tyres, and coloured-paper waste) are burned in wood-\nor coal-fired stoves during the winter months. In Europe, the types and\nvolume of municipal waste burned in households is virtually unknown because\nthese activities are illegal and not recorded, with the exception of a few\nmedia reports or court cases. Even though particulate emissions from illegal\nwaste burning pose a significant hazard to human health due to the combination\nof excessive emission factors (EFs) and uncontrolled chemical composition,\nthere is scarce information on the specific EFs for PM 10 and polycyclic\naromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the scientific literature. In this work,\ncontrolled combustion tests were performed with 12 different types of\nmunicipal solid waste, and particulate emissions were measured and collected\nfor chemical analysis. Absolute EFs for PM 10 and PAHs as well as the\nbenzo(a)pyrene (BaP) toxicity equivalent of the latter are reported for the first\ntime for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste\nthat are frequently burned in households worldwide. It was found that the\nPM 10 emission factors from the combustion of wood-based waste samples\nwere about twice that of firewood, whereas EFs in the range of 11–82 mg g −1 (a factor of 5–40 times higher than that of dry firewood under the\nsame conditions) were obtained for different types of plastic waste. The\nlatter were also found to emit exceptionally high quantities of PAHs, by a\nfactor of 50–750 more than upon the combustion of dry firewood under the\nsame conditions. Since the more toxic 4–6 ring PAHs were predominant in the\nparticulate emission from plastic waste burning, BaP equivalent toxicity was\nup to 4100 times higher than that from wood combustion.