Governments and industry are fully aware that emissions from incinerators are dangerous and can cause serious environmental and health problems both to people living near them and thousands of kilometres from the source. Though the company refused official requests from Greenpeace to study releases from the incinerator, the environmental organisation managed to take a sample of ash from the top of the chimney and from inside the incinerator. Analysis confirmed that the top of the chimney is contaminated with organic chlorine compounds and ash inside the plant contains high levels of toxic metals such as cadmium and chromium. This ash is either dumped in landfill or used by the construction industry to make bricks. Exposure to the releases has been linked to a number of serious health impacts such as lung, throat, liver and stomach cancers as well as respiratory problems and heart disease.
Studies show that health impacts among children are of particular concern.
Greenpeace is calling on all governments to act on their agreement and start eliminating all POPs from the planet. This means stopping all existing POPs sources, including dioxins. To achieve this, all existing incinerators must be closed, any plans for new incinerators must be scrapped and investment made into other, safer methods of waste disposal. Words are not enough to clean the environment. In view of the facts, any self-respecting government acting in the public interest would shut down these dangerous methods of waste management and scrap any plans to build new ones.