Whole and chipped tire burning may be dangerous due to increased dioxin
pollution. Why be concerned over cement kilns and dioxin pollution? Here
is a summary of recent scientific concerns stating why Dioxin is a significant
public health threat! ¥ Reduction in sperm count by 50% and increased
sterility among men in industrialized countries since the 1930's with introduction
of chlorinated chemicals (dioxin is unwanted byproduct); ¥ Immune system
compromised in wildlife and human populations; ¥ Increases in cancer
of the testicles in many industrialized countries; ¥ Increased incidence
of undescended testicles in humans and in wildlife; ¥ Increased incidence
of hypospadias -- a birth defect of the male genitalia; ¥ Reduced fertility
and increased sterility in birds, fish, shellfish, and mammals; ¥ Decreased
hatching success in birds, fish and turtles; ¥ Demasculinization and
feminization in male fish, birds, and mammals; ¥ Defeminization and
masculinization of female fish and birds; ¥ Gross birth deformities
in birds, fish and turtles. Permit request to burn tires sent to TNRCC,
but no Public Notice or Public Hearing!!! Texas Lehigh sent a permit application
to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), but no Public
Hearing will be given to citizens if public notice is not required. Gov.
Bush's TNRCC claims no significant change in the nature or volume of emissions
(100% coal vs. tire/coal burning). Tire burning creates dozens of toxic
byproducts and may be worse than coal! Without public participation in
a democratic process, the Bush-run TNRCC will allow inefficient burning
of scrap tires as a harmful air pollution practice (compared to 100% coal
use), thus subjecting residents to potential adverse health impacts. Why
should affected citizens not be allowed to come to TNRCC public meetings
to ask questions, be denied public notice, and have their property rights
and clean air trampled on by TNRCC officials who donÕt live in the
cement plant communities? Thanks to the Bush-run TNRCC! Cement kilns are
not designed or built to be incinerators; cement kilns granted higher air
pollution rates than commercial incinerators Cement kilns are not designed,
built or operated to be tire incinerators since they are built and run
differently from solid waste incinerators. Cement kilns are also given
big breaks--loopholes--in air pollution standards they must meet compared
to commercial incinerators (i.e., hazardous, medical, etc). And Cement
kilns are going to be paid to burn whole tires with your TIRE dollars,
also paid to retrofit their plants to burn them, and then pollute your
air because of bad government policies! Key differences allow cement kilns
burning waste/tires to emit higher levels of the following pollutants:
¥ Higher emissions of harmful respirable particles -- PM10 ¥ Higher
rates of carbon monoxide -- CO ¥ Higher emissions of nitrogen oxides
-- NOx ¥ Higher emissions of sulfur dioxide -- SO2 ¥ Higher volumes
of heavy metals -- Pb, As, Cr VI, Hg, Cd, Be, Zn, Se, Th, ¥ Higher
concentrations of dioxins, furans and PCBs ¥ Higher amounts of all
acid gases such as hydrogen chloride -- HCl ¥ High stack opacity --
more smoke and dust Air pollution problems from tire burning in cement
kilns Air pollution is a chief community concern in whole tire burning.
Edward W. Kleppinger, PhD, concluded in a scientific paper that tire burning
is likely to increase carbon monoxide, particulate, zinc and/or PAH emissions;
higher zinc emissions are due to the typically higher content of the metal
in tires compared to coal. He recommends that whole tires should not be
burned (enclosure E. Kleppinger, Ph.D., ÒTire Burning by Cement
Kilns: An Approach to a Policy.Ó) In another paper, Dr. Kleppinger
compared tire burning to coal in the cement industry for the Ash Grove
Cement Co.'s proposal to burn tires as fuel. Dr. Kleppinger concluded that
tire burning increases: ¥ Chromium emissions by almost 500% ¥ Nickel
emissions by over 450% ¥ Lead emissions by an astonishing 7 to 91 times
¥ Cadmium emissions by 5 to 10 times ÒPreliminary Evaluation
of RMC Lonestar Davenport Cement Plant: Proposal to Conduct Testing on
the Use of Whole Rubber Tires as a Supplementary Fuel in the Cement Mfg
Process.Ó (May 1, 1992). Study found that burning 30% tires in cement
kiln with coal increased toxic emissions over 100% coal. Toxic chemical
emissions increased when burning tires together with coal rather than 100%
coal included: a) Tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF): 2,230% increase; b) Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
(TCDD): 1,432% increase; c) Total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): 2,608%
increase; d) Chromium (hexavalent): 727% increase; e) Lead: 388% increase;
f) Naphthalene: 23,938% increase; g) Acenaphthylene: 18,836% increase;
h) Phenanthrene: 1,824% increase; i) Anthracene: 2,775% increase; j) Pyrene:
1,089% increase; k) Flouranthrene: 291% increase; l) Total toxic PAH's:
2,190% increase; m) Benzene: 126% increase. This study also concluded that
the cancer risk from the cement kiln when burning tires would be approximately
5 in a million. Even so, the RMC report admits that the 5 in a million
estimate omits consideration of noninhalation cancer risks from the highly
toxic chemicals arsenic, cadmium and PCBs.
Contact Neil Carman, PhD, Clean Air Program Director, Lone Star
Chapter of Sierra Club, Write: PO Box 1931, Austin, TX 78767. Call: (512)
472-1767 Fax 477-8526
Or contact your state senator, state representative and other elected officials to ask about the boondoggle in the Texas Tire Recycling (Incineration!) Program using your TIRE dollars to pollute your air! A October 25, 1995 Wall Street Journal article described the Texas program as a giant "Mess."