Dioxins – 3rd strongest poison known to man according to memoirs of a vagabond
vnounku is also extremely concerned about the cancerous side effects of dioxins and offers dome useful tips on how to reduce the amount leaching into your food. His source? I quote
“Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.”
For more go to link
Can you burn plastic? Well it never burns easily – it melts and bubbles. It will burn eventually but you have to keep heating it – click here if you want to know why.
When you do set fire to plastic it gives off a terrible smell — at least in my experience — as a child playing round the back of the derelict garages I hasten to add.
But is it bad for you? The smell according to the naked scientist could be anything
It could be just a simple hydrocarbon, or it could contain cyanides, or PCB’s, or lots of other substances. Without knowing what the plastic was …..it would be difficult to know what are the likely volatiles it would create…. volatiles given off from plastics in house fires are a major cause of death.
So it depends on the plastic then?
Yes it is apparently safe to burn polythene – it can even be reprocessed as briquettes to make a very efficient fuel (ifenergy).
But it’s a big NO if its a halogenated plastics, i.e one of those made from chlorine or fluorine
Halogenated plastics include:
Chlorine based plastics:
Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)
Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE)
Polychloroprene (CR or chloroprene rubber, marketed under the brand name of Neoprene)
PVC
Fluorine based plastics:
Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)
Burning these plastics can release dioxins. Dioxins are unintentionally, but unavoidably produced during the manufacture of materials containing chlorine, including PVC and other chlorinated plastic feedstocks.
Dioxin is a known human carcinogen and the most potent synthetic carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals. A characterization by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of cancer causing potential evaluated dioxin as over 10,000 times more potent than the next highest chemical (diethanol amine), half a million times more than arsenic and a million or more times greater than all others.
The World Health Organization said
“Once dioxins have entered the environment or body, they are there to stay due to their uncanny ability to dissolve in fats and to their rock-solid chemical stability.”
IN CONCLUSION
Its best not to be burning plastic on an open fire unless you know exactly what it is made up of.
There are some plastics that are supposed to be safe to burn.
Personally I won’t be burning plastic on my bonfire.
But is it safe to send off to my local waste disposal plant where they burn it in an incinerator?
It is claimed that all plastics can be burnt safely in the modern industrial incinerators – but only those built to high specifications.
Opinions vary wildly as to wether this is the case with environmentalists saying we are poisoning the very air that we breathe.
Many of these plants generate electricity from the heat produced so in effect the plastic is recycled.
The resulting ash from incineration plants has to be disposed of and so presnets yet another waste disposal challenge.
For more information go to
Wikkipedia
Waste Plastic Blogspot about the technology behind waste incinerators.
Zero Waste America a crtiqua of waste incinerators.
Burning Bins the problems of trash being burnt on open fires
The Uk Government states on their website
Burning plastic, rubber or painted materials creates poisonous fumes and can have damaging health effects for people who have asthmatic or heart conditions.
This is covered under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Environmental Protection Act 1990
Want to cut down on more of your plastic rubbish? – you can find other plastic free products with the A-Z plastic free index
The green guide have this to say about dioxins
Dioxins, which are highly toxic even at low doses, are produced when plastics are manufactured and incinerated. While dioxin levels in the U.S. environment have been declining for the last 30 years, they break down so slowly that some of the dioxins from past releases will still be in the environment many years hence.
In its 2000 final draft reassessment of the health effects of dioxins, the EPA concluded that dioxins have the potential to produce an array of adverse health effects in humans. The agency’s report estimated that the average American’s risk of contracting cancer from dioxin exposure may be as high as one in 1,000–1,000 times higher than the government’s current “acceptable” standard of one in a million.
Dioxins are also endocrine disruptors, substances that can interfere with the body’s natural hormone signals. Dioxin exposure, moreover, can damage the immune system and may affect reproduction and childhood development.
The most common health effect in people exposed to large amounts of dioxin is chloracne, a severe skin disease with acne-like lesions that occur mainly on the face and upper body. Other effects of exposure to large amounts of dioxin include skin rashes, skin discoloration, excessive body hair, and possibly mild liver damage.
The hazard symbol for carcinogenic chemicals in the Globally Harmonized System. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dioxins are unintentionally, but unavoidably produced during the manufacture of materials containing chlorine, this includes halogenated plastics, i.e made from chlorine or fluorine
Halogenated plastics include:
Chlorine based plastics:
Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)
Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE)
Polychloroprene (CR or chloroprene rubber, marketed under the brand name of Neoprene)
PVC
Fluorine based plastics:
Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)
Burning these plastics can release dioxins.
Dioxins is a known human carcinogen and the most potent synthetic carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals. A characterization by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of cancer causing potential evaluated dioxin as over 10,000 times more potent than the next highest chemical (diethanol amine), half a million times more than arsenic and a million or more times greater than all others.
These plastics are unsafe to burn and difficult to dispose of.
More Information
Dioxins and why you dont want to be burning plastic
Lots more information on the different plastics, and what they are used for, can be found here HERE
Find out more about plastic, the boycott and us here
