Inhalation health risk assessment of incineration and landfill in the Bohai Rim, China

Abstract

An inhalation health risks assessment of 96 waste to energy (WtE) plants and 178 landfills in the Bohai Rim, located in northeast China, has been conducted. Based on the latest emission inventories in 2020, WRF/CALPUFF was used to simulate the diffusion of pollutants. Population-weighted hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) of incineration and landfill for each pollutant and each target organ impacted were calculated. The health risks of incineration and landfill were correlated with per capita municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal quantity, emission factors, pollutant toxic effects and local migration and diffusion conditions. The HI of incineration and landfill in the Bohai Rim were 4.07 × 10⁻³ and 4.79 × 10⁻³, respectively, which was lower than the acceptable level (HI < 1), while the CR of incineration and landfill were 4.72 × 10⁻⁷ and 2.58 × 10⁻⁷, respectively, which was also lower than the acceptable level (CR < 1 × 10⁻⁶). The non-carcinogenic risks of incineration mainly targeted respiratory system and development system, while the non-carcinogenic risks of landfill mainly targeted nervous system and respiratory system. The carcinogenic risks of incineration mainly targeted respiratory system and digestive system, while the carcinogenic risks of landfill mainly targeted hepatic system and respiratory system. With the trend that incineration phase in, while landfill phase out, the number of patients for 15 target organ diseases caused by the disposal of unit mass MSW would decrease in the Bohai Rim, ranging from 1.8 × 10⁻⁸ - 1.8 × 10⁻² (pop/t)，especially in developed provinces, such as Beijing and Tianjin. However, the number of patients for 4 target organ diseases caused by the disposal of unit mass MSW would increase, ranging from 1.18 × 10⁻⁶ - 5.28 × 10⁻³ (pop/t). Based on pollutants' pathogenic mechanisms, this study innovatively accessed and compared incineration and landfill's health risks of target organs, and provide technical and policy suggestions based on the changing trend of MSW disposal methods in the future.