A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF INCINERATORS
VERSUS LANDFILLS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
Timothy G. Shea, Manager
Engineering-Science
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Joe J. Mayhew, Manager
Solid Waste Programs
Chemical Manufacturers Association
Washington, D.C. 20037
INTRODUCTION
This paper presents the findings of an investigation conducted by the Chemical Manufacturers
Association (CMA) to identify and evaluate decision factors affecting the selection of landfilling
versus incineration to manage hazardous wastes [1]. The study addressed hazardous wastes from
the organic chemical industry that can be managed by either technology. The inquiry process was
designed to illustrate the decision factors by contrasting the technologies. Representative landfill and
incineration designs are compared and evaluated for technical, environmental and sociopolitical
acceptability, long-term liability, resource conservation, and other factors. Specific conclusions are
not developed, but research areas are suggested to further define and address environmental problems
associated with each option.
APPROACH
The investigation was developed using current representative designs for incineration and land-
filling. A common operating capacity of 100 TPD (tons/day on a wet basis) was selected for each
design, and it was assumed that each type of facility was located on-site at a typical chemical plant.
The plant setting was assumed to be: (1) the source of a mix of hazardous and nonhazardous wastes;
and (2) representative of the upper tier of the chemical industry in terms of size and diversity.
The selected designs were characterized in terms of emission controls and other features pertinent
to structuring the technical and environmental evaluations. Predictions of environmental emissions
from each design were then developed for the selected mix of wastes. Modeling techniques were used
to estimate the dispersion of emissions via atmospheric and groundwater pathways, and standards
and criteria exceedance assessments were conducted at assumed points of contact from 150 to 1,000
meters away from the sources.
SELECTED WASTE MIX
The selection of the hypothetical waste mix was done with the objectives of matching waste with
technology and of intentionally incurring as many technical environmental impacts as possible to
permit demonstration of tradeoffs between the technologies. A waste generation rate of 100 TPD, 260
days per year, was selected as typical of a larger organic chemical production facility. This rate is
sufficient to support an onsite landfill and/or incineration system, and the waste mix from such a
facility would be expected to consist of smaller amounts of hazardous constituents contaminating
larger volumes of nonhazardous wastes.
The selection of the waste mix was done in two steps. The criteria at the first level were that the
wastes be amenable to both combustion and landfilling in terms of moisture content, volatility, and
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