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Atmospheric toxic metal contributions from hospital incinerators

  • Applications of Radioanalytical Methods to Geological and Environmental Science
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Abstract

Air particulate samples taken downwind of two Toronto hospital incinerators analyzed by neutron activation analysis (INAA) and proton-induced X-ray emission analysis (PIXE) were subjected to factor analysis and chemical element balance to identify various emission sources and their contributions to the amibient aerosols. Hospital incinerators, contributing 22–36% to the ambient aerosols, were the major anthropogenic source at the receptor sites studied. Elevated concentrations of Ag, Cd, Cl, Cr, Sb and Zn were found in the hospital incinerator ash samples. Studies of the elemental concentrations of disposable hospital plastics and their fates during combustion indicate that these toxic elements found in the hospital waste and stack emissions are partly attributable to the extensive use of plastics in hospitals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, M5S 1A4, Toronto, Canada

    M. M. Ko & R. E. Jervis

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  1. M. M. Ko
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  2. R. E. Jervis
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Ko, M.M., Jervis, R.E. Atmospheric toxic metal contributions from hospital incinerators. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 161, 159–170 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02034889

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02034889

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