A Comparison of Human Exposures to PCB Emissions from Oceanic and Terrestrial Incineration

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Abstract
Incineration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at sea is a hazardous waste disposal option that has received increasing attention. Because bioconcentration factors for PCBs in fish and shellfish are extremely high (4 × 104 and 3 × 104, respectively), concern is that human exposures to PCBs incinerated at sea could be significantly higher than exposures to PCBs incinerated on land. This paper reports the results of a comparative assessment that focused on the potential differences in human exposure from routine on-land versus at-sea incineration. Identical 135 × 106 BTU/h liquid injection incinerators (M/T Vulcanus design) were assumed for this evaluation. A PCB waste stream consisting of 18.5% Aroclor 1242 was assumed. Minimum, expected, and maximum individual exposures for on-land incineration and the maximum individual exposures for at-sea incineration were estimated. Results show that the incineration of PCBs on land leads to higher human exposures to PCBs than the incineration of PCBs at sea. Inhalation exposure is at least two orders of magnitude higher; terrestrial food chain exposure is at least a factor of 20 higher; and drinking water ingestion exposure is about equal to that of consuming fish and shellfish (2.9 × 10−9 g/y) from the incineration site area.