Hungarian and Romanian researchers have jointly assessed the potential contributions of residential waste burning to airborne particulate pollution (PM10) in selected settlements in Hungary and Romania. In all sampling locations the researchers identified specific tracer compounds that are emitted solely from the burning of different types of solid wastes. They estimated that the contribution of illegal waste burning to the reported concentrations of PM10 may be as high as a few percent.

Burning of solid wastes in households causes significant air pollution in various regions of the world, including Eastern and Central Europe. Many people regularly burn different types of solid wastes (e.g., plastic items, treated wood, clothes) in stoves or outdoors. This practice is not only illegal but also poses a severe health risk to the people. Every year, the Clean Air Action Group's Environmental Advisory Office receives thousands of complaints from residents suffering from the suffocating air pollutants released by solid waste burning in their neighbourhood.

Hungarian and Romanian researchers have jointly assessed the potential contributions of residential waste burning to airborne particulate pollution (PM10) in selected settlements in Hungary and Romania. In 5 sampling locations in Hungary and 5 in Romania, the researchers identified specific tracer compounds that are emitted solely from the burning of different types of solid wastes. The experiments were conducted during the winters of 2018/19 and 2019/20, and in the summer of 2019 (see Figure 1). The key findings of the study are summarised below.

Figure 1: The locations of the sampling sites

 

The PM10 samples were collected on quartz filters at all sampling locations using a high volume sampler. The PM10 concentrations determined from the samples are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Sampling dates and measured PM10 concentrations

Location	Sampling period	Number of analysed samples	PM10 (µg m-3) min/max/average of the analysed samples
BUD	21.01–10.02.2019	10	44.1/74.0/58.6
	01.07–07.07.2019	7	18.2/30.0/22.9
	07.01–29.01.2020	21	14.1/76.2/47.4
KPS	21.01–10.02.2019	10	35.9/49.9/41.1
	08.07–14.07.2019	7	7.5/13.5/10.0
	07.01–27.01.2020	21	18.3/63.2/39.0
MSK	14.01–03.02.2019	10	48.2/84.1/64.6
	24.06–30.06.2019	7	17.3/31.6/23.5
	07.01–27.01.2020	21	22.2/83.1/53.6
PUT	14.01–03.02.2019	10	66.2/114.5/81.0
	24.06–30.06.2019	7	11.6/26.1/17.9
	07.01–27.01.2020	21	32.8/115.2/55.8
VES	28.01–17.02.2019	10	23.5/45.0/34.8
	08.07–14.07.2019	7	6.8/12.1/10.5
	07.01–27.01.2020	21	18.5/63.6/32.8
BUC-R	22.01-11.02.2019	10	39.8/64.5/52.1
	19.06-25.06.2019	7	25.7/35.9/32.4
	06.02-26.02.2020	19	13.2/62.5/36.5
BUC-M	-	-	-
	-	-	-
	06.02-26.02.2020	21	5.9/67.9/34.4
CLJ	26.01-15.02.2019	10	38.0/70.3/52.9
	19.06-25.06.2019	7	10.8/23.8/17.2
	10.01-03.02.2020	21	11.2/95.0/39.9
DEV	30.01-19.02.2019	10	56.2/94.0/67.8
	02.07-08.07.2019	6	11.8/58.4/28.1
	08.01-28.01.2020	21	37.5/120.9/71.3
FOC	19.02-11.03.2019	10	39.4/82.2/61.2
	19.06-25.06.2019	7	22.9/31.8/28.0
	09.01-29.01.2020	20	19.6/101.7/49.5

 

It should be noted that the health limit for 24-hour average PM10 concentrations in the European Union is 50 micrograms per cubic meter. As can be seen in the table, this limit was exceeded at least once in all locations, but in some of the settlements several times.

By applying an analytical method for the identification of specific tracer compounds of waste burning, the researchers looked for evidence of signs of illegal waste burning in ambient PM10 samples. For example, a specific and unique tracer compound for the burning of abundant PET waste (plastic bottles, polyester textiles) is 2BEVT (2-(benzoyl oxy)-ethyl-terephthalate) released during its thermal decomposition. No single emission source of this compound is known other than the burning of PET wastes.

The results showed that burning PET and other plastic wastes is quite abundant in the region of North-East Hungary. Specific tracer compounds related to lignite combustion were also detected in Putnok where the use of this fuel is quite widespread. However, evidence for the burning of plastic wastes was also found in all PM10 samples in Budapest. In Romania, the settlements most affected by PET burning were Deva and Focsani, similarly to the most polluted north-eastern regions in Hungary. During the summer, traces of waste burning were barely found in PM10 samples.

The specific tracer for the burning of scrap furniture and polystyrene (such as glossy paper, leaflets) was the styrene trimer (SSS). The burning of these wastes was more prevalent in larger cities where scrap furniture is more easily accessible. In Hungary, all PM10 samples contained this specific tracer compound. Upon the burning of coated fiberboards containing melamine-formaldehyde resin another specific compound, melamine is released. This compound has been found in nearly all ambient PM10 samples, including those collected during the summer period.

In summary, the research proved that the burning of solid wastes in households is a common practice in all study regions, as the specific tracers for the burning of different types of wastes were detected in all ambient PM10 samples collected during the heating season. There are some differences between the composition of the solid wastes burned in different settlements, scrap furniture is more frequently burned in large cities, whereas burning of plastic waste and clothes is more significant in rural regions.

The amount of solid waste burned in households was estimated by using measured emission factors and available statistics on the use of fuelwood, as waste is typically co-burned with wood in stoves. The researchers estimated that the contribution of illegal waste burning to the reported concentrations of PM10 can be as high as a five percent.

However, the illegal burning of solid wastes in households poses a significantly higher health risk to the people than wood burning, as the researchers previously showed that waste burning releases much more hazardous substances into the air than when burning equal mass of dry firewood in the stove.

Rebeka Wende
Environmental Engineer
Clean Air Action Group

 

The summary was approved by András Gelencsér, an atmospheric chemist and academician who led the international research team

*Contribution of illegal household waste burning on the PM10 concentration in Hungary and Romania.

Authors: András Hoffer, Ádám Tóth, Beatrix Jancsek-Turóczi, Aida Meiramova, Gyula Kiss, Erika Andrea Levei, Luminita Marmureanu, Attila Machon, András Gelencsér (MTA-PE Air Chemistry Research Group, Veszprém; Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Pannonia, Veszprém; Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for R&D for Optoelectronics, Cluj-Napoca; Remote Sensing Department, National Institute of R&D for Optoelectronics, Ilfov; Air Quality Reference Centre, Hungarian Meteorological Service, Budapest)

 

Source of the image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M61XjcCUvJ8&t=513s