Levels of PCDDs/PCDFs in waste incineration ash of some Jordanian hospitals using GC/MS

Abstract

An investigative study on the occurrence of the unintentionally produced toxic and carcinogenic polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorodibenzo furans (PCDFs) compounds was conducted in 11 bottom ash samples of hospital waste incinerators from three public hospitals in three distanced cities: Amman, Irbid, and Ma’an/Jordan. Total ash was sampled in the after burning chamber. The analysis was performed using a developed and validated GC/MS method in the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode. ΣPCDD/Fs concentrations as international toxicity equivalence (TEQ) in individual samples in this study varied in the range of 206–476 pg I-TEQ/g with average value of 306 ± 88 pg I-TEQ/g and were found to be lower than the limit value (10,000 pg I-TEQ/g), where furans constituted a larger portion of the contamination compared to PCDDs to signature the de novo synthesis as major route in the incineration process. Limits of quantitation were between 0.015 and 0.10 ng/g with instrumental precision expressed as coefficients of variation of <15% and recoveries between 75.5 and 95.5%. Taking into consideration the incinerator bottom ash generation rate/batch/day and expressing the whole measured concentrations per year, the estimated amounts produced per year were in the range of 1.5 mg TEQ/year (Jameel Tutunji hospital) to 15.5 mg TEQ/year (King Abdullah hospital). These are sent daily or weekly to landfill- and dumping sites in each province which would pose serious future concentration accumulation of PCDD/Fs in these areas, transportation and adverse health effects.

Keywords:

• Dioxins/furans
• toxicity
• bottom ash
• hospital waste
• incinerators
• Jordan

Acknowledgements

The authors greatly acknowledge the Deanship for Academic Research at the University of Jordan for the financial support.

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.