Contamination of livestock due to the operation of a small waste incinerator: a case incident in Skutulsfjörður, Iceland, in 2010

Thorhallur I Halldorsson,Guðjón Atli Auðunsson,Rannveig Guicharnaud,Ólafur R Dýrmundsson,Sigurður Örn Hansson,Kjartan Hreinsson

doi:10.1186/1751-0147-54-s1-s4

Thorhallur I Halldorsson, Guðjón Atli Auðunsson + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-54-s1-s4

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Abstract

SummaryBackgroundIn 2010 contamination by dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs was detected in milk and meat in the valley Engidalur situated at the bottom of a fjord (Skutulsfjörður) in North West Iceland. The valley is narrow and surrounded by high mountains resulting in prevailing calm weather. The contamination was traced to a small municipal waste incinerator operating in the valley. Annual agricultural production in Engidalur was modest (≈6 tons of meat and 45 tons of milk). The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority conducted a series of measurements examining the contamination and the results are reported in this paper.ResultsEarlier inspection of the waste incinerator had shown dioxin levels in fly ash of 2.1 ng I-TEQ/m3, which exceeded the EU maximum limit of 0.1 ng I-TEQ/m3. Late in 2010 routine inspection found 4.0 pg WHO-TEQ/g for PCDD/Fs and 7.4 pg total WHO-TEQ/g fat in one milk sample from a farm in Engidalur; levels exceeding the EU maximum limits of 3.0 and 6.0 pg WHO-TEQ/fat for dairy fat, respectively. These results were confirmed in an additional milk sample. Elevated levels exceeding the maximum limits were also observed in one out of two beef samples collected from the farm (4.7 pg WHO-TEQ/g for dioxins and 12.3 pg total WHO-TEQ/g fat). Elevated levels in lamb and ewe meat were also observed but concentration varied greatly, reflecting different migration routes of animals during summer grazing and different sources of hay used during winter. A composite sample of hay from Engidalur had levels of PCDD/Fs of 0.85 pg WHO-TEQ/g and 1.36 pg total WHO-TEQ/g; levels that were marginally, but not significantly, above the EU maximum limit of 0.75 pg WHO-TEQ/g and 1.25 pg WHO-TEQ/g, respectively.ConclusionsOperation of a small municipal waste incinerator, not fulfilling modern standards, may lead to elevated levels of dioxins in local livestock.

Highlights

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), referred to as dioxins, are formed as unintentional by-products in various industrial processes including waste incineration
To examine the spread of the contamination, PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 7-marker PCBs in milk from Engidalur were compared with contaminant levels in samples collected in two nearby fjords
The data of 2003-2004 represent background contamination in Iceland. Both the composite milk samples collected in Engidalur exceeded the EU maximum limits of 3.0 and 6.0 pg WHO-toxic equivalents (TEQ)/fat for PCDD/Fs and the sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, respectively [11] (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), referred to as dioxins, are formed as unintentional by-products in various industrial processes including waste incineration. Dioxins may be formed by natural processes like natural fires of vegetated areas but these sources are usually of much less importance quantified in terms of toxic equivalents (TEQ) calculated by way of toxic equivalent factors (TEFs), which rank the different congener’s relative toxicity towards the most toxic dioxin, 2,3,7,8-TCDD, which has a TEF equal to one [6]. Dioxins and PCBs are very persistent compounds with elimination half-life in humans ranging from 1 to >20 years [7]. Dioxins and PCBs accumulate in fat and biomagnify in the food web of aquatic and terrestrial animals. Foods of animal origin usually account for more than 90% of human exposure [8]

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