Priority Organic\nPollutant Monitoring Inventory and\nRelative Risk Reduction Potential for Solid Waste Incineration

Incineration is a promising sustainable treatment method\nfor solid\nwaste. However, the ongoing revelation of new toxic pollutants in\nthis process has become a controversial issue impeding its development.\nThus, identifying and regulating high-risk pollutants emerge as pivotal\nstrides toward reconciling this debate. In this study, we proposed\na workflow aimed at establishing priority monitoring inventories for\norganic compounds emitted by industries involving full-component structural\nrecognition, environmental behavior prediction, and emission risk\nassessment, specifically focusing on solid waste incineration (SWI).\nA total of 174 stack gas samples from 29 incinerators were first collected.\nNontarget full organic recognition technology was then deployed to\nanalyze these samples, and 646 organic compounds were identified.\nThe characteristics, i.e., toxicity effects, toxicity concentrations,\npersistence, and bioaccumulation potential, of these compounds were\nassessed and ranked based on the TOXCAST database from the US Environmental\nProtection Agency and structural effect models. Combined with consideration\nof changes in seasons and waste types, a priority control inventory\nconsisting of 28 organic pollutants was finally proposed. The risks\nassociated with SWI across different regions in China and various\ncountries were assessed, and results pinpointed that by controlling\nthe priority pollutants, the average global emission risk attributed\nto SWI was anticipated to be reduced by 71.4%. These findings offer\nsignificant guidance for decision-making in industrial pollutant management,\nemphasizing the importance of targeted regulation and monitoring to\nenhance the sustainability and safety of incineration processes.