Air emissions: How does the Parkes incinerator stack up?
Q: Will the Parkes incinerator meet the world’s ‘best practice’ standards for air emissions?A: The NSW EPA requirements are less strict that world’s best practice in:
- Averaging periods for emissions limits
- Accounting for OTNOC (Other Than Normal Operating Conditions) events
- Mercury monitoring methods
- Dioxin and furan emission limits
- Dioxin and furan monitoring methods and frequencies
- Monitoring for brominated dioxins and furans
Q: How will we know if emissions from the incinerator are affecting air quality in Parkes?A: We don’t know! The NSW EPA hasn’t made any requirement for the energy from waste plant to carry out ambient air quality monitoring as a condition of their licence to operate.
Q: How will we know if emissions from the incinerator are affecting soil, water, crops or livestock in the Parkes area?A: We don’t know! There is no requirement for the energy from waste plant to carry out biomonitoring, either before or after the incinerator starts operating.
Q: Is there any evidence that emissions from waste incinerators have negative health effects for surrounding populations?A: Yes! The Australian Public Health Association (APHA) published a world first, full systemic review, of health impacts related to waste incineration technologies. They found a range of adverse health effects linked to waste incinerators, including significant associations with neoplasia, congenital anomalies, infant deaths and miscarriage.
Q: How will we know if emissions from the incinerator are affecting human health in Parkes?A: Again, we don’t know! The NSW Government has not imposed any requirement on energy from waste plant operators to carry out population health studies, either before or after the incinerator starts operating.
Q: What about agriculture? Could emissions from the waste incinerator affect food production in the Parkes area?A: Unfortunately, yes. The APHA review concluded that new incinerators should be located away from areas of food production and that food grown near an incinerator should be avoided. In France and the Netherlands testing of eggs from backyard chickens located near waste incinerators has found such high levels of toxic dioxins, furans and PCBs (types of persistent organic pollutants or ‘forever chemicals’) that health authorities have issued warnings that they are unsafe to eat.
Q: Is the technology safe? With all this evidence against waste incinerators, why is this being allowed to be built in Parkes?A: Again, we don’t know. A lot of the evidence points to waste incinerator technology being unsafe for surrounding populations, the environment and for food production. That is why it has been banned in the ACT and NSW, except for a few specific areas (i.e. Parkes). The Government and the EPA say that they are using the ‘precautionary principle’ and not locating incinerators near high density residential areas or areas with existing air quality concerns.
Q: How will we know if emissions from the incinerator are affecting soil, water, crops or livestock in the Parkes area?A: We don’t know! There is no requirement for the energy from waste plant to carry out biomonitoring, either before or after the incinerator starts operating.
Q: Is there any evidence that emissions from waste incinerators have negative health effects for surrounding populations?A: Yes! The Australian Public Health Association (APHA) published a world first, full systemic review, of health impacts related to waste incineration technologies. They found a range of adverse health effects linked to waste incinerators, including significant associations with neoplasia, congenital anomalies, infant deaths and miscarriage.
Q: How will we know if emissions from the incinerator are affecting human health in Parkes?A: Again, we don’t know! The NSW Government has not imposed any requirement on energy from waste plant operators to carry out population health studies, either before or after the incinerator starts operating.
Q: What about agriculture? Could emissions from the waste incinerator affect food production in the Parkes area?A: Unfortunately, yes. The APHA review concluded that new incinerators should be located away from areas of food production and that food grown near an incinerator should be avoided. In France and the Netherlands testing of eggs from backyard chickens located near waste incinerators has found such high levels of toxic dioxins, furans and PCBs (types of persistent organic pollutants or ‘forever chemicals’) that health authorities have issued warnings that they are unsafe to eat.
Q: Is the technology safe? With all this evidence against waste incinerators, why is this being allowed to be built in Parkes?A: Again, we don’t know. A lot of the evidence points to waste incinerator technology being unsafe for surrounding populations, the environment and for food production. That is why it has been banned in the ACT and NSW, except for a few specific areas (i.e. Parkes). The Government and the EPA say that they are using the ‘precautionary principle’ and not locating incinerators near high density residential areas or areas with existing air quality concerns.
References
Arkenbout et. al, 2018, Emission regimes of POPs of a Dutch incinerator: regulated, measured and hidden issues, Organohalogen Compounds, Vol. 80, 413-416
Arkenbout & Bouman, 2024, Biomonitoring research on persistent organic pollutants in the environment of the REC Waste Incinerator, ToxicoWatch Foundation
Arkenbout & Bouman, 2025, TW Biomonitoring research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the surrounding environment of the waste incinerator IPXIII Ivry-sur-Seine, Paris 2025: Interim Report, ToxicoWatch Foundation
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, May 2020, Energy from Waste Report (with additional advice as at November 2020)
NSW EPA, 2021, NSW Energy from Waste Policy Statement
Neuwahl et al, 2019, Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for Waste Incineration, Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control), JRC Science for Policy Report
Petrlik et. al, 2022, Monitoring dioxins and PCBs in eggs as sensitive indicators for environmental pollution and global contaminated sites and recommendations for reducing and controlling releases and exposure, Emergency Contaminants, Vol 8, 254-279
RIVM, 15 April 2025, RVIM advises to stop eating private eggs, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (the Netherlands), Accessed online 21 April 2025, translated from Dutch.<https://www.rivm.nl/nieuws/rivm-adviseert-geen-particuliere-eieren-meer-te-eten>
Sanjaya E & Abbas A, 2020, Energy-from-Waste: Independent review and expert advice, Waste Transformation Research Hub, School of Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering, University of Sydney
Smith, 21 November 2023, Millions in France warned not to eat eggs from backyard chickens due to forever chemical pollution, euronews, Accessed online 21 April 2025, <https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/11/21/millions-in-france-warned-not-to-eat-eggs-from-backyard-chickens-due-to-forever-chemical-p>
Tait et. al, 2019, The health impacts of waste incineration: a systematic review, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Vol. 44, 40-48
.png)
.png)
.png)