3.5 Air emissions in the 35 WTE plants
The Korean government discloses data for stack emissions from WTE plants each year. Emissions
data are for the six flue gas pollutants: sulfur oxides (SOX), nitrogen oxides (NOX), hydrogen chloride
(HCl), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) covering the full range of sizes, and finally dioxins
that are ultrafine, organic compounds. Since air emissions are among the major public concerns, they
are strictly monitored and regulated by government agencies.
Table 14 lists the air emissions in the 35 WTE plants in 2010. The air emissions levels for air
pollutants all meet the Korean standards, which are better shown in Figure 35(a) through Figure 35(f).
As summarized in the bottom of the Table 14, all plants meet Korean air emission standards for the six
air pollutants. Out of the six pollutants, dioxin levels were of more importance because of their
extremely high toxic potency even at trace quantities. The average dioxin emission in 2010 was
0.005ngTEQ/Nm3 while the Korean standard was 0.1ngTEQ/Nm3. The total dioxin emission of all Korean
WTE plants in 2010 was 0.08gTEQ.