Comparison of the results of dioxin and furan transfer models with environmental measurements taken near a domestic waste incinerator

Summary

The aim of the study was to compare predictions from models used in health risk assessment with data measured in environmental matrices. To carry out the exercise, the case of dioxin and furan emissions near a household waste incinerator was chosen because of the large number of measurements available. Three exposure models and two compartments of the food chain (plants - hay - and animals - cow's milk -) were considered. The results show significant differences in predictions between the models used and environmental measurements. However, this information needs to be put into perspective because of the variability of the measurements considered as 'reference' and the absence of data on dioxin and furan concentrations in the air, which are essential for calculating the transfer to plants (via foliar transfer). Although the conclusions of this work tend to confirm current recommended practices in health risk assessment, they also raise numerous questions, demonstrating the need for further work in this area.