Environmental groups on Tuesday, July 1, called on the new set of Dumaguete City council members to shut down a pyrolysis incinerator amid a “looming public health crisis.”
The groups, at a press conference in Dumaguete, presented a report on the findings of a study on the dangers of the pyrolysis incinerator at the city’s central Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).
The community-led air quality monitoring study showed “dangerously high levels of air pollution,” which the groups said originated from the pyrolysis incinerator located at the MRF in the outskirts of Barangay Candauay.
Pyrolysis is the process of thermal decomposition that breaks down organic materials at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This method is used to convert materials into gaseous, liquid, and solid components, which can then be used as fuel or further processed.
Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, an international expert who has worked with several global organizations on environmental concerns, during his presentation highlighted the need for an immediate stoppage of the pyrolysis gasification machine as thousands of residents in Dumaguete and some parts of the nearby towns of Valencia and Sibulan are at risk from harmful toxins.
These toxic pollutants from incinerators include dioxins, heavy metals, acid gases, and semi-volatile organic compounds.
“Although we could not measure other pollutants because of the cost, in every test I conducted of pyrolysis, gasification, and other incineration technologies, these other toxic pollutants were also always present,” Emmanuel said.
He explained that a study showed dangerously high levels of particulate matter (PM) from the pyrolysis incinerator, which operates at least 9 hours each day.
The pyrolysis machine has been in operation since 2022 and burns waste from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week.*PNA