STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EMISSIONS FROM AN INCINERATOR INSTALLED ONBOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73)

摘要

Tests were conducted from 3 through 8 August 1999 to evaluate the emissions from the Golar Teamtec Model GS500 incinerator installed onboard USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73). The shipboard incinerator burns paper and cardboard waste and was proposed to incinerate plastic waste also. The objectives of the test were to (1) determine if the emissions from the incinerator posed any occupational hazards for the operator, (2) evaluate the possibility of incinerator exhaust reaching other compartments on the ship and the related hazards to shipboard personnel, and (3) define the operational characteristics of the incinerator. Ambient samples of workplace air were collected from selected areas of the ship to determine any exposure hazards for the incinerator operator. Primary pollutants of interest were dioxins/furans, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, carbon monoxide, and other organic and inorganic compounds. Samples of ash were collected following paper, cardboard, and plastic test burns, and were analyzed for heavy metals, dioxins/furans, and PAHs. A tracer gas, sulfur hexafluoride (SF{sub}6 ), was injected into the exhaust stream to evaluate whether exhaust was ingested into other shipboard compartments. A sampling for the tracer gas was taken at sever-al locations downstream from the exhaust discharge point. The incinerator's operational characteristics - processing rate, stack temperature, and combustion chamber temperature - were recorded during the tests. Measurements for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen were recorded to determine the composition of the stack gas and the smoke opacity. It was concluded that 100% plastics should not be incinerated due to the potential damage to the incinerator, the high smoke opacity of the stack emissions, and the potential exposure of ship's force to dioxin/furan ambient air concentrations above 2.0 pg/m{sup}3.