Cadmium and lead concentration in foliage near a municipal refuse incinerator

Whereas landfilling still remains a necessary means of disposing of municipal solid waste, construction of refuse incineration facilities is increasing in the United States. There is currently much public opposition to building such incinerators because of health concerns about toxicants emitted as particulates and gases from the stacks. Cadmium and lead are typically present at significant levels in refuse incinerator fly ash. In this study these heavy metals were determined in tree foliage sampled at increasing distances in the vicinity of a municipal refuse incineration plant equipped with electrostatic precipitators to reduce emitted particulates. There was a high degree of correlation between diminishing foliar concentration of cadmium and lead and the logarithm of the distance north and south of the incinerator, the only directions in which foliar samples could be collected. Sources of these metals in refuse and factors which affect the magnitude of their deposition on foliage are discussed.