Day 011 - 12 Jul 94 - Page 10
1 Q. I think part of your reservations were the fact that these
comments were coming from the industry itself or people
2 related to the industry itself?
A. I think that it is also worth pointing out, as I made
3 mention yesterday, that while the industry was claiming
that this particular gas substance was only five per cent
4 as damaging to the ozone layer as the other substances, it
is also equally true that they had never acknowledged to
5 that point that the other gases had any effect on the
ozone layer to begin with.
6
Q. That is CFCs?
7 A. That is right.
8 Q. Just to move on to incineration: Was there any intention
in your statement to give the impression that all 57 of
9 those chemical by-products referred to in the study were
carcinogenic?
10 A. You are referring to the National Bureau Standards of
Decomposition of Polystyrene?
11
Q. Yes.
12 A. Yes, it was not my intention in any way to suggest,
and I do not believe the statement in any way reads, in
13 such a way as to claim that all 57 of the by-products of
combustion in laboratory experiments were carcinogenic.
14 It simply said among those chemicals were chemicals that
are carcinogenic. That is indeed my intention.
15
Q. Does the fact that most of the emissions given off, carbon
16 dioxide and carbon monoxide, mean the other chemicals were
also harmless?
17 A. Absolutely not.
18 Q. I think Mr. Rampton also asked you about one of the
conclusions of a fire study report, that when making a
19 comparison between other materials being burnt, the
thermal decomposition products of polystyrene appear to be
20 among the least toxic.
21 If five axemen are running around and chopping off
people's heads and another one is running around and
22 chopping off peoples' fingers, does that mean this person
who is chopping off peoples' fingers is harmless?
23 A. Absolutely not.
24 Q. Was there anything else on incineration you wanted to say?
A. No, there is not.
25
MR. MORRIS: Just a few final points: There was one point on
26 incineration that may be worth re-emphasising. Is
incineration a controlled burn?
27 A. No, as I said previously, incineration in a solid
waste incinerator is not a controlled environment. It is
28 not a controlled burn. There are various reasons why that
is so which arise, despite the engineering feats that a
29 company, the construction, manufacture and operation of a
solid waste incinerator, the burning process inside the
30 incinerator is subject to a great number of variables
which include the variety of materials being burnt, their
