Other places in Europe where incinerators are located, such as Paris and Harlingen (the Netherlands), have also been studied with similar results, with high levels of pollution. The study was carried out using the eggs of the hens that work outdoors, moss, soil, water from streams and drinking water from a house in Usurbil.

Toxicowatch members have been taking samples for five years and have seen a sharp increase in dioxin levels in them since 2019, as well as in heavy metals, PFAS – non-degradable products – and other highly polluting substances. The eggs were collected at seven locations within a five-kilometer radius of the Zubia incinerator, and the Hernani eggs, located 3,500 metres from the Zubia, have seen the highest level of dioxin contamination ever recorded in their observations in Europe over the past thirteen years.

This research began in 2019, and since the incinerator became operational in 2020, pollution has increased in all its components. On this occasion, for example, toxic PFAS products have been found in all the chicken eggs that have been explored in the Bridges themselves, and in the Hernanicos and Andoaingos they exceed all the quantities authorized by the European Union.

In 2019 the incinerator was not working yet and no dioxins were found in the leaves of moss and pine needles collected, but in the samples collected in subsequent years the level of dioxins was 300 times higher. Over the years these amounts of pollution have fallen, but still, the amounts of PCDD/F in mosses – dioxins and furans – are 30 times higher than in 2019.

An increasing trend of heavy metal contamination has also been observed in water, soil, moss and sediments. These were collected within a 1 km radius of the incinerator at seven locations. High levels of zinc and lead have been observed in water samples. On Earth, the amounts of cadmium, silver, manganese and mercury have increased. Arsenic, barium, nickel and tin have risen in the moss; and cobalt and manganese are prominent in the sediments.

Waste policies without incinerators

For Toxwatch’s experts, all these trends highlight the increase in pollution and therefore recommend a detailed study of the gases emitted by the incinerator during the burning process. They say that carrying out this investigation is essential to know if the incinerator complies with the legal rules to eliminate or at least reduce the emission of dangerous substances.

Toxwocht has carried out a comprehensive analysis of the pollution mentioned in the news and the full report can be read on the website of the European association Zero Waste. For Zero Waste, these year-over-year studies demonstrate that incineration is highly polluting and show that moving forward in the field of waste requires a rapid transition without burning waste and a zero-waste policy, “doing so is essential to protect health and the environment.”