Environmental policy and status for chlorinated dioxins and related compounds

European countries, including Germany and The Netherlands, have since the 1980s taken positive measures for the reduction of poly chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and poly chlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/DFs). Around 1995 they succeeded in reducing their emission by 99% compared to the level in the 1980s, In contrast, in the United States the PCDDs/DFs emission of medical waste incineration is high, as is the emission of municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration in Japan. The new guideline of 1997 in Japan is characterized by the following: (1) High technologies should be applied to control the emission of PCDDs/DFs (0.1ng-TEQ/m<Superscript>3</Superscript> in emission gas). (“TEQ is an abbreviation of toxicity equivalents and indicates the sum of the toxic values after converting the toxicity of each dioxin congener to 2,3,7,8,-TCDD.) (2) The importance of systematic measures, shifting to full-continuous feeding incinerators or to the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) system, is mentioned. (3) The high technological measures for residue are specified. This new guideline is expected to work as a social control unit to avoid environmental accumulation of PCDDs/DFs. It also sets a target level of below 5 μg-TEQ/ton of waste for the total release of PCDDs/DFs, including not only PCDDs/DFs in exhaust gases but also those in treated residues. In the future, in addition to controlling the source, we should consider integrated control in harmony with recycling and environmental cycle control. The past measures for PCDDs/DFs were significant because they showed the technological standard based on the “precautionary principle,” that is, controlling PCDDs/DFs with the best available technologies. We should make use of the results of past challenges with PCDDs/DFs for measures to control persistent organic pollutants, which are becoming a worldwide problem from the local level. Copyright Springer Japan 1998