Methodology for assessing environmental releases of and exposure to municipal solid-waste-combustor residuals. Final report

The purpose of the document is to provide users with a methodology to assess the potential exposure to municipal solid waste (MSW) residuals. The document does so by: (1) summarizing existing information on MSW combustor design, types, and location of MSW facilities nationally; beneficial uses of ash; characteristics of ash; and contaminant concentrations of ash, (2) summarizing the management of MSW ash to identify points of environmental release from generation to disposal in a landfill, (3) providing methodologies to quantify these releases, and (4) directing the reader to other documents which detail fate and transport models, and exposure and risk algorithms. The document closes with an example of the methodologies applied to an organic contaminant, TCDD, and an inorganic contaminant, cadmium, both common in MSW combustor residuals.