This depends on the plastic, actually. PVC is usually over 50% chlorine,
and creates huge quantities of dioxin when heated to the 200 - 400 C range.
Non-chlorinated plastics shouldn't create dioxin, unless there's another
source of chlorine in the materials being burnt/heated. My guess is that if
they are measuring dioxins from plastics recycling, it's because of PVC
contamination of PET or HDPE plastics.
Neil
At 17:29 07/31/2000 +0200, Muna Lakhani wrote:
>> They said that the plastic
>> company(s?) had told them that the process of melting and reusing the
>> plastic had been discovered to be releasing some type(s?) of carcinogens!
>
>perfectly true - heating of plastics, especially to the level where they
>melt or burn, releases dioxins, which are a proven carcinoginec - this
>again supports the view that we need to be very careful where we use
>plastics, what type they are, and ensure that only easily re-used or
>recycled plastics are used.... consumers, wake up!
>
>Muna
>
>
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