Important issues related to air pollution at municipal solid waste facilities

This paper presents a discussion of municipal solid waste (MSW) combustion and emission control. The issues of combustion technology, of available air pollution control systems, and of public health are explored in order to present an overview of the state‐of‐the‐art of combustion and air pollution control at facilities that burn unprocessed MSW or processed forms such as refuse‐derived fuel (RDF). The discussion also includes a presentation of the results of a study sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and performed by Cal Recovery Systems, Inc. (CRS), for the purpose of assisting the MPCA in the development of performance and operating guidelines for MSW combustion facilities to be sited in Minnesota.