Burning tires at cement kilns is an idea that has superficial appeal. It does get rid of those “pesky” tires that create such a disposal problem. Tires contain oil, so energy-hungry cement kilns can convert the tires to fuel. And air quality emissions stay the same. Right? All wrong.

Burning tires in cement kilns is a risky solution in search of a problem. It’s like allowing people to burn trash in their backyards to save landfill space. And like backyard trash burning, there are a number of strong reasons to oppose tire-burning.

Old Technology

The Holcim cement plant is a wet process kiln. That means the plant is using outdated technology that is extremely energy-inefficient. Instead of burning tires, the plant should invest in newer, more energy-efficient technology.

Increased Emissions

Proponents of tire-burning claim that air emissions are the same with tires as with conventional fuels like coal. However, independent scientific studies do not support that claim.

A University of California at Davis professor, Seymour Schwartz, prepared an independent report for the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The report looked at test results from four California cement kilns burning tires as 20% of their fuel. The study of emissions found that:

• dioxins and furans increased between 53% and 100% in all four cases;
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons increased in three cases (between 296% and 2230%) and decreased in one;
• lead emissions increased in three cases by 59%, 388%, and 475%, and decreased in one;
• hexavalent chromium increased in one case by 727%, and decreased in two others.
  

A representative of the Scrap Tire Management Council spoke at the Helena meeting. He claimed that tires do not contain chlorine. Burning chlorinated substances is what leads to the formation of dioxins.

However, the Scrap Tire Management Council’s own web site lists the chemical composition of tires, and includes chlorine on the list. Furthermore, Schwartz’s report found that a "content comparison indicates that tires may contain as much as two to five times the chlorine level of western coal."

Any increase in the formation of dioxin is of grave concern. Dioxin is the most potent animal carcinogen ever tested. It causes tumors in every species of animal tested. Studies have shown that it causes birth defects, diabetes, learning and developmental disabilities, endometriosis, and immune system dysfunction.

Montana Does Not Have A Tire Disposal Problem

In October 1998 the Montana Environmental Quality Council completed a study called “Status of and Alternatives for Management of Waste Tires in Montana.” The EQC is a bipartisan legislative committee. The report found that Montana probably generates between 527,400 and 879,000 waste tires annually. Ash Grove Cement Co., which operates a wet process cement plant in Montana City, said that it “could incinerate all the tires generated in Montana in approximately 6 months. The Holcim facility in Trident has approximately the same fuel demand.”

Even if the Holcim plant burned all the piles of tires that exist in Montana, within a couple of years it would have to look out-of-state and perhaps even out of the country, to satisfy its demand. Montana should not become an importer of waste tires just to satisfy the demands of an energy-inefficient cement kiln.

The EQC study reached a number of conclusions, among them: "At this time, Montana does not have a problem with waste tire management which is significant enough to warrant statewide policy changes in the current situation."

The EQC study also addressed the issue of landfilling tires. Landfill operators who were involved with the study agreed that “the landfills had sufficient capacity for the future, and managers were able to resolve landfill space considerations through unilateral landfilling policies or pricing as necessary.”

Holcim Already Has Emission Problems

Holcim made changes in its fuel feed system at the beginning of the 2001. In May, 2001, DEQ noticed that the facility had "excess emissions" an unusually high percentage of the time. In fact, between January and May, 2001, DEQ discovered that the plant was out of compliance 8% of the time, or more than 270 hours. DEQ notified the plant and asked for an explanation. Holcim claimed that the modified fuel feeding system was causing the problems. By October 26th, 2001 the plant had been out of compliance about 6.5% of the time, or almost 393 hours for the year.

Tire incineration: is is really worth the risk? Read more.