From: http://www.thegreenguide.org/article/environment/air:
"Emissions from U.S. incinerators find their way directly to the Arctic. A study says toxin from the Xcel-owned incinerator in Red Wing, MN, has been found in breast milk in Alaskan women in Port Graham. With the help of new sophisticated tracking mechanisms, it is found that the residue of our own garbage is what is in their milk."
Researchers from the NACEC [http://www.cec.org/] studied some 44,000 sources of dioxin in North America. They tracked them into the pristine ecosystem of Nunavat. Nunavut, an almost entirely Inuit region of Canada, is considered an ideal test ground since there are no significant sources of dioxin in the territory, nor within 300 miles of its boundaries.
In the top ten sources of dioxin found in the Arctic, two identified sources were the Xcel-owned incinerator in Red Wing, MN, and the incinerator at French Island in LaCrosse, WI. Overall, U.S.facilities, primarily medical waste and garbage incinerators, were found in the NACEC study to contribute 70 to 82 percent of all dioxin deposited at the eight test locations in Nunavut. Canadian facilities, by comparison, contributed 11 to 25 percent, and Mexican sources contributed between 5 and 11 percent."
NAB’s comment:
It is reasonable to assume that dioxin emissions from the proposed Minneapolis burner will also contribute to the toxic burden of people hundreds of miles away. The MPCA should not only correct the many deficiencies in the present "Air Emissions Risk Analysis," but should assess wider impacts. This should include a comprehensive literature review and consultation with international bodies and potentially-impacted communities, particularly Northern communities and First Nation (Indian) communities. These bodies include, but are not limited to:
The "International Joint Commission," http://www.ijc.org/en/home/main_accueil.htm
The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the associated
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) http://www.cec.org/who_we_are/index.cfm?varlan=english
The CANADA -- UNITED STATES STRATEGY FOR THE VIRTUAL ELIMINATION OF PERSISTENT TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN THE GREAT LAKES ("The Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy") http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/p2/bnsintro.html#The%20Binational%20Strategy%20...
From: http://www.iatp.org/foodandhealth/showFile.cfm?refID=31702:
(Comments from the IATP -- Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, 2000.)
"In addition to cancer, dioxin exposure has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, endometriosis, learning disabilities, birth defects, immune system suppression and lowered levels of the male hormone, testosterone.
People get exposed to dioxin through our food. Dioxin from incinerators (like the garbage burner in downtown Minneapolis, or more than a dozen other trash and medical waste incinerators around the state) is spewed into the air. It falls on pastures and grasslands, to be eaten by cows and other grazing animals that can't wash their food.
US EPA's menu choices require you to blame yourself for wanting to eat dioxin-contaminated food instead of blaming the corporations that are responsible for the dioxin-poisoning."