Two related issues affect Bellingham’s Post Point wastewater incinerators: documented air-quality compliance violations and scientific evidence of potential health and environmental risks associated with municipal waste incineration.

Two Part Problem

1. First, air-quality regulators identified multiple compliance failures, including missed federal deadlines to demonstrate compliance with modern pollution standards, unpermitted equipment changes, excess carbon monoxide emissions, and outdated monitoring plans. Because required emissions testing and continuous monitoring were not completed as mandated, regulators could not reliably verify that the incinerators were operating within legal pollution limits during the affected periods. These findings represent enforceable compliance issues that require correction and transparency.

2. Second, independent peer-reviewed research shows that municipal waste incineration can release or concentrate harmful pollutants even when facilities operate as designed. These pollutants include fine particulate matter (PM2.5), dioxins, heavy metals, and PFAS—often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their environmental persistence.

Research indicates that incineration does not always fully destroy these substances. Instead, they may persist in air emissions or remain concentrated in ash. Once released, pollutants can travel through the environment, settle on land or water, or leach into groundwater when ash is disposed, creating potential long-term exposure pathways for people and ecosystems.

Causes

The causes of concern are therefore twofold.

A.  Regulatory violations occurred because emissions testing and monitoring were delayed, significant burner replacements were made without required permits, and operational changes—such as lowering afterburner temperatures—were implemented without updating approved monitoring plans.

B. Separately, scientific studies show that conventional incinerators have inherent limitations in fully breaking down persistent chemicals, particularly PFAS, under real-world operating conditions. When compliance failures occur alongside known technical limits, uncertainty and risk increase.

Proposed Solutions

County and city officials should address these issues as complementary responsibilities. Documented violations should be corrected promptly through verified emissions testing, proper permitting, updated monitoring, and clear public reporting.

Potential health and environmental risks should be addressed using a precautionary, evidence-based approach, even where uncertainty remains.

This includes strengthening air and ash monitoring, carefully managing contaminated ash, reducing toxic inputs before they enter the waste stream, and fully evaluating non-combustion treatment alternatives.

Integrating regulatory findings with current science supports informed decision-making, protects public health, and maintains public trust.

Note: Larry McCarter assisted in in the content of this article.