Combustion and Emission Phenomena in Incinerators

The papers and speeches presented by Dr. Essen­ high and his graduate students aroused in me a feeling of happiness as well as sadness. Happiness, because at last a scientific approach is being brought to a field in which only a few years ago this approach seemed to be an unnecessary luxury. Sadness, be­ cause after working a lifetime in the combustion of vegetable industrial remanents at a slow and short­ step pace, I cannot help realizing that not only would some of my own pitfalls and trials and errors have been avoided had I had available such basic informa­ tion as Dr. Essenhigh presented, but I might well have arrived at my present stage of development at a much earlier time. What we engineers are expected to do in our com­ munities is to produce the least irreversible ways of solving problems, compatible with all the other as­ pects besides the purely technical ones. Instead, with waste, refuse or garbage terms which carry pejorative connotations leading to an "incinera­ tion" concept, a way of reducing bulky annoying materials produced by living, into a smaller, easier to handle volume of ash, we go precisely to the most irreversible ways. By doing so, it becomes more dif­ ficult to avoid concomitant perturbations of air, water and soil cleanliness. It is hard for me to understand how this can happen in a rich and powerful country which is supposed to be an example of sound community living for the rather poorer Latin American countries, such as mine. How could I not be amazed when learning that municipalities in this country are reluctant to finance carefully studied projects and research in this field is being slowed down due to the lack of funds imposed by a national restrictive policy? Last century's plagues, pestilences and epidemics were overcome only after communities realized the absolute need for soundly engineered sanitary and sewage systems without setting any conditions for' profit. Why, then, should our attitude now be different toward clean air and clear water, when the problem is essentially the same: a threat to health and life? I hope that the deciding persons and boards will enlighten and act accordingly and that my colleagues