Day 010 - 11 Jul 94 - Page 77
1 A. That would be correct.
2 Q. So your statement that, as it were, in relation to
McDonald's waste, dangerous cancer causing chemicals are
3 released by incineration is misleading, is it not?
A. The statement reads: "The National Bureau of
4 Standards Centre for Fire Research identified 57 chemical
byproducts released during the combustion of polystyrene
5 foam during laboratory tests. These findings identified a
number of dangerous cancer causing chemicals that are
6 released when foam products are burned".
7 Q. This is a statement about McDonald's waste, is it not?
A. This is a statement about the burning of styrene,
8 polystyrene.
9 Q. What has this general statement about the burning of
polystyrene foam possibly at low temperature without
10 oxygen got to do with the disposal McDonald's waste? I do
not understand it.
11 A. As I have already indicated in the evidence I have
provided in my testimony, McDonald's one of McDonald's
12 responses to the campaign was to propose to incinerate its
waste. Secondarily, when we talk about disposal issues,
13 we have to talk about what the most likely options are for
trash that is picked up in the back of a McDonald's
14 restaurant and where that trash ends up. So the process,
or the logical outcome of that approach, assumes that
15 either the material will be disposed of in a landfill, or
it will be disposed of in an incinerator, so that is why
16 the issue is what happens when you burn polystyrene
arises.
17
Q. Indeed so, but you have to observe that the toxic releases
18 when polystyrene foam, according to this report, is
incinerated under normal incinerating conditions in the
19 presence of oxygen, the principal toxic released is carbon
monoxide?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. That is not, so far as you are aware, a cancer inducing
chemical is it?
22 A. That is correct. But I would like to add that the
point of departure for this research and the reason this
23 research was conducted was to deal with whether or not
McDonald's claim burning polystyrene produces virtually
24 nothing but carbon dioxide and water, and the question
was: Does it produce other things? I think you will
25 agree with, at least in this point, that the presence of
certain types of toxic substances can cause harm at very
26 low levels or that they can be ingested at least inhaled
and lodged at low levels.
27
Q. No Mr. Lipsett, as a matter of fact not. You see, at the
28 moment I am not concerned to debate with you the merits or
otherwise of this particular report. The report is not
29 evidence. It may be that his Lordship will feel that you
are not an expert in this particular field. What I am
30 concerned about is the way in which you chose to represent
the findings of this report in the statement that you made
