The Dublin Waste to Energy facility will thermally treat up to 600,000 tonnes per annum of residual waste in Dublin and in the process provide heating and power to the surrounding population. AWN Consulting was employed by Dublin City Council to assess the air quality impacts of the Dublin Waste To Energy facility over a five year period.

The baseline monitoring program included a range of air sampling equipment including air quality testing equipment for dioxins, heavy metals, NOX, SO2, HF, HCl, and PM10 over a four year period at a range of sensitive locations in the region.

The air quality impact of the facility was assessed using the state of the science CALPUFF air dispersion modelling in conjunction with TRC Inc, the model formulators, prior to the EPA Licence Oral Hearing.

CALPUFF modelling was undertaken to address concerns in regard to shoreline fumigation and to confirm the results from modelling using the USEPA regulatory model AERMOD which was used to determine both dispersion and deposition rates in the ambient environment as part of the environmental impact assessment. An appropriate stack height of 100m was selected in order to ensure that no adverse impact would occur from the maximum operation of the facility in the surrounding environment. Additionally, the climate chapter investigated the relative merits of waste-to-energy versus landfilling and anaerobic digestion with energy-recovery in terms of Ireland's obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. The study confirmed that thermal treatment with district heating leads to climatic benefits relative to the landfilling alternative.