Open burning typically occurs at lower temperatures and with limited oxygen, producing harmful products such as particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), »heavy metals«, dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs). The amount of produced emissions increases significantly when inappropriate fuels, such as waste, are used. In the thesis, the main products generated by open burning are identified and briefly described. Legislation in Slovenia concerning open burning is also presented. The global emissions from open burning of waste were found to contribute a large share to the total anthropogenic emissions (mainly particulate matter (PM), benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formaldehydes and hydrogen chlorides). Since it is too large to cover all the types of waste, this thesis focuses in more detail on open burning of scrap tyres, which are a global problem due to their abundance and use worldwide. Through measured concentrations of emissions from open burning scrap tyres (measurements were taken from other studies) and comparison of the results with limit values in Slovenia, it is concluded that open burning of scrap tyres causes pollution exceeding the acceptable limits. High deviations from the limit values in Slovenia were detected for the following products: particulate matter (PM10), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, heavy metals (both in flue gases and ash) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). In reality, it is not possible to monitor and detect all improper uses of open burning (especially individual open burning). Therefore, it seems that the best measure to reduce emissions from open burning would be to educate people about harmful effects and use of open burning in the natural environment.
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