Dive summary:

• Pollution expert, GP Dr Dick van Steenis, spoke against the construction of a new waste incinerator in Gloucester, UK, claiming that incinerators are responsible for “child deaths, birth defects, increased cancer rates and heart attacks.”
• Proponents of waste incinerators, including Cllr Stan Waddington, GCC cabinet champion for waste, claimed the argument was one-sided, not giving enough scientific credit to incinerators saying, "well run and regulated modern municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health,” citing the more than 350 incinerators currently operating in Europe.
• As an alternative to incinerators, Steenis suggested the use of plasma arc gasification, which treats waste at higher temperature, which he says, makes the process cleaner.

From the article:

EMISSIONS from waste incinerators are to blame for child deaths, birth defects, increased cancer rates and heart attacks, according to an air pollution expert who spoke at Hardwicke Village Hall on Wednesday, September 5.

Retired GP Dr Dick van Steenis, who has spent 17 years working in toxicology, urged residents to 'rise up' and oppose plans for a £500 million incinerator at Javelin Park, near Haresfield. ...