MONTREAL, July 3, 1998- As governments concluded the first meeting of the International Negotiating Committee to establish a global treaty on persistent organic pollutants (POPS)
Greenpeace issued a call for immediate action on severely contaminated areas or "hotspots" around the world A list of POPs hotspots was delivered to the United Nations Environmental Program documenting environmental disaster areas in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America. "These harmful pollutants contaminate food and accumulate in people’s bodies in every region of the world," said Jack Weinberg, Greenpeace Senior Toxics campaigner. "By agreeing to start negotiating this global treaty, governments finally acknowledge that this is a serious problem that requires action."
Negotiating countries have agreed to develop a plan of action to reduce and eliminate twelve of the world’s most dangerous chemical pollutants: dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, chlordane, heptachlor, toxaphene, mirex, and hexachlorobenzene. They also agreed to develop a procedure to expand this list beyond the initial twelve.
These harmful pollutants last a long time in the environment, contaminate food, and are passed from mother to child in the womb and through mother’s milk. They have been associated with a range of health problems that may show up in the young child, or may only appear after the child becomes an adult. These include cancers; learning disabilities and behavior abnormalities; immune system changes; reproductive system disorders; and more.
The list of POPs hotspots Greenpeace presented to the United Nations Environmental Programme include examples from Pakistan, Nepal, Bengladesh, The Philippines, Japan, Australia, Czech Republic, Russia, Turkey, United Kngdom, Brazil, Canada and the United States. These are just a portion of the POPs hotspots Greenpeace has been investigating around the world. In the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk, soil samples were found with dioxin levels 1,880 times higher than is permissible level in Russia. The Malir pesticide stockpile in Pakistan, one of the largest storage sites for obsolete and date-expired pesticides, is located just 150 meters from a school.
Homebush Bay in Sydney, Australia -- near the 2000 Olympics site - is polluted with dioxin at a site abandoned by Union Carbide twenty years ago. Citizens of Convent, Louisiana, in the "Cancer Alley" region of the United States are blocking construction of a new plant to produce polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) because of dioxin concerns. "Clean up action must start now on these and other POPs hotspots around the world," said Weinberg. "Polluters must take the responsibility, and must change products and practices so that POPs are no longer produced or released to the environment Greenpeace is the leading organization which uses peaceful and creative activism to protect the world’s environment.
Greenpeace on the Internet at http://www.greenpeace.org
INTERNATIONAL POPS HOTSPOTS LIST
Hotspot: A shutdown DDT plant and factory site in Chittagong, Bangladesh Issue: An inoperational DDT factory built in the 1960s and shut down in the late 1980s is in an advanced state of disrepair. The factory site, which was visited by Greenpeace investigators in May 1998, contained one warehouse used to store DDT and DDT-containing sludge lying in the open. The warehouse was said to have a stockpile of 220 tons of DDT. However, Greenpeace verified the factory management’s claims that only about 15 tons remained in packing. The warehouse floor, particularly in the upper story, had more than one-inch of DDT. Given the conditions of storage and the plant, the factory complex could remain a reservoir of DDT and derivatives for a long time to come if remediation efforts are not carried out.
For more information, contact:
Nityanand Jayaraman, Greenpeace International
Telfax: +91 11 4310651
Email: nity@del3.vsnl.net.in
Hotspot: Teshima, a small island off the coast of Japan, with a population of 1500. Issue: More than 500,000 tons of hazardous wastes were illegally dumped by waste disposal company Teshima Sogo Kanko Kaihatsu on the island over a period of 17 years. The Police stopped the dumping in 1991, but the damage had been done. At 39 nanograms/gram, the dioxin content of the waste is sufficient cause for alarm. Analysis conducted by the local government indicates clear signs of leaching of dioxins from the waste to the marine environment. The site is also known to contain polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), trichloroethylene, organochlorine contaminants and mercury. Traditional agriculture and fisheries have been disrupted since the dumping began and the residents have been fighting for full remediation of the site. Current estimates place clean up costs at 20 billion yen.
For more information, contact:
Ayako Sekine, Greenpeace Japan
Email: toxics.japan@dialb.greenpeace.org
Hotspot: Stockpiles of obsolete imported/donated pesticides in Amlekhgunj and Kathmandu Issue: More than 70 tons of date expired pesticides, all imported, and are stored in seven known locations around Nepal. The largest stockpile in Amlekhgunj contains nearly 50 tons of pesticides including Endrin, Organomercury seed dressing, DDT dust, Lindane granules, BHC dust, Chlordane dust, 2,4-D wettable powder and other unidentified organochlorines. Nepal, a darling of the donors, has received most of these pesticides in the form of aid. At least two containers of dieldrin at the Kathmandu stockpile had "American Consulate, Calcutta" markings on it. The Amlekhgunj stockpile is currently housed in a warehouse that is adjacent to the playfield of a village school and is located within the residential area of the village.
For more information, contact:
Nityanand Jayaraman, Greenpeace International
Telfax: +91 11 4310651
Email: nity@del3.vsnl.net.in
Hotspot: Former US military base-Clark Air Base-Pampanga Province, the Philippines Issue: Recent environmental studies commissioned by the Philippine Government have confirmed that sites within the former US military base is severely contaminated with persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Dieldrin, Aldrin, Chlordane, Benzene Hexa Chloride and Heptachlor. The contamination is a result of US military activities in the Philippine base since World War II. One site within the base recorded 7800 parts per million of PCB. The study reports widespread dieldrin contamination in the groundwater in wells (some of which continue to be used as sources of drinking water). A municipal landfill, near a residential area in the town of Mabalacat, was found severely contaminated with dieldrin, BHC and Aldrin as result of the hazardous material dumped there by the US military. Newspaper reports in the Philippines report visible health effects in the communities living near the bases. Birth abnormalities and impaired intelligence among some children living nearby are suspected links to the presence of highly toxic life-threatening poisons left behind in the base by the US Government. The US Government has consistently evaded responsibility to clean up the contaminated sites within its former bases, even though it has paid and conducted full remediation of its sites in Europe and Japan.
For more information, contact:
Von Hernandez, Greenpeace International (the Philippines)
Tel: +63 2 7408774. Telfax: +63 2 7401820
Email: von.hernandez@dialb.greenpeace.org
Malir pesticide storage site, Karachi, Pakistan Issue: The Malir pesticide stockpile is one of the largest storage sites for obsolete and date-expired pesticides in Pakistan. The dump situated less than 150 meters from a school and in close proximity to residential areas contains dieldrin, endosulfan, heptachlor and benzene hexachloride - all of which are highly toxic organochlorine pesticides. Companies such as Shell, Dow Chemicals, Velsicol, Hoechst and Diamond Shamrock exported all of these pesticides to Pakistan since the 1970s. The storage conditions at the dump can be described as abysmal at best with drums, plastic bags and sacks of life-threatening poisons lying in various stages of decay and totally exposed to the elements. Despite the fact that these pesticides were exported to Pakistan, the chemical companies that sent them here have not come forward to take responsibility for the management of the poisons. Pictures and more documentation available.
For more information, contact:
Nityanand Jayaraman, Greenpeace International (India)
Telfax: +91 11 4310651
Email: nity@del3.vsnl.net.in
2000 Olympics May be Held Near Dioxin-contaminated Site Hotspot: Homebush Bay, adjacent to the now-abandoned site of Union Carbide’s factory, Sydney, Australia. Issue: On June 3 last year, Greenpeace highlighted the extensive dioxin contamination in the Homebush Bay, by safely storing an abandoned stockpile of 69 drums of highly contaminated dioxin waste. Two weeks later, the New South Wales Government committed A$21 million to clean up the Bay. The US-based chemical company Union Carbide of Bhopal fame, which is responsible for the pollution in the Bay, abandoned the site more than 20 years ago. According to the NSW Government, it is now impossible to prosecute Union Carbide for the mess they have caused. The Bay, which lies adjacent to the venue for the 2000 Olympics, is unlikely to be cleaned up in time for the "Green" Olympics.
"What has happened to the idea of the Green Games?" says Greenpeace Olympics campaigner Michael Bland. "A year ago we highlighted the need for something to be done and today the Bay is no closer to being cleaned."
For more information, contact:
Dr. Darryl Luscombe, Greenpeace Australia
Tel: +61 2 92614666. Fax: +61 2 92614588
Email: darryl.luscombe@au.greenpeace.org
Since 1995, the position of the Government of Canada, as stated in its Toxic Substances Management Policy, has been that POPs resulting predominantly from human activity should be "virtually eliminated" from the environment. In 1997, the substances in question were named. They include dioxin, PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, and all the other targeted in the global treaty negotiations. Unfortunately, Canada has not adopted regulations to put this elimination policy into practice. Emission of dioxin, for instance, has only been regulated in one industrial sector (pulp and paper). Canada is also a net recipient of POPs from global sources.
Hamilton, Ontario
Hotspot: Site of 1997 fire
Issue: In July 1997, a fire at Plastimet Inc. consumed some 400 tons of scrap car interiors consisting mainly of PVC plastic. This single fire left behind a site with dioxin levels up to 66 times the maximum allowed even for industrial land. This is estimated to have increased the 1997 air emissions of dioxin for the whole of Canada by 4 percent. Magnola: The Largest Dioxin Source in Quebec Hotspot: Magnesium production plant, Asb estos, Quebec Issue: In April, 1998, the Quebec Government gave the go-ahead to Noranda Inc for the Magnola project, the second largest magnesium production plant in the world. According to Noranda’s projections, the conditions set by the Government decree and the available national emissions inventories, the Magnola plant could annually:
For more information, contact:
Matthew Bramley, Greenpeace Quebec/Canada
Tel: +1 514 933 0021. Fax: +1 514 933 1017
Email: matthew.bramley@dialb.greenpeace.org
"No human being should get in contact with this thing; the place where it was dumped cannot be cleaned-up; nobody should grow anything there; nobody should drink water from that place." Octacilio Miguel Teixeira Tavares, Rhone-Poulenc’s manager at Cubatao Plant, GEO Magazine (April 24, 1992) Hotspot: Hazardous Waste Dump Sites, Baixada Santista Region, Cubatao, Brazil. Issue: About 33,000 tons of highly toxic industrial waste, from Rhone Poulenc’s sodium pentachlorophenate (fungicide) plant in Cubatao, is stored in plastic bags in landfills in the region. The wastes contain hexachlorobenzen, hexachlorbutadiene, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, and hexachlorethane. More than 2 million people live in the region containing the five landfills.
When the plant was in operation, workers were exposed to contamination inside the factory. At least, two of them are known to have died. The factory was forced to close as a result of a lawsuit filed by workers and a strong campaign launched by workers and environmental groups. For more information, contact:
Cristina Bonfiglioli, Toxics Campaigner, Greenpeace Brazil
Tel: +55 11 30647284. Fax: +55 11 2825500
Email: tbrazil@dialb.greenpeace.org
Ex-Soviet Base Reports Record Levels of PCB, DDT Hotspot: Ex-Soviet Military base in Milovice, 50 kilometers east of Prague Issue: A June 1998 Greenpeace analysis of soil samples in and around an ex-Soviet Military base in Milovice, Czechoslovakia, has revealed PCB contamination to the extent of 95,000 mg/kg (parts per million). In the Czech Republic, the PCB limit for industrial areas is 30 mg/kg. DDT levels at 1630 mg/kg were 163 times greater than permissible levels. The property, which until 1990 was occupied by the Soviet Military, is currently inadequately guarded. After the departure of the Soviet army, a private waste management company PROEKO installed a mobile incinerator in a rented part of the area. Originally set up to deal with oil-contaminated soil from the Military operations in the area, the former owner of PROEKO subsequently brought in 2000 tons of highly toxic wastes onto the property from various Czech industries. In 1994, the company transformed to ALISA (with no change of ownership), and is now being liquidated. The company has left behind 428 barrels of toxic wastes containing PCBs, perchloroethylene, DDT, cyanides and nearly 1000 cubic meters of PCB-contaminated soil. Incidentally, the production of PCBs was banned in the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) in 1984, and usage of DDT has been banned since 1978.
For more information, contact:
Zdenka Bubenikova, Greenpeace Czech Republic
Tel: +420 2 2431 9667. Fax: +420 2 311 2289
Email: zdenka.bubenikova@diala.greenpeace.org
Hotspot: A historically industrial town containing about 10 large chemical plants in Dzerzhinsk Issue: This is a town where the death rate has exceeded the birth rate three-fold; where highly polluting companies have operated for more than 80 years with seemingly no efforts to control pollution; and where nearly 75 percent of the children suffer from birth defects. Investigations conducted by Byroit University, Germany, reported dioxin concentrations in the soil to be 1880 times more than permissible levels in Russia.
For more information, contact:
Greenpeace Russia (Toxics Campaign)
Email: trussia@diala.greenpeace.org
Hotspot: Dumpsite of PVC producer Petkim in Aliaga, near Izmir, Turkey Issue: A June 1998 report published by Greenpeace in Turkey identifies state-owned PVC manufacturer Petkim’s dumpsite as a reservoir of toxic substances including persistent organic pollutants. Concern has been raised about the eventual environmental and natural leakage of these life-threatening poisons into the Mediterranean environment. The dumpsite has no barrier to contain leachates. Results of analysis of samples taken of sediments from the area immediately offshore of the two main outflows carrying effluents from the Petkim complex show the presence of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and of highly toxic and persistent organochlorines including Hexachlorobenzene, HCBD and HCE. These chemicals may cause cancer and have the potential to damage the liver and kidney. Sludge from the canal carrying effluent, including the residues from vinyl chloromonomer (VCM) manufacture, was found to contain more than 250 organic compounds. Many of these were toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative organochlorines. Most alarming was the discovery of 56.94 micrograms/kilogram of dioxins and furans, a level that is among the highest reported from PVC industries in Europe or USA. The Greenpeace Laboratories carried out all the analyses at Exeter University, UK.
For more information, contact:
Tolga Temuge, Greenpeace Turkey
Tel: +90 212 2364238
Email: turkey.toxics@diala.greenpeace.org