Document Em2YyOEor1jrzmZLgOQ0zmw3R

R&S 143942 6 PLASTICS HEWS, September 26, 1994 Industry study declares chlorine use safe By Bill Bregar PLASTICS NEWS STAFF A new Industry-sponsored re view of 3,000-plus chlorine stud ies acknowledges past problems, but concludes that society can use most chlorine chemicals without adverse health effects. PVC, the largest single chlo rine consumer, along with its precursor, vinyl chloride mono mer, also is deemed safe. "Today, residual concentra tions of VCM in PVC products are extremely low and present no hazard to the general popula tion," according to the review. A Greenpeace spokesman com pared the report to tobacco industry studies that show smoking is safe. "The report was scheduled to be completed two years ago. 1 guess this shows how long it took them to buy, pay for, or bully the people they work with to come up with the right an swers," said Jack Weinberg, Great Lakes Toxics Coordinator for Greenpeace in Chicago. The massive, 1,056-page report appears in the August issue of Regulatory Toxicology and Phar macology, a bimonthly scientific journal. The Interpretive review was coordinated by CanTox Inc., a consulting firm in Mississauga, Ontario. An independent panel of six scientists studied decades of research into chlorine, through 1992. They followed a set of sci entific principles, including a key one disputed by some environ mentalists: that exposure thresh olds exist for chemicals, below which adverse health effects do not occur. The report was funded by a grant from the Washingtonbased Chlorine Chemistry Coun cil, with support from the EuroChlor Federation, the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers, the Chlorine Institute, the Vinyl Institute and the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance. industry officials hope the ex haustive report will give a scien tific grounding to the plastics in dustry's defense of PVC, which uses about one-third of all chlo rine produced In the United States. Environmentalists have assailed chlorine, convincing some industries such as paper manufacturers to move toward alternative chemicals. But PVC has no alternative -- It cannot be made without chlorine. Potential effects of past, pres ent and future ambient concen trations of chlorine on the health of humans and animals are eval preciation of their fate in the en vironment and potential to cause adverse effects." But they said industry advancements have re duced environmental concentra tions of chlorine. "Most chlorinated organic chemicals can now, and in the future, be used without adverse effects," the report concludes. `I can't say the report is sleazy because I haven't seen it. But I think it's sleazy the way they've [released] it. We had no chance to review the report before it was released.' Jack Weinberg Greenpeace uated in the report, titled Inter pretive Review of the Potential Adverse Effects of Chlorinated Or ganic Chemicals on Human Health and the Environment. The scientists concede indus trial problems from years past: "Chlorine and chlorinated organ ic chemicals have, In the past, been used and discharged to the environment without a full ap Separate chapters cover chlo rine, PVC/VCM, pesticides, poly chlorinated biphenyls, pulp and paper, drinking water and wastewater, incineration and solvents. Among other conclusions: Chlorine -- "Ambient con centrations of chlorine and its usual, ultimate product in the en vironment, hydrochloric acid, are severalfold less than concen trations associated with adverse effects on human health and the environment, except under emer gency conditions during acciden tal releases." PVC/VCM -- VCM exposures at manufacturing facilities before the 1970s caused health prob lems in some workers. "Through improved technology and manu facturing practices, the concen trations of VCM in the workplace are now below those that cause adverse effects. At no time were ambient environmental concen trations of VCM sufficiently high to cause adverse effects on hu mans or wildlife." Weinberg complained that he had not seen the report before it was released. "I can't say the report is slea zy because I haven't seen it. But 1 think it's sleazy the way they've [released] it. We had no chance to review the report before it was released." Greenpeace has lobbied for a ban on chlorine compounds. News editor Don Loepp contrib uted to this story.