Document yrp5E9pnd9dZ49MjjGa2wKDOd

/ / / A Division ol The Society ot The Plastics Industry, Inc. V Robert H. Burnett Executive Director July 9, 1993 TO; VIGOR RE: European Developments The attached documents were received today from Peter Hollins of EVC. The European Chemical News article seems to take a page from the recent C&E News item which was so highly critical of the chlorine industry. With friends like these who needs enemies. John Svalander, the new Executive Director of ECVM, is considering an industry boycott of the publication which would include canceling subscriptions and no further advertising. The attempted occupation of the EVC Italian headquarters may signal a new and more physically aggressive phase of Greenpeace opera tions. I would suggest that everyone reread Dan Stanowick's memo of June 30th (plant crisis preparedness) just in case. RHB/pmb cc: VI Executive Board N. Jacobs P. de la Cruz R. Smerko CTL006738 Wayne Interchange Plaza II 155 Route 46 West * Wayne, NJ 07470 (201) 890-9299 Fax (201) 890-7029 European Vinyls Corporation International SA/NV Eouc'-ard riu Sc^'era.:'! 260 K-11G0 SrO'.\eli3 Bfiioitjm T6l.-(02) 6/A C9 11 Telex 24 200 F.VC3 Telefax (02) 660 l i 61 Mr. R H. Burnett The Vinyls Institute Wayne Interchange Plaza II 155 Route 46 West Wayne, NJ 07470 United States tLROf ERK ViSUSCCRPOSATCN Brussels, 9th July 1993 GREENPEACE Ihis is to alert you to two develcprents in respect of the above: 1. The article which appeared, in of all journals, the European Chemical News (copy attached). ECVM and individual companies are' taking action appropriately. I understand that Euroclor is also considering what steos it should take. 2. The Greenpeace attenpted to occupy the Head Office of our Italian operation this morning, which is I understand the 17th anniversary of the Seveso incident. A small deronstration was held and the television is returning later for an interview. P T Hollins 7VA BE 429.158.682 RC. B AS2 SS7 CTL00673g Environmental pressure g'roup Greenpeace has stepped up its campaign against chlorine and especially P VC in recent months, calling for a phaseout and eventual ban on the use of the element. Here it outlines its concerns over chlorine's effects. KE rURUr'UL nature of organcchlorines lilts PCBs and DDT has been recognised for over 30 yeats. Scientific evidence which confirms the depth of the crisis facing the environment due to organochlorines continues to grow, and legislators and scientists alike have been caking for nothing less than a total phaseout cf chlorine production. Tills view was summed up by the German Council of Experts for Environ mental Issues in 1900 when it said: 'The dynamic growth of chlorine chemistry during the 1950s and 1960s represents a decisive mistake in 20:h century indus trial development, which would not have occurred bad our present knowledge as to environmental damage and health risks due to chlorine chemistry then been available.' Chlorine production now exceeds 40m tonnage ar and inevitably, as organochlorines break down slowly, the burden on the environment is growing each year. The effects of some organochlorines on the environment are well known, and the case against others is building up. No-one would dispute the irreparable damage caused by PCBs, DDT and CFCs, although these are only a few compounds within the group. Many effects of organo chlorines in aquatic wildlife and humans have now been demonstrated. Organochlorines tend to concentrate in living tissues, especially in species at the top of the food chain. Most arc extremely stable. As a result they persist for hun dreds of years. Others do not break down to any appreciable extent at all. When organochlorines do degrade they usually produce other organochlorines. thus per petuating the problem. The effects of these chemicals are not confined to the aquatic ecosystem. The Science Advisory Board to the Interna tional Joint Commission on the Great Lakes which border the US and Canada has said: `Seven reports have concluded that toxic chemicals, in large part or ganochlorines, have impaired and fire impairing the health of natural popula tions offish, reptiles, buds and mammals in the Great Lakes basin. 'The concentrations of organ.uchlorincs in the wild populations are hi the same general range as those in human populations. Because of their short generation times, populations of fish and wildlife may be showing effects that will appear later in human popula tions.' Already human health effects have been documented. Many organochlorines are suspected carcinogens, others can damage the nervous system, liver and kidneys. Some are easily ab sorbed by the skin, others, say independ ent scientific studies, are absorbed via the food chain. A recent Danish study published in the British .'JediccJ Journal suggests that environmental factors, such as c-xpcsuxe to DDT, PCBs and dioxins, may have caused a 42% decline In sperm concen trations over the last 50 years. Profes sor Niels Skakkebaek of Copenhagen University told Reuters that this 'remarka ble' decline made, it likely that more men would have difficulty fathering children. Near the Great Lakes, where organo chlorines have been linked to a range of health problems in wildlife, children of mothers who had eaten local fith were born prematurely, weighed lets and had smaller heads than infants from the same community whose mothers did not eat Great Lakes fish. In later tests, these infants suffered learning disabilities. Studies of dioxins indicate thru ex tremely low doses mimic and disrupt the body's natural hormor.c-s. resulting in immune system suppression, infertility, birth defects, cancer and unpaired child hood development. .! C.f. "Lei vio'.C',' l : i.'O ccm'nui ly r.cc-; to tie h d c m c f l '. 1 o - i.uevhc;.. ca!s in deW.-romme-.: Thwe ir.'.h.dt pes tiokti', stive..is, ?\C and mfi igiTi.'.tS; .ted:::', -.illy, r dtinti,> lion ar.i pulp ar.d gc:yr b'eachJ.cg i.se teat i.-i.i.v: ir.e Aj:J .rateriais st:rh cs polyurethanes and t.tartiun diouca wive cV,urine in their production New coverj'.mcr.is are waking up to trn e::orm ty ufthe problem, in the p^it they i:r.\c triad to rc guiate m gancuhicrine^ cn a suhat<.r,ce-b\ -substance hash, with lit tle auct-iss. while curing the amounts of particular pol'iitan:*, this approach cues nothing to centre! the total accumulation of orgar.ccblorinn !:i the environment. The ^fiecis of a cecktatl of organo chlorines discharged by L-.dustries are impossible to predet. .As a result of pressure by environ mental groups, at last year's Oslo-Faris Commission meeting, organochlorines were classed together and earmarked for phaseout from the marine environment. Thirteen European nations pledged to reduce organochlcrir.e discharges for Photos: Gfoer.peece the protection of the northeast Atlantic, sig nalling yet more bans to come. This was consistent with the recommenda tions of the International Joint Commission (UC) in its Sixth Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality (1992), where it recommended sunsetting the use of chlo rine and chlorine-containing compounds and the elimination of toxic, persistent substances. Still not enough is known about the persistence and toxicity of organo chlorines to justify an outright ban. But because the production of chlorine Inevi tably produces organochlorines as by products and as products, chlorine itseil should be phased out. Industry is already seeing a decline in chlorine use. The major European chloralkali producers - including ICI, Solvay Dow Chemicals, Eka Nobel (Sweden's largest producer) and some of th< Ct; Er.v'iror.rr.tr.t he .new, Jj'y ISSt CTL006740 .fCd-'u-rs. -sccmrod Or:, i;! ; r e r : f.r N\ r:: k H; dro - arc u.l * `x r -' 1 * . '.7% ? n vAt:\-r.i for chlc- J. LHY.sI JCtS. K .1 v i r l v.en:i! ccr.s:: fermions in-.\e im/ced tefucticr.b Li ch Hr: no b.Vr.chir.g ar, ti > FC ?: oduCtk'.*;. 1::...!'js:ry analy?t> predict \zi by :.hi f.: f :ba decade the v> uric's t Ml consume ordv a J'.itd I the chicvLio :i used in 1950. Rehuctic."b Li the v.ii-r purification sac- inr could he oi'ti.e t&rr.t order, due to the ircrexiing _-ftnd awr-.y from dforinsu'cn ;u other f.;rrr_s of c:smf-.rf on. The deple tion of ;he 010:1* layer has led to interna tional cCreerriftn's width wdl ohasc out rL.-b ir. ; he trduct? '. heit'.selws c.an he out of cling nl m into food. in: 0 a \h 0 PVC Ho or, ir.tn :t r n 1! d's digestive 0 if she/'he chews on a PVC toy. Whcn ho: .\ed in uicutereiors . f VC releases hyir;mi-.loric acid along v.:hh dioxins. Nov/ i: c.:*o::o !, regional arm 'ocalt g 0 vr rnment:5 \ 11 r 0 ug.hout Europe arc h;m- r.ing end phw:log out the use of PVC as budding rr^urtaJ, >n Hospitals ar. d for puckering. In June 1987 the Cerm:-.!i town of Bielefeld banned '.he use ct' P\ C in ail 01 its public buildings afic-r a bowling aJiey fire involving PVC furniture left high cioxin levels in the ash. Only two years later Bielefeld had achieved 90% substitution in its construction. Over JO local authorities in Germany now have a ?YC phaseout programme for public buildings. German manufacturers Such as He.-lit2, AilG and Volkswagen havtilopped using PVC in their products, in Austria, two elates and almost half of Joe regional capitals have banned PVC use in buildings. PVC packaging is also under attack by retailers ail over Europe. The large Swiss retail chain Migros has substituted 75% of its PVC packaging since l9SGs. The Swedish government banned PVC con tainers through a voluntary agreement with the industry in 1 550, and in Novem luction of CFCs and l.l.l-trichloro- ber 1951 IKEA, One of the largest furni r.e. ture distributors in the v.-orid, announced e most buoyant sector in the cblo- it would phase out PVC use in all products industry is the production of PVC, and not introduce new articles made of ran this use for chlorine is now being PVC unless no ?VC-free materia! exists. ioned. The polymer creates envi- In Denmark, supermarket chain IflMA 1 problems throughout its has cut PVC in products reid by 99%. cycle. Highly toxic waste is Bergen, the second largest r.ity in Nor ring the manufacture of vinyl way. has alto begun to phase out PVC use. ift - live i:iiii:) constituent of 1`V'C.in public buildings. Kc-ccntly in the UK. iOOO other toxic ingredients arethe well known icmil chain Body bhop ;cd in its production, foxic ac'di-International announced it in'.ended to eliminate PVC fr;rn its products by 195a, the first such neve by a UK company. In retaliation the industry has tried to convince consumers of the PVC recycling myth. Put PVC is no: a single material like glass, it is composed of numerous amounts cf add.'twis ar.d siab-ltscrs ~ cadmium. flame retardants ar.d plasticis er?, for example - that make recycled PVC, suitable for only low quality prod ucts. PVC recycling also usually involves the Incineration of residues -chich cre ates dangerous c.'oxir.s. !,o leaked minutes of a meeting on PVC recycling in 1990, leading chlorine com pany Solvay admitted recycling 'is not economically viable...', but 'necessary .. for enhancing the public profile of PVC, which is now under frequent attack'. The company has set out a costly four-year campaign to `establish the ecological credibility of the product'. Chemical alternatives to chlorine al ready exist. Naturally occurring sub stances such as alcohols or water-based alkaline detergents are equally viable as chlorinated alternatives, in particular for metal degreasing applications. Alterna tive processes - such as laser techniques or metal working - can be used, instead of degreasing. Some manufacturers and users are already switching to chlorine-free alter natives. Sweden's largest chlorine perox ide gas producer Eka Nobel is moving to hydrogen peroxide for paper bleaching. Norway has agreed to a ban on chlorine gas bleaching in its pulp and paper plants by 1998. .Alternatives to organochlorine solvents are already being Introduced in the automobile, electronics and aero space industries. Water-based alterna tives have replaced some chloro-solvent paints and dyes. Even a UK-based steam alternative exists for dry cleaning, a non-toxic alternative to perchloroethylene. According to the US Office of Technology Assessment, such changes result in reduced costs and improved productivity. With the recent 1JC and Oslo-Paris Convention decisions, combined with the new information about the increased dangers of dioxins, the chlorine Industry will have a difficult time surviving into the next century. /As the International Joi.'tl Commission Science Advisory Board has stated, 'The technology either exists, Or can with very few exceptions be developed at some cost, to replace (or control in the Interim) the use cf persis tent. toxic substances. 'Sufficient information is now known for society to take a very restrictive approach to allowing persistent toxic substances in the ecosystem ar.d 10 dcdaic such main rials too risky to iIm: biosphm 0 and humans to p< rtnit their reh'asO in any ounce'.. ' Mitni.x-i Cf