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    Persistent Organic Pollutants

From American Press and Green Peace:

 


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http://www.americanpress.com/news/top%20stories/docs/Top1.htm

November 29, 2000

10 arrested in Greenpeace protest at PPG



By Sunny Brown
American Press

Ten Greenpeace protesters were arrested on charges of criminal trespass after they chained themselves to a school bus and a motor coach Wednesday and used those vehicles to block two railroads leading into PPG Industries.

The blockades were set up at about 9:30 a.m. in protest to the manufacture of PVC plastics and a by-product of the process, dioxin.

Unamused by the stunt, PPG filed a complaint with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office which led to the arrests. Still other charges could be filed.

Sheriff Beth Lundy, who was on the scene, said the FBI, the Secret Service and the U.S. Marshal's Office were investigating. The FBI may choose to file charges against the protesters for violating the Hobbs Act, which involves the interruption of commerce transactions, she said.

The Sheriff's Office may also upgrade its charges to include criminal property damage, she said.

Greenpeace apparently broke through a security gate to block the railroad just off Pete Manena Road, the sheriff said. The other blocked railroad was just off PPG drive, near the plant's main gate.

Both vehicles, which were weighted down with concrete, were towed after all the protesters were removed and, in some cases, extricated from the buses by deputies and Westlake firefighters.

The Sheriff's Office plans to sue the environmental group to recoup the expenses involved, Lundy said.

Chuck Bellon, director of governmental affairs and community relations for PPG, had little to say about the events.

"We have permits from the state and federal agencies to operate our plant and feel we are operating our plant safely and in an environmentally appropriate manner," Bellon said.

He said the blockades did little to slow down the day's operations at PPG -; one of Greenpeace's stated objectives.

The protest came a week before a United Nations environmental meeting on persistent organic pollutants scheduled in South Africa. Greenpeace hopes dioxin will make a list of chemicals U.N. members will agree to phase out and eventually eliminate.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies have said dioxin can cause cancer, liver problems and birth defects.

Two residents of Mossville, Edgar Mouton and David Prince, plan to attend the meeting.

Higher-than-normal dioxin levels were found in a handful of long-time Mossville residents who participated in blood tests performed by the Agency on Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in late 1998.

The ATSDR and other state and federal agencies are now trying to determine the source of the dioxin.

Greenpeace points to local industries, including PPG, as the source.

"We're saying this contamination is serious enough to put ourselves in discomfort and to face possible arrest," said Rick Hind, legislative director of Greenpeace's toxics campaign. Hind was among those who were later arrested.

He described Lake Charles as a "global toxic hot spot," noting contamination in the Calcasieu Estuary among other environmental concerns.

Last week, Greenpeace issued a report on PVC expansion in Louisiana and sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate environmental permitting processes in the state.

Several local activists participated in the local protest.

Mossville's Pat Hartman handed out snacks, while Lake Charles resident Laura Cox distributed press releases.

Cox, who was among Greenpeace protesters arrested in 1997 for climbing atop the welcome sign in Westlake, said she was only "a concerned mom" at the Wednesday protest.

Arrested for criminal trespassing were: Hind, 49, of Washington, D.C.; David Miller DeRosa, 34, of Washington, D.C.; Nathan Daniel Santry, 31, of Mount Ranier, Md; Kimberly Ann Wilson, 25, of San Francisco; Kelly Ann Norris, 30, of Chicago; Ama Marston, 26, of San Francisco; Jacquelynn Warledo, 44, of Seminole, Okla.; Jeanne Ruth Merrill, 28, of San Francisco; Jean Dopwell, 51, of Washington, D.C. and Christie Abhaya Thiele, 46, of Buckingham, Va.
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http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/media/press_releases/00_11_30text.htm

November 30, 2000

Greenpeace Protest Continues in Louisiana after 11 Arrests
as Activists Press for Global Ban on Dioxin



Lake Charles, Louisiana - Just days before an international conference commences in South Africa to finalize a global ban on some of the world's most dangerous toxic chemicals, Greenpeace activists took further action today against one of the eight chemical companies in Louisiana, U.S. where toxic pollution has left many residents of the community seriously ill.

After 11 activists were arrested yesterday for blocking toxic shipments with two buses at the PPG vinyl plant, at dawn this morning a banner was hung from the company's water tower. The banner reads, "PPG - Poisoning People Globally." The message is to a reminder that dioxin and other persistent poisons travel long distances via air currents and are contaminating communities as far as the Arctic. The climbers were arrested after the banner was hung and have been taken to the sheriff's office in Calcasieu Parish.

PPG is a principle source of dioxin and other contaminants in southwest Louisiana. These protests come just one week after Greenpeace released a report entitled, "Unlawful and Unhealthy," which exposes illegal permitting, suspicious tax breaks and lax enforcement of Louisiana environmental laws.

"Dioxin is polluting communities near and far from Louisiana. Not only are people near vinyl plants in Louisiana being affected, but so are people who live in the Arctic, thousands of miles from the dioxin source," said Jackie Warledo, a native American Greenpeace campaigner who was arrested yesterday in the protest at PPG. "The future of our communities depends on the U.S. agreeing to dioxin elimination at the UN treaty negotiations."

Residents from Louisiana and the Arctic plan to take their message all the way to South Africa next week where the UN treaty negotiations will take place from December 4-9. The meeting is the fifth in a series to establish a legally binding global ban on the most toxic chemicals known. At previous meetings the U.S. has been one of a handful of nations refusing to support the elimination of these toxic chemicals.

CONTACT:
Carol Gregory 202-251-3998 (mobile/on location);
Lisa Finaldi 202-462-1177 (D.C. office);
Kymberly Escobar 202-319-2494 (D.C. office)

For more information, read:
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http://www.nolalive.com/speced/unwelcome/index.ssf?/speced/unwelcome/day1.html

November 30, 2000

 

Unwelcome neighbors: Day 1
How the poor bear the burdens of America's pollution

Imagine waking every morning to acrid fumes; horizons marred by towering pretzels of metal and pipe; fear of hazardous-waste spills. History, geography and the legacy of latent if not outright racism have conspired to place factories, dumps and chemical plants next to the poor. With help from environmental groups, some residents are rallying around a controversial banner -- environmental justice, a coming together of civil rights and environmental activism. The debate is reshaping the American landscape, pitting those who point to the benefits of jobs and growth against those who say they don't get enough benefits and don't want the problems. In the middle is the federal government, which is struggling to give an emotional and political debate a scientific foundation.

 

Too close for comfort
 Minorities and the poor say they see too few benefits when industry moves in, compared with the pollution and declining property values they suffer.

On the Horizon
 Louisiana's emerges as a battlefield over environmental justice.

Numbers game
 Computers instrumental in evaluating demographics of pollution.

Environmental justice
 EPA looks at how environmental risks collectively harm community life.

Around the Nation
 Community groups are saying no to smog and toxic emissions from industrial sites and to the noise and declining property values caused by transportation projects.

Transforming the Land
 For generations, being born black ensured a hard life -- whether it was on a plantation as a slave or later as a tenant farmer.

Through the years
 Louisiana historically has been attractive to industry because of plentiful resources and land. Those who objected often had no political clout.

Changing traditions
 The industrial complex in St. James Parish threatens the existence of a historically black community established during the plantation era.

An urban scrap
 In New York, low-income residents are fighting plans that direct tons of garbage through their neighborhoods.

Executive order
 Under President Clinton environmental justice becomes a mission of government.

 

 

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http://www.nolalive.com/speced/unwelcome/index.ssf?/speced/unwelcome/day2.html


Unwelcome neighbors Day 2:
How the poor bear the burdens of America's pollution

The movement for environmental justice grew out of the civil rights struggles of the '60s and the environmental battles of the '70s and '80s. While plans by Shintech Inc. to build a chemical plant in St. James Parish galvanized the movement, the momentum has been building for years.

 

Calling in help risks 'outsider' label
When dealing with community groups making environmental justice complaints, nothing seems to enrage Louisiana officials more than the involvement of so-called "outsiders."

The Reluctant Warriors
Louisiana's local environmental activists are an American archetype: average people driven to do battle with a system they believe has betrayed them.

Legal Battlegrounds
Eight Title VI complaints have been filed in Louisiana claiming that decisions by the state Department of Environmental Quality in the environmental permitting process are discriminatory.

The Search for Justice Timeline
Through the 20th Century, minorities and the poor have taken a stand against the establishment.

Rebalancing the wheels of justice in L.A.
Activist in Hispanic East L.A. take a stand against expensive, yet poor, bus service.

Change in the air
The movement for environmental justice grew out of the civil rights struggles of the '60s and the environmental battles of the '70s and '80s. After simmering for years, the movement gained steam under presidents Bush and Clinton

Proving Ground
When plans were annouinced for Shintech, the 10th large industry in the area, some residents vowed to defeat the giant plastics factory. Surprisingly, the residents won.

Measured Impact
Federal officials struggle to quantify the impact of pollution and define at what point exposure to pollution meets the tests of having an 'adverse disparate impact,' and thus be considered a violation of federal law.

EPA caught in cross-fire over civil rights
During the 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency saw its watchdog role expanded to a new, frequently murky, area: civil rights and pollution. Since then, the regulatory agency has taken plenty of heat, and the politically-charged controversy is far from over.

 

 

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http://www.nolalive.com/speced/unwelcome/index.ssf?/speced/unwelcome/day3.html


Unwelcome neighbors Day 3:
How the poor bear the burdens of America's pollution

Does living next to a major polluter endanger your health? Residents of Louisiana's industrial zones are convinced their medical problems stem from the factories across the street and the dumps down the road. But all too often, science can prove them neither right nor wrong. And lacking hard evidence, the government often is paralyzed in finding a solution. Yet many of Louisiana's poor and minority residents live with suspicious levels of toxins in their bodies, mysterious illnesses and certain fear that their homes may be killing them.

David Prince's home looks out over the Condea Vista VCM chemical plant in Mossville. Both Prince and his wife tested with high levels of Dioxen in their blood and the VCM plant could be a source.

Uranium's promise, curse
Those who want to reopen uranium mines that dot the countryside have revived bitter memories among Navajo, who remember friends who died from radiation exposure.

Uneasy Proximity
Grand Bois residents blame a nearby dump for a number of ailments. Tests, in fact, show many have surprisingly high levels of lead in their blood.

The Menace Within
Dioxins found in the blood of Mossville residents are among the most toxic chemicals known.

Living a Nightmare
It was the American Dream turned upside down: home ownership on land that turned out to be New Orleans' longtime landfill.

A Health Risk
Some Mossville residents have dioxin levels up to nine times the national average, levels that would be expected after an industrial accident. Except there's been no accident, and so far no explanations.

Assessing risks mixes science with emotion
Mysterious diseases have become a recurring theme in American life. The victims are trying raise questions about the cause of their symptoms, trying to hold someone accountable.

Placing blame
Those who live next door to heavy industry believe it's obvious: if someone suffers asthma, for instance, then the big polluter across the way is surely to blame. But scientists and health experts say it's not that easy to draw conclusions.

 

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http://www.nolalive.com/speced/unwelcome/index.ssf?/speced/unwelcome/day4.html

Unwelcome neighbors Day 4:
How the poor bear the burdens of America's pollution


Uneasy Coexistence

Tired of polluters building nearby without a fight, some residents are taking advantage of a shifting regulatory climate to force changes in the way development proceeds. While economic decision-makers once followed a simple formula -- promote job growth -- now they must factor quality of life, cultural preservation and civil rights into the equation.


AIR CHECK: Diamond resident Percy Hollins takes an air-quality sample on the ball field near his home to test for chemicals near the Union Carbide and Shell Chemical plants. Hollins is apart of the Bucket Brigade, Diamond residents who received a grant from the Sierra Club to take the air samples.

Unconventional Wisdom:
Some economists are beginning to question the economic theory that says recruit industry and the local economy will flourish. Indeed, pollution and quality of life issues must be factored in, they say.

Standing Their Ground:
A Hispanic neighborhood in one state and land held sacred by the Pueblo in another stand in the way of what some would call progress. In the past, residents of such areas often had no chance of stopping growth.

Cancer Alley:
Some say the industrial corridor along the Mississippi River deserves the label. Others are adamant it's undeserved. Scientists can't say for sure if it is or isn't.

Unconventional Wisdom:
Some economists are beginning to question the economic theory that says recruit industry and the local economy will flourish. Indeed, pollution and quality of life issues must be factored in, they say.

Climate of Change:
Residents and activists in some towns are being offered an unprecedented voice in the decision-making process when major polluters announce plans to come to town.

Before Disputes Arise:
States must address civil rights issues before giving heavy industry the go-ahead for construction, the EPA says.

 

 

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http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/features/popstreatytext.htm

A global ban on toxic chemicals enters critical last stage

Greenpeace Actions Targeting Chemical Company PPG Call Attention to Urgent Need for Strong Global Treaty


GREENPEACE'S RECENT ACTION IN LOUSIANA

Greenpeace activists blocked shipments of toxic vinyl chloride outside the PPG plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Two buses locked to railroad tracks leading into the plant entrance. 11 activists were arrested.

Find out more and view the photos.

© 2000 Wong/Greenpeace

 PPG Protest


THE TREATY

Negotiations by more than 120 countries, including the United States, for a global and legally binding treaty for the elimination of a group of life threatening chemicals called POPS (persistent organic pollutants) open next week in South Africa. The final signing of the treaty is scheduled for May 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden.

THE TARGETED CHEMICALS

Currently the treaty focuses on 12 of the most deadly chemicals. They include eight pesticides: aldrin, endrin, toxaphene, chlordane, dieldrin, heptachlor, mirex, DDT; two industrial chemicals, hexachlorobenzene and PCBs, and two unintentional by- products of industry, dioxins and furans. The treaty will include an addendum to add more persistent organic pollutants in the future.*

*Viable alternatives exist for virtually all known uses and sources of the targeted chemicals.



THE HUMAN FACE OF DIOXIN: LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA AND PPG

Read a personal account from a victim of the pollution in Lousiana.

© 2000Littleg/Greenpeace



Here, in the United States, Mossville, Louisiana, a town in the Lake Charles region and home of 90% of the nation’s polyvinyl factories will be a major focus in this intensive toxic elimination campaign. One of these corporate polluters, PPG is the 6th greatest cancer risk source.

Since polyvinyl factories produce dioxin, dioxin levels in residents of this impoverished African American community are nine times higher than the U.S. national average. Cancer statistics in this region are so high that it has been dubbed "cancer alley" by the media.

THE NEED FOR A TREATY

Since World War II, more than 100,000 chemicals have been introduced and are in use world-wide with the number and amount used still increasing. There is now hard scientific evidence that the worst of these toxics, persistent organic pollutants, are deadly in small amounts, travel long distances via air currents, cause life threatening illnesses, and endanger people and wildlife all over the world. For example, dioxin (a persistent organic pollutant resulting from chlorine production) was sited in a 1985 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as "the most potent carcinogen ever tested in a laboratory." In addition, scientists know that these pollutants migrate towards polar environments and have contaminated the food chain and the indigenous people who live there.

Recognizing that these persistent organic pollutants (pops) are circulating the globe and can be found in the bodies of every human and animal on the planet, The United Nations Environmental Council mandated the world governments to create a legally binding treaty banning the worst of these pollutants.

THE POLITICS

Unfortunately some of the industrialized nations and producers and traders of toxics, including the United States, Australia, and Japan have been major obstacles during treaty negotiations, calling for a reduction instead of a ban on toxic pollutants.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Send a message to President Clinton and urge him to ensure a strong POPs Elimination Treaty and voice your opposition to U.S. intentions to weaken the treaty to the detriment of the global environment.

Visit Toxics for more information.

 

 



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