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NEWS FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE
Worldwatch News
Contents:
1. Put a graphic link to Worldwatch on your web site.
2.
Revised CNN schedule for the People's Planet series
3. Press release for
Worldwatch Paper 153
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2. Worldwatch participated in the making of a series of
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3. Worldwatch Paper 153
Worldwatch is pleased to
announce the publication of Worldwatch Paper 153, Why
Poison Ourselves? A
Precautionary Approach to Synthetic Chemicals by Anne Platt
McGinn. The
paper highlights the dangers of some chemicals in even very small
doses,
the widespread distribution of these chemicals around the world, and how
we
can "detoxify" the economy without crippling production.
The press release
attached below describes the paper's principal findings.
You can download this paper today as an Adobe PDF file for
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Press Release for Worldwatch Paper 153
STEPPING OFF THE
TOXIC TREADMILL
Synthetic chemical pollutants that are poisoning both people
and wildlife could
be largely eliminated without disrupting the economy,
reports a new study by the
Worldwatch Institute, a Washington DC-based
environmental research organization.
Evidence from three sectors that are
major sources of these pollutants-paper
manufacturing, pesticides, and PVC
plastics-shows that non-toxic options are
available at competitive prices
in today's markets.
"Poisonous products are so embedded in our lives, it's easy
to think that we
can't do without them," said Anne Platt McGinn, author of
Why Poison Ourselves?
A Precautionary Approach to Synthetic Chemicals. "Not
only are we harming
ourselves, we're paying to do it. We don't need to be
exposed." In the report, McGinn analyzes the available alternatives in each
sector:
* In the paper manufacturing industry, 94 percent of the
world's bleached paper
is made using chlorine-a process that spews out
dioxin and hundreds of other
dangerous organochlorines into water, soil and
the paper itself. Chlorine-free
technology, which is significantly cheaper
in the long run, has been available
for ten years, but has been slow to be
adopted.
* Polyvinylchoride (PVC) has become the second most common
plastic on the
planet, with an estimated 250 million tons in use. The
entire cycle of
manufacturing, consumption, and disposal of PVC throws off
enormous quantities
of toxic byproducts, yet there is a substitute for
virtually every use to which
PVC is put.
* Farmers will use 2.5 million tons of pesticides on this
year's crops,
pesticides that are 10-100 times more potent than
formulations used just 25
years ago. A growing number of farmers, however,
are adopting integrated pest
management (IPM) techniques. These methods,
which in many cases reduce costs
and increase crop yields, use a
combination of natural pest control methods,
with limited use of pesticides
as a last resort.
In December, 120 nations will convene in South Africa under
the auspices of the
United Nations to conclude a treaty that will greatly
restrict a dozen of the
most notorious chemical culprits known today,
including nine pesticides, two
industrial byproducts (dioxins and furans)
and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Collectively, these chemicals fall
into a class called POPs-persistent organic
pollutants-a group of highly
toxic, long-lived, bioaccumulative chemicals.
"The treaty is a significant milestone," said McGinn, "but
we are dealing with
an industry that is innovative when it comes to
producing new chemicals. On the
other hand, the industries that make or use
these chemicals are conservative
when it comes to altering basic industrial
design. Manufacturers have already
created tens of thousands of chemical
compounds and are introducing three new
chemicals a day. The treaty's
'end-of-pipe' solutions are necessary, but we
need to do far more."
The harmful effects of long-lasting compounds may not emerge
for years,
sometimes generations after the initial exposure. And even then,
it is very
difficult to find a 'smoking gun'. Scientists are only now
discovering that many
of these chemicals cause irreversible damage in
people and animals at levels
that were dismissed as inconsequential by the
experts less than a decade ago.
The catalog of the destructive effects of POPs is long and
growing, from cancer
and reproductive health effects to learning disorders
and reduced immunity.
People receive about 90 percent of their total intake
of these compounds from
foods of animal origin. Something as common as a
McDonald's Big Mac carries 30
percent of the World Health Organization's
recommendation for daily dioxin
intake.
New studies are shedding light on the potential health
hazards from PVC.
Phthalates, a group of chemicals that are mixed into PVC
to add flexibility,
continuously leak out of the material and into the
surrounding environment.
Children absorb these compounds when they suck on
toys or crawl on vinyl
flooring. Swedish researchers recently reported that
male workers in PVC plants
have a risk of developing a form of testicular
cancer - seminoma - that is six
times that of the general population.
McGinn argues that cost-effective, workable substitutes
exist for the bulk of
PVC's current uses. In construction, where 60 percent
of PVC is used,
replacements in siding, pipes, cable insulation, flooring,
and window frames
include non-chlorinated plastics and modified,
traditional materials like
aluminum, wood, and ductile iron. Some
communities now prohibit PVC from
transportation, building, and
infrastructure projects.
Paper production has long been recognized as a source of
toxic pollutants, but
some innovative companies within the industry have
set a new industrial
standard, designing toxics out of production
altogether. A growing share of
manufacturers have switched their bleaching
processes to oxygen, hydrogen, and
ozone-based methods, which do not use
chlorine, and therefore do not produce
toxic organochlorines like dioxin.
In agriculture, proven alternatives are available. Growing
ranks of farmers are
going completely pesticide-free, profiting from
consumers who now spend $22
billion a year on organic products.
Simply requiring companies to pay attention to their toxic
releases can produce
large reductions. In 1989, the state of Massachusetts
began requiring major
chemical users to produce a detailed toxics use
reduction plan, with no legal
obligation to implement any of the identified
steps. Nevertheless, some 80
percent of the 1,000 companies with plans have
carried them out. In the process,
they have saved a total of $15 million in
operating costs, while increasing
production by one-third. On-site
emissions at such facilities were down 80
percent between 1990 and 1997.
Under current regulations, high risk chemicals are treated
as innocent until
proven guilty. McGinn calls for governments to change
this presumption and adopt
the precautionary principle in its place. This
principle states that in the
face of scientific uncertainty, the prudent
stance is to restrict or even
prohibit an activity that may cause long-term
or irreversible harm.
"Adopting the precautionary principle is a way to take out
an insurance policy
against our own ignorance," said McGinn. "We rarely
understand environmental
risks until after the damage is done, as we've
seen over and over with POPs. The
precautionary principle shifts the burden
of proof to the industry, requiring
them to prove that the risks are not
unreasonable."
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