Culprits of corporate crimes boast with "responsible care" Greenpeace demands global principals for corporate responsibilityPrague, 4 September 2002 -- Greenpeace has today turned to the Czech Evironmental Minister Libor Ambrozek, to demand an investigation into whether the management of the Czech chemical company Spolana broke the law during the August floods. Spolana admitted already that almost 3.500 tons of chemicals (1) were washed down into the Elbe River. The Czech Environmental Inspection (CIZP) has found leakage of other toxic chemicals on top of this, about which Spolana kept silence (2). "The management of Spolana may among others have breached the Water Act and the Act Prevention of Accidents (3), by not having secured thousands of tons of highly toxic chemicals against floods in time, despite of being well in time informed about an at least once-in-a-100-year flood," said Jiri Tutter, executive director of Greenpeace in the Czech Republic. "Still on Tuesday August 13, we offered Spolana the help of our volunteers but our offers were turned down twice with an argument that all the dangerous chemicals were properly secured," stressed Tutter. Analyses of water samples carried out by the CIZP show that Spolana contaminated the surrounding environment with chemicals of which they had denied leakage before. The inspection proved increased concentrations of many toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in the Elbe River downstream from Spolana and in an run-off creek to Libis, a village directly next to Spolana. Greenpeace has CIZP's analysis results available. These results show that water leaving Spolana contained a whole list of toxics not present in the Elbe upstream from Spolana. They are e.g. the carcinogenic chemical vinyl- chloride and di-chlor-ethane, which Spolana produces for the production of PVC and stores in hundreds of tons. However, other dangerous chemicals were also discovered, like chloroform, tri-chlor-ethene, tri-chlor-ethylene and tetra-chlor-ethylene. Beside these, also xylene, terpene, alkyl-benzenes (e.g. ethyl-benzene) and benzoic-acid-esters. "Vinyl-chloride is a chemical, which can cause cancer and according to the WHO there is no safe concentration. Also, di-chlor-ethane is a carcinogenic chemical that can damage liver and kidney, irritate eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Tri-chlor-ethylene can damage neurological functions, liver and kidney," warned Dr. Miroslav Suta, Greenpeace expert consultant for toxics. Spolana's safety report states that hundreds of tons of chlorine, mercury, vinyl-chloride, di-chlor-ethane, tri-chlor-ethhylene, xylene, ammonia, sulphuric acid and other dangerous chemicals are kept normally in Spolana (3). However, Spolana refused to inform about the quantities of these chemical during the floods.(4) Spolana Neratovice is a chlorine chemical factory and the monopoly producer of PVC in the Czech Republic. Production of chlorine and chloro- organic substances polluted the company's site with dioxins, mercury and many other very dangerous toxic chemicals. Greenpeace started a campaign in Spring 2001 with the aim to make Spolana secure the polluted buildings against floods and leaks of toxic chemicals and liquidate them safely afterwards.
Further
information: Ir.
Jan Haverkamp, Campaign Director of Greenpeace in the Czech Republic Ing.
Jiri Tutter, Executive Director of Greenpeace in the Czech Republic Vaclav
Vasku, press officer of Greenpeace in the Czech Republic Poznámky
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