press release |
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56/2002
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Greenpeace demands for liqudation of dioxins in Spolana best and safest
technology
The Billion Crown deal of the Czech National Property Fund opens the
door to corruption
Prague,
16 October 2002 -- Greenpeace does not accept the decision of the
Czech National Property Fund (FNM) to choose without public tender the
waste firm SITA Bohemia for the dioxin decontamination in the chemical
factory Spolana in Neratovice. The Fund makes it impossible with its
unprecedented decision to choose the best, fastest and most effective
solution for the liquidation of the dioxin pollution at Spolana.
"It
is for Greenpeace unbelievable, that the National Property Fund ignored
information from competing firms and technologies and decided for a
direct assignment without a transparent public tender. Already in March,
Greenpeace warned the Fund and the Environmental Ministry that there
exist several similar good or better technologies for the liquidation
of dioxins abroad, so the fund had at least half a year available for
writing out a public tender," said Greenpeace toxic expert Dr.
Miroslav Suta (1).
The
National Property Fund earlier already refused to give Greenpeace access
to information on contracts and tender conditions concerning the dioxin
decontamination. As a result, Greenpeace sued FNM for breaking two laws
on Public Access to Information (2, 3).
"The
decision on such a large order falls a few days before Parliament will
choose a new president for the Fund. This confirms the image that the
Fund in this case has opened the door to corruption. In civilized countries
the best available technology is chosen for even much smaller projects.
Even in a country like the Philippines, where there are many contaminated
sites to be treated, none of them will be handed out without a proposal
from all interested companies," remarked Greenpeace's Executive
Director for the Czech Republic Ing. Jiri Tutter, and he added: "Corruption
in the Czech Republic is a problem in the eyes of the European Commission,
which expressed its concern in its latest report on accession. Assigning
an order in the magnitude of 2,75 Billion Czech Crowns (= 92 Million
EURO) without a public tender is a bad signal towards the European Commission
and foreign investors."
The
chosen BCD technology belongs according Greenpeace experts between the
so called alternative destruction technologies that indeed may be used
for the liquidation of dioxins. There are more of these non-incineration
processes available in the world, like the Canadian GPCR (gas-phase
chemical reduction) or the US SET (solvated electron process). The United
Nations also uses a competitive bidding process for the several model
projects for the liquidation of ecological liabilities in amongst others
Slovakia and the Philippines.
Greenpeace
runs since spring 2001 a campaign to force Spolana to safeguard dioxin
and mercury contaminated sites against leakage for the time that these
substances have not been removed yet. The dioxin-contaminated site at
Spolana belongs to the most polluted in the world. The company left
the contaminated buildings unprotected against possible flooding from
the end of the 1960s (4). The decontamination of Spolana is estimated
to cost between 3,5 and 4 Billions Czech Crowns (= 115 and 135 Million
EURO) (5). During the floods last August, several tons of chemicals
washed out of Spolana, including the carcinogen di-chor-ethylene (EDC)
and vinyl-chloride monomer (VCM) which the firm uses for the production
of PVC. There are indications that also smaller amounts of dioxins washed
out.
Další
informace:
Ing.
Jiri Tutter, (Czech, English) Greenpeace Executive Director for the
Czech Repblic; mobile: +420.604 88 11 78
Dr.
Miroslav Suta, (Czech, English) Greenpeace toxic expert, mobile:
+420.603 443 140, tel.: +420.224 319 667, +420.233 332 289, e-mail:
miroslav.suta@cz.greenpeace.org
Ir.
Jan Haverkamp (English, German, Dutch, Czech), Greenpeace Campaign
Director in the Czech Republic, mobile: +420.603 569 243, e-mail:jan.haverkamp@cz.greenpeace.org
Mgr.
Tomas Tetiva , (Czech, English) Greenpeace media assistant, mobile:
+420.603 414 739, e-mail:
tomas.tetiva@cz.greenpeace.org
NOTES
FOR THE EDITOR:
(1) Greenpeace Press Release "Czech chemical company Spolana hides
toxic chemicals pollution" 4 September 2002, http://www.greenpeace.cz/release/02/020904en.htm
(2)
Greenpeace Press Release "Greenpeace filed suit against Czech National
Property Fund concerning Spolana information", 16 September 2002,
http://www.greenpeace.cz/release/02/020916en.htm
(3)
Greenpeace sued the National Property Fund (FNM) at the Prague City
Court on 3 September 2002. In January 2002, Greenpeace demanded access
to information on the contaminated sites at Spolana under the Law on
the Right on Information on the Environment (no. 123/98 Sb) and under
the Law on Free Access to Information (no. 106/99 Sb.). The FNM refused
this on the grounds that none of these laws is valid for the Fund. An
appeal from Greenpeace was then refused by the president of the Fund.
(4)
The contamination took place in the 1960s, when Spolana Neratovice produced
the herbicide 2,4,5-T under the trade name Arboricid E. This was amongst
other used in the war-chemical Agent Orange, that the US army used in
Vietnam. The production was stopped in 1968 after over 80 employees
of Spolana had to be hospitalised with heavy symptoms of chloracne because
of dioxin poisoning. See: http://www.greenpeace.cz/agentorange/index_en.htm
(5)
According to available information, the liquidation of the two dioxin
contaminated buildings will cost around 2,75 Billion Czech Crowns (92
Million EURO), and the decontamination of the mercury contaminated site
another 0,5 to 1 Billion Czech Crowns (17 to 34 Million EURO). See for
instance CTK article ?Kuzvart: For the liquidation of dioxins there
is money and we know the method?, 19 March 2002.
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