press release
56/2002

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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