GREENPEACE: POSSIBLE FRAUDULENT COMMISSIONING OF CZECH DIOXIN DECONTAMINATION UNDER POLICE INVESTIGATIONPraha, 7. November 2002 - Greenpeace filed a criminal suit at the Czech High State Prosecutor in Prague concerning the choice of the BCD technology in commissioning dioxin decontamination work at the Spolana chemical plant in Neratovice (1). The National Property Fund commissioned the almost three Billion Czech Crowns (100 Million Euro) order to the French owned waste firm SITA Bohemia. According to Greenpeace, this might constitute a criminal break of paragraph 255 of the Czech criminal code on responsibilities in management of property. “The fact that the Fund prepared a study that practically only considered one serious technology and with that argues that there is no need for a public tender, calls for questions. Also the hurry with which the Fund decided about commissioning this order only a few days before parliament had to choose new top management is conspicuous. This all contrasts heavily with the slow action on the issue in the past and it supports the suspicion that the Fund did this consciously,” commented Greenpeace's Executive Director in the Czech Republic, Ing. Jiri Tutter. The information on the dioxin pollution is known to the National Property Fund already from 1992. Only two years later, the Fund signed a contract with Spolana on financing the damage at Spolana and a risk analysis took place between January 2001 and 2002, which included a feasibility study and its consequences. “In sight of the fact that they whole situation already draws out over several years, it is, to say the least, disputable that the commissioning of this work did not happen in a prescribed open and transparent tender on the grounds of an urgent danger, like the Fund now argues. The management of the Fund now suddenly shows concern for acute public health dangers, whereas it did not show anything in the time that the dioxin concentrations in the air around one of the contaminated buildings was 300 times higher,” says Dr. Miroslav Suta, Greenpeace toxic campaigner. For use in United Nation projects dealing with persistent organic substances (such as DDT, PCBs and dioxins), Greenpeace experts several years ago already prepared a list of all commercially available technologies in the world that can be used for dioxin decontamination. Greenpeace informed also the National Property Fund and the Czech Environmental Ministry on this. Representatives of the Fund, however, refused to physically accept this information. Earlier this week, on 4 November, Greenpeace filed a complaint at the Office for Protection of Economic Competition (2). The National Property Fund furthermore earlier violated the law when it refused Greenpeace access to information concerning the contracts and tender procedures around the decontamination of the dioxin pollution at Spolana. Last January, Greenpeace filed several requests for this on the basis of the Law on Access to Environmental Information and the Right to Information Act. The Fund refused access claiming that these laws do not relate to the Fund itself. Therefore, Greenpeace in September sued the Fund for breaking the laws on access to information for the Prague Town Court (3). Greenpeace runs a campaign from spring 2001 that demands containment of all dioxin and mercury pollution at Spolana Neratovice until the moment that this pollution has been cleaned up. Costs for this clean-up are estimated on around 3,5 and 4 Billion Czech Crowns (120 to 145 Million Euro). During the floods of last August, several thousand tons of chemicals washed out from Spolana, including the carcinogenes ethylene-dichloride (EDC) and vinyl-chloride monomer (VCM), which the firm produces as intermediate for the production of PVC. FURTHER INFORATION: 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 Internet: http://www.greenpeace.cz/agentorange/index_en.htm NOTES FOR THE EDITOR: (1) The BCD technology that was chosen by the National Property Fund belongs according to experts to the so called alternative destruction methods that indeed can be used for the liquidation of dioxins. Besides this one there are other non-incineration technologies that are capable of effective removal of these extremely toxic substances, like e.g. the Canadian GPCR (Gas-Phase Chemical Reduction) or the American SET (Solvated Electron Process). An open competition procedure was also used by the United Nations for the commissioning of several decontamination model projects in Slovakia and on the Phillipines. (2) See for more information the Greenpeace Press Release of 4 November 2002: „Greenpeace: decision of the National Property Fund concerning Spolana's dioxin decontamination has to be reviewed by the anti-monopoly office” (3) See for more information the Greenpeace Press Release of 16 October 2002 „Greenpeace demands for liquidation of dioxins in Spolana the best and safest technology “ |
|||
press release