press release

60/2002

Greenpeace found at Czech chemical factory Spolana food stuffs polluted with PCBs and dioxins

Neratovice/Prague – 19 November 2002 – Greenpeace published today the results of chemical analyses that show high levels of toxic dioxins and poly- chlor-bifenyls (PCBs) in soil and food products taken from the vicinity of the Czech chemical company Spolana Neratovice (1). The concentrations of dioxins in food products exceed several times the limits valid in countries of the European Union (EU), as well as exceed the working limit of the Main Hygiene Office of the Czech Republic (2). The samples also showed high values of toxic PCBs with dioxin-similar effects.

“The amounts of dioxins in the food-stuffs exceed up to around 15 times the valid norms in the European Union and around 6 times the working limits in the regulation of the Main Hygiene Office. It is of great concern, that the analyses also show high concentrations of PCBs with a dioxin-like health effect. The additive effects of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs are according to the World Health Organisation critical for human health,” declared Dr. Miroslav Suta, Greenpeace toxics expert.

Greenpeace experts directly informed the affected people of the measurement results and advised them not to consume the contaminated meat and eggs. The results of the analyses were also directly forwarded to the Main Hygiene Office, the Environmental Ministry and the Czech Inspectorate for the Environment, so that they could carry out further investigations and take the necessary measures for public health protection.

“The measurements that several organisations carried out over the last months show, that the contamination of the surroundings of Spolana with dioxins and PCB exceeds the normal levels in the Czech Republic. Greenpeace wants to point out the very irresponsible behaviour of the Spolana management that under these circumstances wants to accelerate the renewal of the production of highly dangerous chlorine products including the carcinogene vinyl-chloride monomer, only for the production of PVC. Therefore the authorities should in detail investigate the responsibility of Spolana for the found contamination of the environment and food products,” noted Ir. Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace Campaign Director in the Czech Republic.

Dioxins are extremely toxic substances with a high life time in the environment. They accumulate in living organisms, especially in fatty tissue of animals and people, and only very slowly can be removed from the body. Dioxins are capable to cause several kinds of cancer, congenital development anomalies amongst children or disturbance of hormonal functions. People that have been exposed to dioxins could, for instance, get problems with their sugar metabolism (an increased risk on diabetes) and fat metabolism (a larger risk on atheroscleroses leading to heart infarcts or brain death). Dioxins are furthermore able to enter unborn children over the mother's placenta. PCBs and dioxins both accumulate in the breast glands, from where they enter in high concentrations in mother milk.

Since spring 2001, Greenpeace runs a campaign to force the Spolana management to safeguard the dioxin and mercury contaminated sites up to the moment that the toxic substances will be removed safely.

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 analyses took place on samples of soil from grass land in the vicinity of the village of Libis, and on agricultural produce (tissue from ducks and chicken eggs) of animals bred in the same village, several hundred meters from the PVC production of Spolana Neratovice. The samples were analysed by the laboratory of Axys – Varilab in a cooperative project of Greenpeace and the NOVA television programme “Na vlastni oci” (“With our own eyes”). Protocol number 421/1 and 421/2 on the assessment of PCDD and non- orthosubstituted PCB from the testing laboratory Axys – Varilab, authorised by the Office or Technical Normalisation, Metrology and State Testing for analyses of organic substances in the environment, emission sources, food products and biological materials number 446/01/20

(2) The limits of the Euopean Union for the amounts dioxins in agricultural products were published on 6.12.2001 in the Official Journal of the European Communities and are valid from 1 July 2002. For values see Appendix – table 2. After the Belgian dioxin affair, the Main Hygiene Office of the Czech Republic adopted working limits for dioxins in food products of 5 pg/g fat. Source: Letter of the Main Hygiee Office of the Czech Republic Dr. Jiri Vytlacil to the director of the State Veterinarian Office Dr. Antonin Kozak on 11.6.1999.

A p p e n d i x :

Table 1 – concentration dioxins and PCB in the samples from Greenpeace from the village of Libis

1 Toxic equivalent amounts, calculated with the TEF according to WHO-IPCS 1993
2 Toxic equivalent amounts, calculated with the TEF according to WHO-IPCS 1998
* the shown amounts are in pg TEQ/ g fat, so that the numbers can be comparedwith the EU limits

Source: Protocol number 421/1 and 421/2 on the assessment of PCDD and non- orthosubstituted PCB from the testing laboratory Axys – Varilab.

Table 2 – dioxin limits valid in the EU

Table 3 – limits for dioxin concentrations in soil in Germany and the Netherlands in pg/g

Source: Limitní koncentrace dioxinu ve složkách ŽP, prof. RNDr.Ivan Holoubek, CSc.

Tisk. zprávy