Press release |
|
2001 |
Greenpeace: Spolana Neratovice threatens to become
an ecological catastrophe
DIOXINS ARE A TICKING TIMEBOMB, THAT WAITS FOR A FLOOD!
Prague,
8 November 2001 - Greenpeace warned today during a press conference
in Prague for the possibility of a large ecological catastrophe that
could arise from the chemical plant Spolana in Neratovice, Czech Republic.
This factory produced in the 1960s components for the well-known defoliant
Agent Orange, which was used by the American military in the war in
Vietnam. Today, the former production premises are closed and nobody
is allowed access. The place is still heavily contaminated with extremely
dangerous dioxins. The risk that these substances would leak into the
environment at present grows rapidly, according to investigations by
Greenpeace. The environmental organisation therefore calls upon the
management of Spolana, that the chemical plant takes urgent steps to
avoid acute disaster.
"Dioxins
are highly toxic substances, that already in extremely low concentrations
can cause cancer and threaten the nerve and immunity systems of living
creatures, including people," comments Miroslav Suta, physician
and leader of the toxic campaign of Greenpeace in the Czech Republic.
Greenpeace
presented clear indications, that the technical situation of the former
production unit that is contaminated with dioxins is rapidly deteriorating
and that the risk for the environment grows. In one of the constructions
already parts of the roof collapsed because of corrosion. According
to experts, these former production units of Spolana are one of the
most contaminated hotspots in the world. In a test in the 1970s, the
military toxicological laboratory of Hradec Kralove exposed several
test rabbits in one of the contaminated buildings for a biological test.
Some died already within 7 days only by inhaling the air! (1)
"The
contaminated objects are in the direct vicinity of the Elbe River. In
case of a one in fifty years flood, the dioxins already could be washed
into the environment," warned Suta and added that such a catastrophe
would not only endanger the people in the surrounding areas of Spolana,
but also people living around the Elbe downstream - in the Czech Republic
as well as the Federal Republic of Germany.
The
contaminating dioxins at Spolana Neratovice originated in the years
1965 to 1968, when the firm produced the chorine herbicide 2,4,5,-T.
Mixing this substance with the herbicide 2,4-D created the leaf remover
Agent Orange, that the American army used in the Vietnam war (2). The
production of 2,4,5-T at Spolana had to be stopped in 1968, because
around 80 employees started to suffer heavy health problems (3D). Dioxins
were identified as direct cause.
Since
that time, only little is known of how the components of the military
substance Agent Orange, that were produced by Spolana in Neratovice,
came into the airplane spraying tanks of the American army. It is clear,
that this must have happened in the same time that the children of the
at that time communist Czechoslovakia did compulsory money collections
at school for the victims of the war in Vietnam.
One
of the three contaminated objects was in 1998 partly covered in a concrete
sarcophagus. The other two objects (that according to available information
are said to be contaminated even worse) still wait for decontamination.
Spolana recently gave a so-called risk study in assignment to the problems
with the contaminated objects, which, however, is kept confidential
by the plant management.
"Greenpeace
considers the risks around the dioxins in Spolana as very serious. Spolana
should first of all secure the contaminated objects against flooding
and leaking of dioxins in the environment, and then start decontamination
as soon as possible. Dioxins are in this case even worse than radiation,
because it is not possible to measure them easily, and in case of an
accident would be extremely difficult to get rid of.
Further
information:
Dr. Miroslav Suta, coordinator toxics campaign mobile: +420.603.443
140 (Czech and English),
e-mail: miroslav.suta@cz.greenpeace.org
Vaclav Vasku, press spokes person, mobile: +420.603.414 739 (Czech
and English)
Jan Haverkamp, campaign director, mobile: +420.603.569 243 (English
and German),
e-mail: jan.haverkamp@cz.greenpeace.org
internet: http://www.greenpeace.cz/agentorange
Notes
for the editor:
(1) The acute toxic test for dioxins in the inner air of the closed
objects was carried out with test rabbits by the Department of Toxicology
of the Military Medical Academy J.E. Purkyne in Hradec Kralove. The
test rabbits were placed in cages inside the contaminated area in such
a way that they were exposed only by breathing. In object A 1420 they
died after 7, 10 and 12 days of exposure. Source: Dokumentace hodneceni
vlivu na zivotni prostredi dle zakona c. 244/92 Sb., Chemoprojekt Praha,
April 1996
(2)
http://www.ecn.cz/dioxin/spolrea.htm
(3)
Pazderova-Vejlupkova, Nemcova, Picova, Jirasek: The Development and
Prognosis of Chronic Intoxication by Tetrachlordibenzo-p-dioxin in Men,
Archive of Environmental Health,1981, 36, 1, pp 5-11
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