Press release

20/2002

Greenpeace took samples of mercury pollution in Spolana Neratovice, Czech Republic

Neratovice/Prague - 6 May 2002 - Today early morning, 15 Greenpeace activists from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands drew the attention on several hundred tons of toxic mercury on the shores of the Elbe at Spolana Neratovice. Under a banner reading "Save the Elbe from Spolana", Greenpeace marked the 27-year obsolete buildings and surrounding area that Spolana contaminated during the production of chlorine. The contaminated area can be flooded by the Elbe in a once in a 20 year flood (1). Greenpeace activists marked the area with warning signs "Beware! Mercury contaminated!", and they took probes of contaminated soil.

"The aim of this Greenpeace action is to force Spolana to stop ignoring the danger posed by the mercury contamination in the Elbe flooding zone," said Dr. Miroslav Suta, Greenpeace toxic expert, and he added: "Spolana has to stop endangering the Elbe with toxic mercury and protect it against flooding until decontamination is concluded. When mercury otherwise washes into the Elbe, it will endanger life in the Elbe. It also can endanger its use as drinking and irrigation water downstream."

In Spolana at least 250 tons of toxic mercury contaminate several production buildings and an enormous amount of soil in the Elbe flooding area. This contamination originates from a former chlorine production site. Spolana left the area contaminated since 1975 without any protection against flooding and Spolana management ignored repeated warnings from Greenpeace about the dangers.

"Mercury is a toxic substance that easily vaporizes and damages the lungs after breathing. It is easily taken up in the blood and then endangers above all the brain. Chronical mercury poisoning expresses itself in a feeling of weakness, headaches and a lack of appetite. Mercury can damage the central nerve system so much, that people get uncontrollable movements that start in the eyelids, the lips and tong and end in fingers," warned Dr. Suta and he added that effects of mercury also may include behavioural disorders, including depression and loss of memory (2).

The Saxon Environment Minister Stefan Flath thinks the situation at Spolana as so problematic, that he has 100.000 sandbags on stand-by, in case Spolana is endangered by high water in the Elbe (3).

Greenpeace started a campaign in spring 2001 with the aim to convince the Spolana management to secure dioxin- and mercury-contaminated objects against influences of wind and water until final decontamination is concluded. Since that moment, Spolana only build a flood wall around one of the buildings contaminated with dioxins from herbicide production in the 1960s. The costs for decontamination of Spolana is estimated on 3,5 to 4 Billion Czech Crowns (110 to 150 Million Euro) (4).

Further information:
Dr. Miroslav Suta, coordinator of the Greenpeace toxics campaign in the Czech Republic [English, Czech],
mobile: +420.603.443140, tel.: +420.2.24319667, fax: +420.2.33332289
e-mail: miroslav.suta@cz.greenpeace.org
Mgr. Tomas Tetiva (Czech, English), media assistant mobil: +420.602.775 044,
e-mail: tomas.tetiva@cz.greenpeace.org
Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace campaign director in the Czech Republic [English, German], mobile: +420.603.569243

http://www.greenpeace.cz/agentorange/index_en.htm


NOTES FOR THE EDITOR:
(1) Ekosystem: Stavby - sanace staré amalgamové elektrolýzy, dokumentace vlivů na životní prostředí (EIA documentation for the sanatation of old amalgam electrolysis buildings), Praha 2001.

(2) Bencko V., Cikrt M., Lener J.: Toxické kovy v životním a pracovním prostředí člověka (Toxic metals in environmental and occupational health), Grada, Praha 1996

(3) Sächische Zeitung, 9 March 2002, "Die vergessene Chemieruine" (the forgotten chemical ruin)

(4) Czech Environment Minister Kuzvart estimated the costs for the liquidation of the dioxin contamination in Spolana on 2,75 Billion Czech Crowns (90 Million EURO). The decontamination of mercury was estimated by EKOSYSTEM on 0,5 to 1,5 Billion Czech Crowns (20 to 50 Million EURO). Spolana will not pay the decontamination, but the Czech State Property Fund has to cover the costs from the revenues of privatisation of state property.