Press release

25/2002

SPOLANA ADMITS SERIOUSNESS OF PROBLEMS WITH DIOXINS AND MERCURY AND ANNOUNCES MEASURES

Prague, 28 May 2002 - Spolana management yesterday publicly admitted the by Greenpeace indicated problems with toxic contamination of its plant. According to a press release on 27 May 2002 the firm will finish the largest part of preventing its dioxin polluted buildings releasing dioxin into the surroundings and promised anti-flooding measures in the form of a dike around a mercury polluted area (1). With this, Spolana basically confirmed Greenpeace's allegations.

"We take this as a positive turn in the attitude of Spolana. The anti-flood measures will clearly lower the risk of pollution of the Elbe River. According to measurements of Spolana the dioxin levels in the air have fallen with a factor three hundred," said Greenpeace toxics expert Dr. Miroslav Suta. "Nevertheless, the Greenpeace campaign is not ended yet. The roof of one of the dioxin-contaminated buildings is still in a catastrophical state. Besides that, the long term goal of Greenpeace is nothing less than a complete and safe decontamination of the whole toxic polluted site," declared Suta (2).

Greenpeace follows the toxic pollution problems in Spolana systematically since the spring of 2001 (3). Although it is one of the most contaminated places in the world, Spolana until now refused to give the public access to information on the seriousness of the contamination and the risks for public health and the environment.
Greenpeace nevertheless got its hands on copies of documents that draw the attention to the enormous and acute risks involved.

"According to analyses of Spolana itself, there are still hundreds of tons of mercury and extremely high concentrations of dioxins. Also the soil around the contaminated buildings contain 1500 times more dioxins than the valid limit for toxic waste. The concentrations of toxic substances in groundwater and buildings is 4200 times larger than the limits valid in the Czech Republic," said Suta (4).

Spolana Neratovice produces chlorine products and is the monopoly producer of PVC in the Czech Republic, responsible for many releases of toxic substances into the environment. The production of chlorine and chloro-organic substances contaminated the Spolana site with dioxins, mercury and many other dangerous pollutants (5). Greenpeace campaigns since spring 2001 to force Spolana to secure the contaminated buildings and sites and carry out the least dangerous form of decontamination.

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) The Spolana press release of 27 May 2002 says: "Against the release of dioxins into the air all windows have been secured". Furthermore Spolana promised to make an anti-flood wall of 70 cm with sand bags around the mercury-polluted site.

(2) The Spolana press release of 27 May 2002 says, that 30 meters from the contaminated building A 1420 measurements in March 2002 showed a dioxin concentration of 180 fg TEQ/m3. In September 2000 values around the same building were still 51.900 fg TEQ/m3, around 280 times higher. Values around building A 1030, that has a collapsed roof, were in September 2000 29.600 fg TEQ/m3. Spolana has published no new results on this building.

(3) Press Release Greenpeace 5 May 2001: Greenpeace demands liquidation of dioxin "Tchernobyl" at Spolana Neratovice, http://www.greenpeace.cz/release/01/010504.htm

(4) Aquatest: Spolana a.s. Neratovice - Kontaminace objektu A 1420 a A 1030 dioxiny - Analýza rizika - záverecná zpráva, leden 2001 (Contamintion of the buildings A 1420 and A 1030 with dioxins - risk analysis - final report, january 2001)

(5) The dioxin contamination at Spolana Neratovice originates from the years 1965 to 1968, when the company produced the chloride herbicide 2,4,5-T. In combination with the substance 2,4-D it is known as Agent Orange, which was used by the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Spolana needed to stop production in 1968 because around 80 employees showed heavy health problems. The primary source of these problems appeared to be dioxins, which are produced as by-product in the production of chlorinated herbicides.