DETOXIFYING
TERRORISM
The Bio-Chemical
Threat That Doesn't Make Headlines
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Subject: The search for safe alternatives................
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 09:54:11 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of
California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker,
I thought you might like to read the following article:
DETOXIFYING TERRORISM The Bio-Chemical Threat That Doesn't
Make Headlines
Anne Platt McGinn is a Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch
Institute, a Washington DC-based environmental research organization. She is the
author of Why Poison Ourselves? A Precautionary Approach to Hazardous Chemicals.
Heightened national security concerns have renewed interest
in our vulnerability to toxic chemicals, a health threat Americans have faced
for decades. In the United States, around 850,000 industrial facilities
routinely use hazardous and extremely hazardous chemicals, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, creating a plethora of health and environmental
problems even when the facilities are working normally.
Post September 11, these facilities are potential sitting
ducks for terrorists. Bombing any one of them could disrupt local and national
economies, cripple public safety, and spew untold amounts of poisonous chemicals
into the environment.
Our exposure to potential terrorist attacks on chemical
facilities is alarming. But even without any new acts of terrorism, these
facilities are already systematically damaging people's health and well-being.
In 1999, the latest year for which there are complete figures, the EPA reports
that during production and disposal U.S. industrial facilities released 7.7
billion pounds of toxic chemicals into the air and water.
And this total is far from complete: Only large
manufacturers are required to report to EPA; the current list of 650 chemicals
does not cover all toxic chemicals or sources; and releases during routine
consumer use are not included.
Moreover, many of these compounds interfere with the normal
biological functioning of species in ways we have only begun to identify, let
alone fully comprehend. We have no basic health and environmental data for 71
percent of the most widely used chemicals in the United States today.
In addition, every year, thousands of workers die in
industrial accidents caused by toxics. Between 1987 and 1996, more than 2,500
people were killed each year in chemical accidents at industrial plants or
during transport, according to the U.S. Chemical Health and Safety Investigation
Board.
In the aftermath of September 11, many of these chemical
facilities are now under heightened security, as are the nation's transportation
systems, military sites, and government properties. Better security is
necessary, but in the long-term, our strategy should be to minimize our use of
toxic chemicals altogether, and the sooner the better.
In Brussels on November 15, 2001 the European Parliament
took groundbreaking steps to overhaul EU policy on the health effects of
chemicals. The move would replace hazardous substances with safer alternatives
by 2020, label consumer products containing toxics, lower the exposure
thresholds to protect the young, and subject high-volume chemicals to greater
health scrutiny.
In contrast, while the U.S. Congress has passed similar
legislation to address pesticide threats, it has dragged its feet on the larger
issue of chemical safety.
Innovative companies, business leaders, and public
authorities worldwide have proven that many toxic chemicals are simply
unnecessary, and that phasing them out with safer substitutes or with redesigned
industrial processes saves money, is healthier for workers and the public, and
reduces potential domestic targets.
Companies from IBM to Motorola have significantly reduced
their use of chlorinated solvents in cleaning operations, turning to water-based
washes instead. Toy manufacturers have phased out PVC plastic to protect
children from absorbing harmful chemical additives known as phthalates. The
American Hospital Association has pledged to eliminate all mercury-containing
wastes by 2005. Burning these wastes releases potent toxins that damage the
nervous system.
In a more systematic approach, Massachusetts passed a law
in 1989 requiring manufacturers to examine their use of toxic chemicals and
prepare reports on alternatives. Although the law says nothing about adopting
these alternatives, some 80 percent of companies followed their own advice and
reduced toxic inputs by 24 percent, while increasing production at the same
time. There is also a booming business in reducing toxicity by producing goods
entirely from renewable resources, rather than the current mix of toxic inputs.
In the United States, million tons of industrial and
consumer materials --including paints, plastics, and detergents -- are now
produced from crops, rather than chemicals. Bio-based products now account for
more than 30 percent of the U.S. market in adhesives, surface cleaning agents,
and additives in plastics. Last year, Dow Chemical and Cargill (an international
food and agricultural company) broke ground on the world's first manufacturing
facility that will make plastic from corn sugar, rather than petroleum.
Since September 11th, there have been many suggestions
about how to make the country less vulnerable to terrorism. At the very least,
funding the research and development of safer alternatives and cleaner
manufacturing processes should be an integral part of any plan to reduce our
vulnerability to terrorism.
Originally
published at: http://www.tompaine.com/history/2001/11/28/index.html
© 1999-2001 The Florence Fund
Well Mr. Helliker, What
"no one" realizes is even when there are many safe and far more
effective alternatives, none of them can or will ever be used unless and/or
until you "regulators" actually allow their "legal" use.
Respectfully,
Stephen L. Tvedten
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