Politicical Context - Dioxin Survey

What the Government Must Do to Outlaw and Eliminate Dioxin
The government has signed an international treaty, the Stockholm Convention, which aims to eliminate dioxin. The NZ Government has proposed a law which will officially give the green light for incinerators to be built. Incinerators are the main source of dioxin in many countries.

To properly implement the Stockholm Convention this action plan must outlaw and eliminate dioxin and urgently address the needs of dioxin contaminated communities.

In a letter recently received from the Minister for the Environment, she states that the Action Plan will look at ways to feasibly reduce dioxin. Whilst this is a step in the right direction, any policy and action plan must have as its aim the outlawing and elimination of dioxin.

The objective of the Convention is to protect human health and the environment from deadly dioxin. The only way to do this is to outlaw and eliminate sources of dioxin. dioxin are caused by the use of chlorine in many chemical processes, dioxin contaminated chemicals such as 245-T, 24-D, and pentachlorophenol, and burning organic matter in the presence of chlorine.

Outlawing dioxin means banning any products or processes which are likely to emit dioxin into the enviornment. The only way to stop continued contamination of people and the environment is to ban the sources of dioxin, such as waste incinceration, the production and use of PVC (polyvinylchloride) plastic, chlorine bleaching pulp for paper. Dioxin contaminated sites, from the former use of contaminated chemicals such as 245-T and pentachlorophenol, are a large source of dioxin in New Zealaand. Contaminated sites must be cleaned up so that the dioxin are destroyed, not simply shifted from one place to another.

The government must identify sources of dioxin and systematically eliminate them.

People who have been contaminated with dioxin must have help from the government to address their health issues. Many New Zealand families are struggling with serious health problems because of exposure to dioxin. These people must not be left to struggle on their own, they must be acknowledged, given medical assistance and have their voices heard.

WHAT IS THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION?

Over 90 governments of the world have signed an historic treaty ("the Stockholm Convention") to ban 12 persistent organic pollutants (also known as the "dirty dozen"). The New Zealand government, in May 2001, signed the Stockholm Convention which aims to eliminate dioxin. At the final negotiating meeting of the Convention, the New Zealand government made a statement that it agreed with the ultimate aim to eliminate dioxin. A few other countries were attempting to weaken the language by inserting the words "where feasible". New Zealand did not agree with this. Unfortunately the words " where feasible" were included in the final text, however the ultimate aim remains to eliminate dioxin.

POPS: The Treaty
The Stockholm Convention provides a solid basis on which to work towards solving the problem of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It will require a radical change in chemical policy and industrial practices worldwide as it aims to;

+ Ban New POPs - prevent the manufacture and use of new chemicals that have POPs characteristics. This sends a clear message to the chemical industry that it can no longer use the environment and human health as a large-scale laboratory to test its chemicals.

+ Eliminate Existing POPs - eliminate all existing POPs starting with a list of the dirty dozen that have been targeted by the Stockholm Convention.

Other existing chemicals with POPs characteristics, such as brominated flame retardants, used in soft furnishings and electrical equipment, can be added to the treaty's elimination list, based on the precautionary approach. This recognises that lack of scientific certainty should not prevent action being taken to protect against harm. In the past, absolute scientific proof that a chemical causes harm to people and the environment has been required before the problem has been considered, by which point it is too late to prevent that harm from occurring. The burden of proof that a chemical is safe, must be with the producer of the chemical before it is released into the environment, products and communities.

The Dirty Dozen list includes:

1. Chemicals deliberately produced by industry:
eight pesticides: aldrin, endrin, toxaphene, chlordane, dieldrin, heptachol, mirex, DDT industrial chemicals: hexachlorobenzene, PCBs

The manufacture and use of most of the POPs pesticides has already been banned in most countries but stockpiles still exist and are causing problems to people exposed to them or who handle them improperly. Research into the location of all stockpiles of POPs pesticides worldwide will be required under the treaty and, crucially, methods of disposal must be agreed. The treaty recognises that waste incineration is a significant source of dioxin, furans, hexachlorobenzenes and PCBs. If the POPs stockpiles are incinerated, the contamination will not be destroyed but more POPs will be spread into the environment. The POPs treaty requires destruction of stockpiles that does not create POPs or cause POPs to persist.

Some countries will be permitted to continue using some of the above POPs for specific uses, such as DDT for malaria control. Yet such uses will be restricted and only permitted for a certain amount of time.

2. Chemicals released as unwanted industrial by-products
PCB's, hexachlorobenzenes, dioxin & furans

+ Materials substitution
All countries have agreed that, in order to work towards dioxin elimination, there is a need to replace all materials, products and production processes that release dioxin and replace them with substitutes that do not cause dioxin release. Each country will have to start by compiling inventories outlining which of their industries release dioxin. This will include all industrial sectors that use chlorine, such as the PVC plastics and pulp and paper bleaching industries. It will also include incineration plants that burn municipal, medical or hazardous wastes that contain chlorine.

+ Financial Assistance for POPs Elimination:
An agreement has been reached that developing countries and countries in economic transition will receive financial and technical assistance from richer nations to clean up POPs contamination and to reform industry to ban POPs. Greenpeace supports this provision and stresses that countries that developed the technologies and manufactured the chemicals that caused the POPs problem should pay their share in solving it.

Conclusion:
Greenpeace supports the Stockholm Convention and considers that it provides a solid basis on which to work towards the elimination of POPs. Yet it stresses that treaties are not solutions in themselves as words alone are not enough to clean the environment. They are only effective if governments turn them into concrete actions and implement industrial and real regulatory change based upon the precautionary principle.

Greenpeace also stresses the urgent need for immediate action to eliminate POPs. The Stockholm Convention must be ratified by 50 countries to enter into legal force. This may take at least three years during which time the burden of POPs will continue to increase in the global environment unless action is taken.