Last month, when news outlets around the country covered our press event revealing toxic phthalates in children’s Back To School supplies, we were proud of the work we’d done. Tens of thousands of Americans had been educated about how to avoid real risks to their children’s health.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Abandoned trailer, Mississippi River, Near Dow Chemical Plant, Plaquemine, LA, 1998. From Petrochemical America, photographs by Richard Misrach, Ecological Atlas by Kate Orff (Aperture 2012).
But as so often happens, absent from the coverage were the stories of the people who live near the chemical plants that produce the vinyl, whose land, air, and water has been harmed for decades by some of the most profitable companies in the world.
This month, CHEJ is proud to help present those stories in a way they have never been presented before.
Petrochemical America: Picturing Cancer Alley is a groundbreaking new collaboration by photographer Richard Misrach and landscape architect Kate Orff, debuting at Aperture Gallery and Bookstore in NYC tonight. Through haunting photographs and innovative composite images employing ecological and sociological data, gathered over the course of 14 years on the banks of the Mississippi river in Louisiana, the book and gallery exhibition provide a moving and deeply informed portrait of the American “sacrifice zones” upon which our use of plastics, oil, and gas depends. Read more about Plaquemine, LA, pictured above.
For those in New York City, we invite you to attend two free, upcoming gallery events:
Tuesday, Sept. 25th, at 6:30pm:A panel discussion with our own Mike Schade, joined by Ms. Orff and Wilma Subra of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network.
Tuesday, Oct. 2nd, at 6:30 pm:A talk and screening of the excellent and darkly comic film Blue Vinyl, with author David Rosner and landscape designer Gena Wirth.
Both events are free and include access to the exhibit. They will take place at Aperture Gallery and Bookstore, 547 West 27th Street, New York, NY.
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Human mismanagement is turning lush cypress trees into ghostly poles, jeopardizing Louisiana’s bayou ecologies, local economies, and cultures. Requiem for a Bayou. From Petrochemical America, photographs by Richard Misrach, Ecological Atlas by Kate Orff (Aperture 2012).
For our supporters around the country, we encourage you to explore the content of the book and consider purchasing a copy. Aperture Foundation is nonprofit, and book sales help sustain its exhibitions, books, and magazine.
As we continue to advocate in New York City to get PVC out of new construction, renovation, and school supplies in our public schools, projects like Petrochemical America help us and our supporters keep in mind the full scale of what’s at stake in shifting to a safer, more sane, and more just material economy.
I have asthma. Just like millions of other Americans.
That’s why I was upset when only a week after we released our new report that found high levels of phthalates in children’s vinyl back-to-school supplies, researchers at Columbia University published a major new study linking phthalates to asthma in NYC children.
“While many factors contribute to childhood asthma, our study shows that exposure to phthalates may play a significant role,” says Allan Just, PhD, first author on the new Center study and current postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Phthalates are chemicals used to soften vinyl plastic, chemicals manufactured by big corporations like Exxon Mobil.
Phthalates in Harlem and Bronx children.
In the study, researchers found phthalates in the bodies of every single one of the 244 school-aged children in the study, ages 5 to 9. Every single one! Do you believe that?!
Higher levels of two different phthalates were associated with higher levels of nitric oxide in exhaled breath, which apparently is a biological marker of airway inflammation. They also found phthalate exposure and airway inflammation was especially strong among children who had recently reported wheeze, a common symptom of asthma.
One of the phthalates they investigated, butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP), is commonly used to soften vinyl flooring in NYC schools and others across the country.
A study published in 2009 found a statistically significant link between PVC flooring and asthma.
A 2008 study found an association between concentrations of phthalates in indoor dust and wheezing among preschool children. The presence of PVC flooring in the child’s bedroom was the strongest predictor of respiratory ailments.
A study of 10,851 children found the presence of floor moisture and PVC significantly increased the risk of asthma.
A study of adults working in rooms with plastic wall covering materials were more than twice as likely to develop asthma.
In the last decade, the proportion of people with asthma in the United States grew by nearly 15%.
Today, one out of every 11 school-age children has asthma. In fact, asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism: 10.5 million school days are missed each year due to asthma. About 9 people die from asthma each day.
Additionally, asthma costs the United States $56 billion each year. That’s right. 56 B-I-L-L-I-O-N.
What can we do?
We know phthalates have been linked to asthma, not to mention many other health problems. We know there are safer alternatives. We don’t need to use vinyl school supplies, flooring and other products in our schools in the first place. Why take an unnecessary risk with children’s health?
Chemicals that have been linked to asthma have no place in our children’s schools.
Getting these harmful chemicals out of our schools is a common sense precautionary solution.
Two great new pieces of activist reporting came out last week, and both dovetail perfectly with our work to get PVC, the poison plastic (a k a vinyl), out of NYC schools. Check them out!
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]More than half of the United States is currently in drought
“Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math,” a feature article in Rolling Stone by Bill McKibben, lays out three numbers that may well define the future of our planet: how much warmer we can “safely” allow the climate to get; how much carbon we can burn without going over; and how much carbon is currently planning to be burned by the oil and gas industry. (Hint: that last one is about five times larger than the second one.)
McKibben’s frightening conclusion is that unless the international community (i.e. we) demands that Exxon, Chesapeake, and the other oil, gas, and coal giants keep about 80% of their current reserves in the ground, unused, uncontrollable climate destabilization is inevitable. Problem is, that would mean about $20 trillion in losses for these companies, giving them roughly unlimited financial (if not human) incentive to block legislation forcing them to do it.
In short, we have our work cut out for us. Enter the latest installment from Story of Stuff Project:
The animated web-comic “The Story of Change” by Annie Leonard and her team takes viewers through a six-and-a-half minute tour of how citizens can bring about the environmentally sustainable, people-centered, non-toxic, socially equitable economy that we want.
Her prescription? [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Big idea] + [people] + [action] = CHANGE. It’s a convincing argument, and one that we’ll need to take to heart if we’re going to keep the fossil fuel industry’s equation from stealing the future.
So what’s the connection to PVC-free schools for New York City?
Dow Chemicals Vinyl Plant in Freeport, TX.Photo: Greenpeace USA 2011
First, it can save energy.
The vinyl 3-ring binders, floor tiles, and examination gloves found throughout the NYC school system don’t just release harmful toxins into the air. They also take enormous amounts of energy to produce. PVC plastic is made up of about 40% chlorine, and chlorine production is one of the most energy intensive (not to mention dangerous) industrial processes in the world. According to Joe Thornton, PhD, of the Healthy Building Network, “Chlorine production for PVC consumes an estimated 47 billion kilowatt hours per year — equivalent to the annual total output of eight medium-sized nuclear power plants.”
By spending its multi-million dollar purchasing budget on safer, cost-effective alternatives to PVC, the NYC school system can better protect its students, teachers, and staff, and help drive producers away from this costly, energy-intensive material.
Second, we’re using a big idea, building people power, and taking action!
We’re bringing together parents, teachers, students, doctors, environmental justice activists, labor unions, and more to stand behind a clear message: PVC is the wrong choice for NYC school supplies and construction materials. Click here to join the effort!
A brand new report by the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse has documented elevated levels of toxic cadmium and lead in PVC packaging sold by dollar-store discount retailers. They found that:
This is the symbol of PVC packaging. Just remember Bad News Comes in 3’s – Don’t Buy PVC!
“Almost 40 percent of imported PVC packaging of products tested, sold by discount retail chains, was found to violate state toxics laws… These packages contained cadmium or lead, which are restricted by laws in 19 states due to toxicity.” – TPCH press release
“Packaging in violation of state laws is likely not one-time sourcing or production mistakes, but rather appears pervasive in imported PVC packaging,” – Kathleen Hennings of Iowa Department of Natural Resources.”
PVC packaging violates laws in 19 states.
No less than nineteen states have laws that prohibit the sale or distribution of packaging containing intentionally added cadmium, lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, and set limits on the incidental concentration of these materials in packaging. The purpose? To prevent the use of toxic heavy metals in packaging materials that enter landfills, incinerators, recycling streams, and ultimately, the environment. The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse has been working to implement and enforce these laws.
In their latest report released this past Friday, a total of 61 flexible PVC packaging samples were screened using XRF technology. 39% of the packaging samples failed the screening test for cadmium and in one instance, also for lead. All the failed packaging samples were imported, mostly from China.
Packaging that failed the screening tests was used for children’s products, pet supplies, personal care, household items, home furnishings, hardware, and apparel. The products were purchased at eight retail chains across America. Six of the eight retail chains operate at least 500 locations each across 35 or more states.
Not the first time PVC packaging contaminated with toxic metals
This isn’t the first time the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse has documented PVC packaging laden with toxic heavy metals. In 2007, they published a report which found sixty-one percent of the PVC packages tested were not in compliance with state laws due to the use of cadmium and/or lead. In 2009 they published a follow up report which found that all packaging samples failing for cadmium content were flexible PVC, and over 90 percent of these were imported.
Other studies have documented other chemicals of concern in PVC packaging, including phthalates, organotins, bisphenol A (BPA), and adipates. Unfortunately, these were not tested for in the brand new study, and are also likely lurking in PVC packaging at retailers.
Is cadmium the new lead?
In recent years, the vinyl chemical industry has been moving away from lead as a stabilizer, but apparently has been replacing lead with cadmium and organotins.
There’s a body of evidence that cadmium may be the new lead. Like lead, cadmium has been linked to learning problems in school children, which are on the rise. A recent study by researchers from Harvard found children with higher cadmium levels are three times more likely to have learning disabilities and participate in special education.
Our friends at SAFER have compiled lots of great information on cadmium, including a summary of cadmium’s health concerns.
Just Remember – Bad News Comes in 3’s, Don’t Buy PVC
Thankfully, it’s not too hard for consumers to identify and avoid PVC/vinyl packaging, to help reduce your exposure to cadmium and the other toxic additives commonly found in vinyl.
One way to be sure if the packaging of a product is made from PVC is to look for the number “3” inside or the letter “V” underneath the universal recycling symbol. If it is, that means it’s made out of the poison plastic. That’s why we say Bad News Comes in 3’s – Don’t Buy PVC!
Not sure? Call the manufacturer or retailer and ask them directly.
Have some PVC packaging? Return it to the manufacturer or retailer and demand they go PVC-free!
In a pair of troubling scientific announcements this week, researchers presented findings suggesting that exposure to phthalates – the common, unlabeled chemical additives found in a wide range of consumer products, including many made of PVC/vinyl – may be linked to eczema and obesity in children. Previous studies have associated phthalate exposure with endocrine disruption and asthma,early puberty in girls, and learning disabilities.
The findings underscore the need to phase phthalates out of consumer products and construction materials like vinyl flooring, especially in schools, where they pose a particular threat to children and teachers of childbearing age. CHEJ’s annual Back to School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies outlines ways parents can choose safer alternatives for their children.
The obesity study, presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Houston by South Korean pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Mi-Jung Par, found that children with the highest levels of the common phthalate di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in their blood were nearly five times as likely to be obese as children with the lowest levels.
The eczema study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives by researchers from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health in New York, found that prenatal exposure to the phthalate butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP) – commonly found in vinyl flooring – can increase a child’s risk of developing eczema, a skin condition characterized by red, itchy swelling of the skin. This comes at a time when another study found the very same phthalate can be absorbed into children’s bodies.
The evidence is overwhelming that reducing phthalate exposure, especially among children and womenof child-bearing age, is smart public-health policy and follows the precautionary principle. Click here to learn more about CHEJ’s work to phase PVC, in which over 90% of all phthalates are used, out of the NYC school system.
Mr. Mouton was an inspiration to me as a fighter for environmental justice.
A lifelong resident of Mossville, Louisiana, Mr. Mouton fought passionately and diligently against the PVC plastics and petrochemical industry in his community, which has been spewing poisonous chemicals into the air and water of his community. Cancer-causing chemicals like dioxin and vinyl chloride.
Words of an environmental justice hero.
Mr. Mouton was humble yet extremely persistent. He fought for his community for many, many years. He was outraged by the dioxin and vinyl chloride pollution that was getting into residents’ yards, chickens, homes, and their bodies. Portions of the community were relocated and demolished due to groundwater contamination from a nearby PVC plant.
He wouldn’t let them get away with this.
In 2000, Mr. Mouton and other leaders from Mossville traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to testify at a US EPA National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) meeting. At that meeting, he said:
“As I grew up in Mossville, I remember when the plants were built as a child. My father helped build a lot of those plants. It is terrible. We had beautiful green woods around us and we did all the fishing that we ever wanted. But they did not care anything about that. And that is the same thing today.
“People are sick and dying in our community because of the high levels of dioxins found in our blood…We have a lot of people sick. There’s a lot of people with some type of illness, lungs, or some with cancer that I know of. There’s a lot of sick people there that thedoctors don’t know what’s wrong with them.”
“They seem continually to stall, for some reason or another. They give us the impression that we do not know what our needs and wants are. They want to run the show; they want to take control.”
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Mr. Mouton leading us on a toxic tour. Photo: Jay Burney
I met Mr. Mouton back in 2004 when PVC manufacturer CertainTeed was proposing to build a PVC plant on the Lake Erie waterfront in Buffalo, NY where I lived. We knew CertainTeed’s primary PVC plant was just outside Mossville, and that’s how I had the pleasure of working with and meeting Mr. Mouton.
I led a delegation of environmental health activists to travel from Buffalo to Mossville, to bear witness to the pollution the PVC plastics industry was leveling on this historic African American community. Mr. Mouton and other leaders of MEAN welcomed us into their community with open arms, introducing us to families, taking us on toxic tours, holding a joint press conference, and even throwing down with us at a crawfish boil. You can read about the trip in this newsletter article I wrote back in 2004 (see page 8).
I’ll never forget that trip visiting Mr. Mouton, Mossville and the Lake Charles area. It stays with me every day.
Broken promises, and the struggle continues.
“Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.” – Mother Jones
I’ve always been inspired by these words of Mother Jones. And I like to think that Mr. Mouton would agree. He’d want to see the struggle continue, until justice is served.
“We’re being hit from the north, south, east, and west. Every time the wind changes, we get a lungful of pollution from some other plant. These chemicals end up in our water, our gardens, our children’s bodies. Each day we hear about someone in our community being diagnosed with cancer or another illness. We’re taking legal action so that we might live to see some improvements for ourselves and our community.” – Mr. Mouton, former President of Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN)
Over the past decade, MEAN, Earthjustice and other groups have taken EPA to court numerous times, and won! As a result of their work, the EPA agreed and promised to clamp down on pollution from PVC chemical plants like CertainTeed in Mossville.
Unfortunately, the EPA has now broken their promises to this community, which flies in the face of the EPA’s commitment to environmental justice. The EPA has set stronger emission standards for PVC plants in other communities, but weaker ones in Mossville, home to more than PVC plants than anywhere else in the country!
That’s why this week, MEAN, Earthjustice, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and other groups are fighting back once again. They’ve filed a petition and lawsuit demanding EPA reduce toxic pollution from the CertainTeed plant.
“After years of work to obtain the stronger air protection we need in Mossville, Louisiana, it was a shock to our community when EPA suddenly changed course and singled us out for weaker standards as compared to the rest of the nation. EPA should stay true to its commitment to environmental justice and correct this unfairness by setting stronger air pollution limits that will protect our health as we and all Americans deserve.”- Dorothy Felix, President of Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN)
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson owes this community justice. She owes it to Mr. Mouton’s family.
RIP Mr. Mouton. We will miss and never forget you. The struggle continues.
The future of our country will be the hands of our children. But what does that mean? We can raise our children with values and ethics and teach the basic lessons of life, encourage learning and education. Yet our children and our future children are at risk of not being able to lead our country. Our children risk not being able to succeed in business, in society because of the environmental chemicals that they are exposed to every single day. Chemicals are leaching from the floors that they crawl on as infants, beds that they sleep on nightly or the toys they play with and put into their mouths, all release dangerous chemicals. What will their future be like? How can our country grow and prosper or compete in the global economy?
Recently the Center for Disease our federal health agency reported that 1 out of every 88 American children is affected by autism. That is a 78% increase in autism since 2002 and 23% increase since 2006. As if that is not bad enough, the agency also reports that 14% of American children are affected by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Of course not all of these problems are the result of chemicals in a child’s environment but a good percentage are. Looking at the chemicals that are in every day products, ones that are linked to these particular diseases, it is clear society can prevent the harming of children. PCBs, for example are fond in our environment, in lighting and windows of schools built before 1980. Lead is found in toys imported from other countries; paint in older building, homes, play grounds and around various industrial sites. Brominated flame retardants are in mattresses, pillows, clothing and all types of furniture. Also there are Endocrine disruptors like phthalates found in PVC products that are all around us in flooring, toys, pipes, shower curtains and binds.
Not a single one of these chemicals in products are necessary for life or for comfort. Every one of them can be taken out of children’s environment today. We know how, and we know where to find and remove these threats. We are just lacking the political will.
Our politicians need to stop the madness and find the conviction and courage to stand up to Corporate America and say no more . . .”Our children will no longer be sacrificed.”
If I as a parent deliberately, knowing harmed my child I would go to jail, yet in America corporations are above the law and spend huge amount of money to keep their unsafe product from being eliminated in our marketplace and environment.
Just look at the statistics above or the rising cancer incidence in children across the country. This is an election year where we have a chance to ask the hard questions and vote out of office those that intend to harm our children to protect corporate interests. Everyone needs to get involved, today, so that we together can reverse the trend and protect our futures. For more information
Our fight for PVC-free schools is picking up momentum. This April, PVC-free school policies were endorsed by one of the nation’s largest educational labor federations: NYSUT, the New York State United Teachers, representing more than 600,000 employees and retirees from New York State schools, colleges, and healthcare facilities.
At their 40th annual representative assembly, NYSUT endorsed a proclamation titled, “Reducing & Phasing Out the Purchase of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plastic in New York Schools”. Recognizing the serious harm posed by vinyl chemicals like dioxin and phthalates, especially to school-aged children and women of childbearing age, NYSUT’s members added their support to the growing movement for PVC-free schools.
CHEJ would like to thank NYSUT’s membership – the teachers, college and university faculty and staff, bus drivers, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria workers, teacher assistants, nurses, healthcare technicians – for their progressive vision and activism on behalf of New York’s students, teachers, and staff.
“RESOLVED, that NYSUT urges school districts in New York state and the State Education Department to develop new green procurement policies to reduce and phase out the use and purchase of PVC building materials, office supplies and school supplies; and be it further
RESOLVED, that NYSUT support efforts to have school districts in New York state and the State Education Department implement cost-effective strategies to reduce and phase out PVC in building materials, office supplies and school supplies and should encourage suppliers and vendors to reduce or eliminate their use of PVC in product and packaging; and be it further
RESOLVED, that NYSUT urges New York state schools to educate the public about dangers of PVC and their strategies for phasing it out; and be it further
RESOLVED, that NYSUT urges state and federal governments, in enacting such phase-outs, to consider policies that alleviate short-term economic impacts on the PVC production workforce, and to also consider economic benefits to workers in industries making safer alternatives.”
Help us continue the momentum!
If you belong to a PTA, union, or other organization that might be interested in enacting a similar resolution, please contact CHEJ’s NYC Green Schools organizer, Daniel Gradess: DGradess[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][at]CHEJ[dot]org / 646-678-3993
An explosion and raging fire at the Westlake PVC plant rocked Geismar, Louisiana a few weeks ago, sending a billowing cloud of toxic vinyl
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Photo of Westlake PVC chemical plant after it exploded and caught on fire, releasing vinyl chloride and other toxic pollutants into the community.
chloride and hydrochloric acid through the community. The accident forced area residents and plant workers to shelter in place for several hours, shut roads, and even led to the closure of a 45-mile section of the Mississippi River.
The accident took place just one week before the Vinyl Institute was in NYC arguing PVC was perfectly safe. For some reason, they forgot to mention in their testimony that one of their plants had just exploded.
Westlake Vinyls makes 550 million pounds of vinyl chloride monomer and 60 million pounds of PVC a year. The company reports this is used to make PVC pipe, pipe fittings, vinyl sidings, bottles, flexible and rigid film and sheeting used for packaging, credit cards and wall coverings.
Check out this local TV news report (and see another at the bottom) on the accident:
“Even after the fire was out, a large white cloud could be seen still billowing from the plant.”
According to Westlake own reports to the EPA, its plant puts 589,558 people at risk due to the bulk use and storage of chlorine. An accident involving this chemical could potentially impact an area up to 25.00 miles downwind of the plant.
A History of Environmental Injustice
Low income and communities of color live downwind of the Westlake PVC plant. According to census data, 52.83% of people living within 3 miles of the facility are people of color. 445 people that live within 3 miles of the plant are below the poverty level.
This isn’t first time the plant has had an accident in recent years. On July 8 2010, over 900 pounds of vinyl chloride as well as other chemicals were released during another accident.
A number of other significant incidents and violations that have taken place at this location over the past twenty years, particularly when it was owned operated by Borden Chemicals and Plastics. This has been well documented in theUnited Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice report, From plantations to plants: Report of the Emergency National Commission of Environmental and Economic Justice in St. James Parish, Louisiana, which found:
“In March 1998, Borden Chemicals and Plastics and the federal government reached a settlement under which Borden would pay a $3.6 million penalty and clean up groundwater pollution at its plant in Geismar. The fine was described by a U.S. Attorney as “the largest ever for hazardous-waste law violations in Louisiana.” The settlement ended a case in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claimed Borden failed to investigate and clean up contamination at its site, failed to report toxic spills, and ran an incinerator without the proper license. Borden said in a news release that the penalty is “less than 1 percent of the $800 million judgment sought by the government.”
On December 24, 1997, a 500,000-gallon storage tank at Borden Chemicals & Plastics in Ascension Parish, Louisiana blew off its top “with a detonation heard for miles around, forcing the closure of Louisiana Route 1 and the voluntary evacuation of some neighbors.” Over a year before (August 22, 1996), equipment failure during the restart of Borden’s facility caused 8,000 pounds of “hazardous materials” to be released.”
In addition, Borden was charged in 1994 with shipping over 300, 000 pounds of hazardous waste to South Africa without notifying the US EPA, as required by law.
The Borden-Westlake-Formosa-Explosion Connection
The Westlake plant that exploded used to be operated by Borden. Borden also used to operate a chemical plant in Illiopolis, IL which was later taken over by Formosa Plastics. Interestingly, there was also a major chemical explosion and fire at this plant in Illiopolis a few years ago, which acclaimed author Sandra Steingraber has written about.
This explosion sent a plume of toxic smoke for miles around surrounding communities. Five workers were killed, four towns were evacuated, several highways closed, a no-fly zone declared, and three hundred firefighters from twenty-seven surrounding communities battled the flames for three days.
Did the Westlake Plant Release Deadly Dioxin?
Perhaps even more importantly, we’re very concerned that the fire and explosion sent a plume of toxic dioxin into communities and waterbodies downwind and downstream. Given that large quantities of highly toxic chlorinated chemicals burned for numerous hours, under uncontrolled conditions, you can bet dioxins and furans were released.
The question is – will EPA and the state DEQ launch an investigation?
Will they sample communities downwind for dioxin contamination?
As we ponder that, here’s another video on the accident:
When we read the standard above, we knew that we had a lot of work ahead of us. To the public, the standard would seem like a positive environmental step, eliminating the purchase of chlorinated paper that produces toxic chemicals when burned. To CHEJ and our allies, it meant that more than seven years of work to phase polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic out of NYC purchasing was in danger of being thrown under the bus. So once again, on March 29th, we rallied the troops, this time for a public hearing before the Bloomberg Administration.
Greening the Big Apple
NYC agencies spend billions of dollars a year on goods, construction and services, which can have a huge impact on the environment. In 2005, CHEJ worked closely with members of the NYC City Council to help pass the “Environmentally Preferable Purchasing” (EPP) laws, which set standards for energy and water efficiency, “green” cleaning products, and recycled content in goods and construction materials bought by City agencies. Importantly, the laws also addressed hazardous substances associated with products purchased by the City, including a requirement that:
“By January 1, 2008, the director shall promulgate rules to reduce the City’s purchase or lease of materials whose combustion may lead to the formation of dioxin or dioxin-like compounds.”
Dioxins, some of the most toxic chemicals on the planet, are associated with birth defects, developmental disorders, and cancer. They’re formed primarily when materials like PVC plastic containing chlorine are burned.
Chlorine, PVC and Dioxin – the Connection
As one of the largest sources of dioxin in the world, PVC consumes about 40% of all the chlorine produced worldwide. The plastic itself, which is found in many products purchased by City agencies, including flooring, siding, office supplies, carpeting, and electronics, contains and releases chemicals associated with asthma, learning disabilities, and other chronic diseases on the rise. When PVC burns in building fires it turns into hydrochloric acid, and has been linked to respiratory problems and cancer risks for first responders. The City Council legislators who drafted the dioxin provisions of the EPP laws did so with the intention of phasing PVC products out of City purchasing, as documented in the voting report discussing the legislation.
NYC: A Huge Opportunity
By January 1st, 2008, the City had missed their deadline for producing the dioxin-reduction rules.
In response to the missed deadline, we wrote letters to the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) signed by over 20 diverse organizations and experts, calling for the dioxin rules to be released, and for green purchasing provisions to address PVC. We called, emailed, and met with officials; more recently we gave testimony at a City Council oversight hearing. We made clear that safer and cost effective PVC-free alternatives are readily available on the market, and that companies such as Google, Apple, Target, Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft all have policies to reduce or phase out the purchase of PVC.
Over four years late, in February of 2012, MOCS finally issued the draft rules, and announced a 30-day public comment period, culminating in a public hearing on March 29, 2012. We at CHEJ read the dioxin provision with great disappointment:
MOCS was trying to meet the dioxin requirements solely by reducing the chlorine content of their paper products, ignoring PVC entirely.
On the positive side, while the proposed purchasing regulations did not address PVC, we learned that the City has already begun to make progress in reducing NYC’s purchase of PVC products. The City is working with Staples, NYC’s sole office supply vendor, to identify and purchase PVC-free office supplies. It has issued bids for a large new citywide carpeting contract that requires all carpeting to be completely PVC-free. And City purchasers are already selecting computers off of State contracts that have PVC-free requirements.
These are positive steps, and they should be codified in the proposed regulations. Including PVC in the rules themselves would not only meet the documented intent of the law, it would also ensure that future mayoral administrations will be bound by the same rules, and make NYC a national leader in safe, green purchasing.
Firefighters, Teachers, Doctors Speak Out
During the 30-day public comment period and at the March 29th hearing, CHEJ and more than 35 organizations and experts submitted testimony, including environmental health and justice groups, experts in children’s health and brain development, teachers and firefighters unions, and green businesspeople and architects. 100 citizen activists signed a letter, and City Councilman Robert Jackson sent a letter of support. Below are some key quotations from the hearing, and you can find more in the press release.
Captain Alexander Hagan, President of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA), said, “Fire Officers take an oath to ‘protect the lives and property of the citizens of New York City’ and there is an ongoing interest to the public if laws regarding the purchasing and use of PVC products by the City are not being complied with. PVC is among the most serious dangers to humans and the environment when it is burned. … From a fire perspective, we urge compliance of the City to ensure an environmentally friendly purchasing process.”
Stephen Boese, Executive Director of the Learning Disabilities Association of New York State, said, “As advocates for persons with learning disabilities and related impairments, the Learning Disabilities Association of New York State supports initiatives that prevent disability. We therefore urge that the City of New York assure that its purchasing policies exclude products with harmful plastics like PVC that release dioxin, wherever feasible, and protect the health and well-being of City workers, those in the care of City programs, and all other City residents.”
If we succeed in getting PVC-reduction written into the rules, they will be among the first, if not the first, binding PVC-specific city-level purchasing regulations in the country, impacting the largest city in the United States, which spends approximately $17 billion annually on goods and services.
Let’s hope Mayor Bloomberg recognizes this opportunity to lead the country into a safer, greener future.
Contact Daniel at DGradess at a domain called chej dot org
