Greenpeace targets dioxin

By Graham Matthews At a meeting of the United Nations Environment Program in Washington DC on November 3, the Australian government endorsed a Global Plan of Action to address the problem of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the marine environment. Canberra claims that Australia has already phased out 10 of the 12 listed chemicals, with the remaining two due to be phased out over time. Among the most persistent and prevalent of the POPs is dioxin, a by-product of the manufacture of steel, chlorine and paper, from chlorine-based mills. Dioxin is also produced when some municipal and hazardous wastes are incinerated. Greenpeace Australia is demanding that the federal government phase out industrial processes that create dioxin. Ultimately this would mean a comprehensive substitution of chlorine in all industrial processes. The US Environment Protection Agency recently concluded a study that showed that dioxin is more toxic to humans than previously believed. Dioxin interferes with the biochemical messenger systems in animals and has also been linked with endometriosis and impaired liver functions in humans. Dioxins have also been cited as possible carcinogens. Despite this there are no uniform standards in Australia for controlling dioxin emissions. Greenpeace toxics campaigner, Matt Ruchel, told Green Left Weekly,"As a first step, the federal government must identify all the various sources of emission of dioxin". No such study has yet been undertaken. The federal government would then be obliged to develop emission standards. "Only a zero level of emissions could be considered safe", Ruchel concluded.