ROTTERDAM — Greenpeace has found alarmingly high levels of a highly toxic organochlorine chemical in sediments along the eastern edge of the North Sea in the Wadden See, the environmental group said on May 15.
The chemicals, chlorinated paraffins, have never been measured before in the Wadden See. They were found in sediments from Rotterdam at the mouth of the River Rhine and in mud flats from the Wadden See at Kaiser Wilhelm and Den Helder. Contaminated sediments were also found in Hamburg Harbour and at the mouth of the Elbe in Germany.
Greenpeace divers, with the use of a crane, have filled up four large barrels with contaminated sediment. These barrels will be transported on the Greenpeace vessel Beluga and returned to the multinational chemical company Hoechst, the only producer of chlorinated paraffins in Germany. Its head office is on the Rhine upstream of Rotterdam.
The samples were collected in March and were analysed by the German Environment Protection Agency. Chlorinated paraffins are known to be toxic, highly persistent and can accumulate to high levels in the tissues of animals. They can cause cancer and can damage the liver, kidneys and reproductive systems of animals. They are toxic to marine life.
Chlorinated paraffins were found at levels similar or even greater than the classical chlorine chemical poisons such as PCBs, DDT and hexachlorobenzene. The upper sediments were more contaminated than the lower, indicating that this is an increasing problem.
Chlorinated paraffins are used as plasticisers and fire retardants, mainly for PVC products, and as binding agents in coatings, textiles and varnishes. They are also used in paints, in cutting oils in the metal industry and in leather production.
These chemicals reach the sea through direct industrial discharges or sewage discharges into rivers. Pollution from road run-off, drains and contaminated land are the other major pathways.
North Sea governments meet at the 4th North Sea Conference in Esbjerg, Denmark, on June 7-9. There is already strong disagreement on whether urgent new measures are required to eliminate toxic chemicals from the sea. There is currently no agreement to phase out the production of chlorinated paraffins. Britain and France are particularly opposed to any ban on these chemicals.
EuroChlor, the chlorine industry federation for Europe, is working hard to block any ban on these and other chlorine chemicals.