Greenpeace article 126a8c1E
Time for a Global phase-out
All over the world, chlorine-containing industrial chemicals are wrecking havoc with the environment and our health.
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Chlorinated compounds are destroying the ozone layer that shields life on earth from ultraviolet radiation.
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Hundreds of chlorine-based poisons are slowly building up worldwide in the air, water and food chain - and in our bodies as well.
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New scientific evidence implicates these chemicals in severe and widespread health problems in people and wildlife, including infertility, impaired childhood development, immune system damage and cancer.
Chlorine is the common link in many of the world's most notorious environmental poisons: Dioxin, DDT, Agent Orange, PCBs and the ozone-destroying chlorofluoridecarbons (CFCs) are all based on chlorine.
These and other chlorine-containing substances dominate government lists of "Purity pollutants" that threaten health and the environment, but thousands of other chlorinated poisons that cause similar harm are not regulated or even monitored.
The global threat posed by the "chlorine soup" now present in the ecosystem is too complex to be solved by addressing these chemicals one at a time. If we wish to preserve the life-sustaining capacity of the
planet, the root of the problem - the production and use of chlorine must be phased out.
Slowly poisoning the planet
One reason the organochlorines are useful to industry is that they tend to be very stable and they resist the natural breakdown process. But this also means that they persist in the environment for decades or even centuries.
Some organochlorines degrade slowly, but the breakdown products are usually other organochlorines and these are often more toxic or persistent than the original chemical. Because of their long life times, even small discharges of these chemicals build up in the environment over time. As industry produces more chlorine, the global burden of organochlorines continues to grow.
From the North Pole to the deep oceans, organochlorines can be found in the air, water and food chain. People who live near sources of chlorine pollution are most exposed but the problem is mostly global: even polar bears, whales and Inuit people living far from any industry now carry extremely high levels of dioxics, PCBs and other organochlorines in their body tissue.
Closer to home scores of organochlorines can be found in the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Our greatest exposure, however, comes from our food, especially fish, meats and diary products.
Many organochlorines concentrate in fats and multiply in concentration as they move up the food chain. The levels of these chemicals in the bodies of birds, fish, people and marine mammals are millions of times greater than the amounts found in the ambient environment. Humans are at the top of the food chain, so our bodies serve as magnets for organochlorine pollution in the environment.
In a study in Canada, one hundred and seventy seven organochlorines - including pesticides, dioxides, PCBs and many others were found in fat, mother’s milk, semen and blood. Many more organochlorines have been known to be present but not yet identified.
Our children receive the highest doses
Organochlorines are passed through one generation to the next through the placenta and breast milk, during the most sensitive periods of development. Levels of some organochlorine pesticides in the milk of mothers in many industrialized nations are so high that the milk would violate maximum standard for cow's milk.
The health threat
According to the American Public Health Organization, organochlorines "are found to pose public health risks involving the work place, consumer products and the general environment." Virtually all organochlorines that have been studied have been found to cause at least one of a wide range of effects, including genetic mutations, disruptions of hormones, suppression of the immune system, birth defects and impaired childhood development, reproductive disfunction, infertility and cancer.
Expert Snippets
From CONSUMER REPORT BOOKS:
"On the one hand, chlorination has freed civilization from constant dangers of waterborne epidemics. On the other hand, in the mid-70s scientists discovered that chlorination could create carcinogens in water. There was a higher incidence of cancer of the esophagus, rectum, breast and larynx and of Hodgkins disease among those drinking chlorinated surface water. Volatile organics can evaporate from water in a shower or bath. Conservative calculations indicate that inhalation exposures can be as significant as exposure from drinking the water, that is, one can be exposed to just as much by inhalation during a shower as by drinking 2 liters of water a day. Is your water safe to drink?" |
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Dr. John Andelman, Ph D, in BOTTOM LINE MAGAZINE August 1987:
“A long, hot shower can be dangerous. The toxic chemicals are inhaled in high concentrations.”
Dr. Halina Brown, in AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH:
“Skin absorption of contaminant has been underestimated and ingestion may not constitute the sole or even primary route of exposure.” |
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