Ukraine Dioxin Poisoning A Reminder of U.S. Delay

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Wed, 15 Dec 2004 14:04:48 GMT

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Ukraine Dioxin Poisoning A Reminder of U.S. Delay

 

December 15, 2004 | Back Issues

 

 

Bush Green Watch

 

Ukraine Dioxin Poisoning A Reminder of U.S. Delay

 

News that Ukranian presidential candidate Victor Yushchenko was

apparently poisoned by a tiny dose of dioxin serves as a timely

reminder that this ubiquitous substance is still in wide circulation

and still poses a serious public health threat.

 

Dioxin is formed primarily by the incineration of hospital and

municipal waste. Lesser sources include chlorine bleaching of pulp and

paper, and certain types of chemical manufacturing. Released into the

air, dioxin eventually floats down into water or land, where it is

ingested by fish or animals, and into the food supply.

 

In 2001, a long-awaited study on the potential dangers of dioxin began

working its way through the Bush administration, where industry groups

pressed hard to delay its release. Called the Dioxin Reassessment, the

study passed through an EPA review. It is now being reviewed by the

National Academy of Sciences.

 

Coincidentally, the NAS review panel includes many of the same

reviewers who participated in the EPA review, which some environmental

groups say will lead to the same conclusions by the panels.

 

The exceptionally slow process to regulate this carcinogenic substance

has greatly frustrated health advocates. " They've done nothing in

regulations, and I don't see anything on dioxin moving on the federal

level in the next four years, " Lois Gibbs, executive director of the

Center for Health, Environment and Justice, told BushGreenwatch.

 

Dioxin is so harmful to health that it has long been classified as a

Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP). Indeed it is one of 12 POPs

designated by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organice

Pollutants to be banned or severely restricted worldwide.

 

The U.S. is a signatory to the Stockholm Convention. Unfortunately,

however, the Bush Administration has designed implementing legislation

that negates a key part of the treaty [bushGreenwatch, July 12]. The

Bush legislation opposes the " adding mechanism " of the Convention, a

provision that is essential for adding new chemicals to be banned or

restricted at the domestic level.[l].

 

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) explains that

the Bush Administration supported the initial terms in the Stockholm

Convention, " ...in part because none of the so-called 'dirty dozen' is

manufactured or used in the United States anymore, and because the

U.S. chemical industry believes banning these first-generation

pesticides and chemicals will 'level the playing field' for export of

more modern, profitable chemicals to foreign markets, especially in

the developing world. "

 

It is possible that when other chemicals are added to the Stockholm

Convention, they may still be on the market in the U.S. Public health

and environmental groups fear that without the " adding mechanism, "

corporate influences may override concerns for public health. [2]

 

###

 

SOURCES:

[1] CIEL website.

[2] BushGreenwatch, Jul. 12, 2004.

 

 

 

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