GP Slams Record on North Sea Protection

[The.Greenbase@gb.greenpeace.org]

>> GREENPEACE SLAMS RECORD OF NORTH SEA GOVERNMENTS ON PROTECTION

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                    GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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>> GREENPEACE SLAMS RECORD OF NORTH SEA GOVERNMENTS ON PROTECTION
OF THE SEA

COPENHAGEN, 24 May 1995 (GP) Greenpeace today released an
"alternative progress report" outlining the appalling record of
North Sea Governments in failing to fulfil commitments made over
the last ten years to protect the North Sea.

"The North Story - a dirty story" is a critical analysis of the
environmental record of North Sea countries', in response to the
upcoming North Sea Conference in Denmark [1].  The Greenpeace
report is an alternative view of the official document, "The
North Sea Progress Report" prepared by governments for the
meeting.

The North Sea Progress Report outlines country achievements on
marine protection and conservation of the North Sea over the past
ten years. The Greenpeace report highlights the lack of data and
"moving goalposts" which will allow the North Sea Governments to
give themselves a pat on the back.
Greenpeace campaigner Tim Birch said the Progress Report will be
used by North Sea Governments to show that past policies on
marine protection are working and that further urgent measures to
clean up the sea are not required.

Whilst many North Sea countries have bad records on a number of
issues the two worst countries overall are without doubt the UK
and France. France has quite simply failed to provide any
meaningful data on the reduction of hazardous chemicals. The UK
has the worst record as the major emitter of hazardous chemicals
into the North Sea.

And as yet there is no agreement to a full ban on the release
into the sea of all man made chemicals, particularly chlorinated
compounds, as proposed by the Dutch Government.

"Our research proves that the so-called progress report is a web
of lies, deceit and misinformation. Governments have totally
failed to live up to their past commitments to clean up and
protect the North Sea. For all their fine words the reality is
that it is business as usual and industry is still allowed to use
the North Sea as its own private toxic dump," said Tim Birch.

A perfect example is the Brent Spar, a disused oil platform full
of toxic waste in the North Sea:  while Shell cannot get away
with dumping such installations anywhere else in the world,  the
UK Government has granted permission. [But this can happen only
after Greenpeace has been forcibly removed from its occupation].

"It is now time for the Environment Ministers around the North
Sea to admit that past policies on protection of the sea have
failed. At their meeting, Ministers must make decisions which
will stop industry pouring toxic and radioactive chemicals into
the environment. This means that bans and phase outs of hazardous
chemicals must be agreed upon. Anything less then this will be a
betrayal of all life in the North Sea," said Birch.
                                   ends

For information:  Cindy Baxter Greenpeace Communications 44 171
833 0600
[1] North Sea Ministers meeting:  8-9 June, Esjberg, Denmark.
Member countries:  UK, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany,
Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the EU.

Greenpeace's key conclusions are :

* The Progress Report's key achievement is a claim that countries
have reduced the release of hazardous chemicals to the North Sea
by 50% to 70% since 1985. However, this is meaningless as the
1985 baseline was often changed due to disagreements, thus
rendering any talk of reduction totally meaningless.

* Many countries like the UK and France simply failed to supply
data on emissions for dioxins and other man made chemicals
discharged into the sea;
* Diffuse pollution of hazardous substances into the sea (from
products, land drainage, atmospheric deposition etc), for which
there are no figures available from North Sea States, is
massively underestimated even though North Sea States recognise
that this may well turn out to be the major pathway of pollutants
entering the North Sea.

* Hundreds of man made chemicals, such as cancer-causing
organohalogens and chemicals which affect hormones are still
pouring into the North Sea but these are not even mentioned in
the official Progress Report and no measures to reduce them are
included. Their sources are virtually unknown.
* No North Sea State has any idea of the total load and types of
chemicals currently entering the North Sea through industrial
activity, but they don't admit it.

* Radioactive discharges are set to increase at nuclear
reprocessing installations around the North Sea yet no mention is
made of this in the section of the report dealing with
radioactivity (eg. the new THORP plant at Sellafield in the UK
will be responsible for a 900% increase in liquid discharges and
a 1100% increase in air emissions). Under pressure from the
nuclear industry, the UK Government succeeded in keeping this out
of the report, despite serious concerns from other governments.

* No detailed figures are available on the loads and types of
chemicals currently discharged by the offshore oil and gas
industry found in the middle of the North Sea.  This is an
extraordinary admittance from the Governments who have allowed
drilling in the North Sea for years. The Progress Report doesn't
even cover current plans by the UK Government to allow Shell to
dump the Brent Spar (see above);

* Attempts to reduce the emissions of nutrients, from sewage and
agriculture, entering the North Sea have been a complete failure.
No country is even claiming to have met the 50% reduction target
for nitrogen.
* There is almost no data on the inputs of pesticides into the
North Sea from any North Sea State even though these chemicals
have been targeted for priority action.

* On fisheries: the official report fails to admit to the full
scale of the overfishing problem and to also admit that agreed
measures have totally failed to reduce the severe fishing
pressure in the North Sea.