TOXIC TECHNOLOGIES SPREADING IN THAILAND, GREENPEACE WARNS

20 January 2000

PHUKET, THAILAND -- On the arrival of its flagship, the Rainbow Warrior in Thailand, the international environment group Greenpeace warned the Thai government against the expansion of toxic and polluting technologies which pose serious and long-term threats to the environment and human health.

"The Rainbow Warrior is in Thailand as part of Greenpeace's Toxic Free Asia Tour. The tour is here to sound the alarm about the dangers of industrial pollution and to warn industrialising countries in Asia about the expansion of dirty technologies in the region," said Pete Willcox, skipper of the Greenpeace ship.

"Greenpeace is specifically concerned about the expansion of incineration in Thailand. Incinerators and other industrial processes are known key sources of persistent poisons such as the ultra-toxic dioxins", added Willcox .

Dioxins are among the group of persistent pollutants, which also include certain pesticides and industrial chemicals like DDT and PCBs, now being targeted for elimination by the international community. Over a hundred governments including Thailand are currently negotiating a treaty under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program to eliminate these chemicals.(1)

"We are calling on the Thai government to stop this headlong rush to incineration and learn from the mistakes of the West. Incineration is not the solution to our waste crisis as it creates more problems than it solves," said Greenpeace's toxics campaigner Tara Buakamsri.

"The government does not have the capability to monitor these facilities for dioxins and other emissions of concern. It is simply irresponsible for government to permit something it cannot even hope to monitor and control in the first place", added Buakamsri.

Greenpeace is advocating the implementation of the right set of solutions to the waste problem including source separation and recycling as opposed to incineration and dumpsites.

The Toxic Free Asia Tour takes the Rainbow Warrior to Thailand for the first time with key stops in Phuket and Bangkok after which it will continue onward to the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan. It arrives in Phuket after a successful six-week campaign in India.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Auaiporn Suthanthonyakorn (mob.) +66 (01) 8207006 or Tara Buakamsri at mobile no: +66 (01) 8550013.

Follow Greenpeace's Toxic Free Asia Tour on the web

(1) The United Nations Environment Programme has short-listed twelve chemicals for global elimination as part of an international treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The treaty is expected to be finalised in 2001.