HONG KONG GOVERNMENT MAKES CONCESSIONS OVER DIOXIN TESTING

20 March 2000

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong government has given in to Greenpeace’s demands and agreed to undertake an assessments of dioxin in humans after Greenpeace activists today carried out an action at the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC) in Hong Kong.

Activists from Hong Kong, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Tunisia, and the United States today occupied one of the tanks at CWTC to protest against a government plan to burn medical waste at the facility. They hung a huge banner from the top of the tank reading "Stop Dioxin" in English and Chinese.

Incinerators for medical and municipal waste have been linked to severe public health threats and pollution as they are believed to be the top sources of dioxin, as well as mercury and other toxic substances. The government has proposed the utilisation of the spare incineration capacity at CWTC to burn medical waste. Hong Kong produces around 7 tonnes of medical waste per day.

Greenpeace demands that the Hong Kong government eliminates dioxin and other persistant organic pollutants (POPs) sources; scraps the plan to incinerate medical waste at CWTC; seeks existing non-incineration facilities to treat medical waste on site before disposal; and comes up with cheaper, safer and the least polluting alternatives. After a meeting with Greenpeace, senior officials from the Environment Protection Department of Hong Kong agreed to test for dioxin in humans and to review alternative non-incineration technologies for treatment of medical waste.

"We urged the government to test breast milk and blood in humans in order to assess the current extent of dioxin contamination in our bodies. The last dioxin test on humans was done more than 10 years ago, we need more updated data on dioxin pollution in Hong Kong," said Clement Lam, Greenpeace China campaigner.

Today’s action coincided with the opening of the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting (INC4) in Bonn, Germany, to negotiate for a global treaty to eliminate persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which are some of the most hazardous chemicals, to which natural systems can be exposed.

The elimination of dioxins is one of the key issues at this week’s INC4 meetings. Dioxins are extremely potent toxic substances that produce a remarkable variety of adverse effects in humans and animals at extremely low doses. They are by-products of industrial manufacturing processes, such as chlorine bleached paper and PVC plastics and combustion processes, such as incineration.

"Dioxins and other POPs are responsible for some catastrophic effects in both humans and the environment. They are poisoning our environment, our food and our bodies. All these threats have been recognised by many countries around the world as they meet in Germany this week to negotiate for a global treaty to phase out POPs. The Hong Kong government, however, has ignored the warning and proposed to burn medical waste to generate more dioxins, a move that will seriously jeopardise the health of the Hong Kong public," said Clement Lam.

POPs are very resistant to natural breakdown and they accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals and humans as well as in many of our food stuffs. Many are highly toxic and several have been found to disrupt the hormone system of humans and wildlife.

A majority of countries agree that most of the 12 POPs listed for discussions at INC4 should be eliminated. However, there is still strong opposition from a few countries, led by the US to protect their own national interests as one of the world’s largest known dioxin emitters. If the negotiations succeed, the POPs treaty will put an end to the production and use of POPs worldwide.

The action in Hong Kong was part of Greenpeace’s Toxics Free Asia campaign to highlight various toxic problems in the region. The campaign is using Greenpeace’s flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, to visit the region to promote a toxics free future. The Rainbow Warrior is currently in Hong Kong for a two-week visit before leaving for Japan at the end of this month.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Clement Lam, Greenpeace China campaigner, (mobile) 9862 1877
- Lo Sze Ping, Greenpeace China campaigner, (mobile) 9043 0966
- Luisa Tam, Greenpeace China Press Officer (mobile) 9096 7101

Follow Greenpeace's Toxic Free Asia Tour on the web: www.greenpeace.org/~toxics/toxfreeasia

Follow the INC4 negotiations in Bonn: www.greenpeace.org/~toxics/toxic_2.html