TURKEY
Turkish action
highlights toxic outflows

In June 1997 Greenpeace campaigners blockaded the entrance of a tannery operating illegally at Izmir, Turkey.
The tannery has been systematically polluting Izmir Bay with toxic heavy metals despite an official 'sealing order' by Izmir municipality which dates back to July 1993.
Under a Danger: Toxins banner, the Greenpeace action was part of a coordinated campaign to highlight toxic pollution of the Mediterranean in breach of the Barcelona Convention by Turkey, Greece, Israel, Italy and Spain.
In a parallel Turkish action, Greenpeace campaigners highlighted dioxin outflows at Europe's third-largest petrochemical facility at Petkim.

When toys are not us

After our own research revealed that children were being exposed to harmful chemicals from soft PVC toys, Greenpeace campaigned to remove these from the shelves. The Dutch and Danish governments had already taken action. Others soon followed. So why are we still giving these toys to our children?

Of 63 soft PVC toys tested by Greenpeace, almost all contained hazardous phthalates or softening agents which leach out when pressure is applied - such as when a child sucks or chews on a toy.
Following their own tests, the Dutch and Danish governments withdrew several soft PVC toys from retail stores. PVC toys have since been taken off the shelves in other countries including Spain, Italy, Greece and the Philippines. Legal measures have been proposed in Austria, Denmark and Sweden, and Spain has called on the EU to take action. Some retailers and manufacturers have also taken action, although major toy manufacturers Mattel and Hasbro continue to market these products.
Despite these efforts, millions of children continue to play with soft PVC toys around the world.

A very vicious circle
PVC is widely used in consumer goods. Its manufacture involves the production and release of hazardous chemicals including dioxins - the most toxic synthetic substances identified in a laboratory.
In use, soft PVC can leach harmful additives. Because PVC stubbornly resists attempts at effective recycling, the plastic is usually burned or buried at the end of its life cycle. Burning it, however, merely releases further dioxins and other dangerous chemicals, and generates more hazardous waste to be buried.
Government and industry are at last taking action to eliminate the PVC threat to individuals and the environment. Today, ethical retailers are increasingly committed to removing PVC from their product lines.
Meanwhile, the wider PVC hazard was graphically illustrated in July 1997 in Hamilton, Canada, when a fire at the Plastimet vinyl storage site released deadly dioxins in devastating quantities. Greenpeace analysis of samples taken from the fire site identified dioxin levels at least 25 times above Ontario clean-up guidelines for contaminated land.

The poisoned cities
In the months ahead, Greenpeace will persist in placing PVC toys at the forefront of ongoing efforts to highlight toxic pollution around the world.
The arrival of the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior off the coast of Mexico in March 1997 marked just the start of a sustained campaign to hold Petroleos Mexicanos accountable for the contamination of Tabasco state. Our work continues here as elsewhere.
In Russia, a new edition of the Greenpeace publication Poisoned Cities is drawing attention to the dioxin legacy of the former Soviet Union.
And in the USA, efforts by Greenpeace and local groups have stalemated 'environmentally racist' plans by Japanese company Shintech to site a massive PVC plant within an already polluted and disadvantaged Louisiana community.