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PVC and Chlorine
PVC plastic is a product of the chlorine industry, and is now the single largest use for chlorine today using about one third of all global production. About 40 million tonnes of chlorine are produced by the chemical industry every year.
Chlorine is
found in nature predominantly in the form of salt, a stable compound which
is essential to many natural processes. Using massive amounts of electricity,
the chemical industry destroys the salt compound's stability creating an
extremely reactive form of chlorine that is not widely found in nature.
The use of this elemental chlorine (Cl2) results in products and wastes,
many of which are toxic to wildlife, humans or the ecosystem.
| Because chlorine is highly energy intensive to make, chlor alkali plants are often located near cheap sources of energy. For instance the 20 chlorine plants in Germany need as much electricity as 40 towns, each with 100,000 inhabitants. In Germany the chlorine industry pays only 5 Pfennigs for each kilowatt hour used - a price which is subsidised by the taxpayer who pays 50 Pfennigs per kilowatt hour. |  |
"The
dynamic growth of chlorine chemistry during the 1950s and 1960s represents
a decisive mistake in century of industrial development, which would not
have occurred, had our present knowledge of the environmental damage and
health risks due to chlorine chemistry been available then."
German Council of Experts for Environmental
Issues, 1990
History of PVC
PVC is an organochlorine which was first patented in 1913 by Fritz Klatte
although its development was hindered by pure PVC's thermal instability
and its low workability. During the 1930 in Germany experiments with various
stabilizers and softners lead to the first useable forms of PVC. By the
early 1950's PVC was second only to polythene as the most important synthetic
product in Germany.
PVC
development was part of the huge expansion of the chlorine industry after
the Second World War. PVC, DDT and CFC's are all products of this post war
boom in the Chlorine industry. Currently there are over 11,000 organochlorines
are now in commercial use.
| Organochlorines are useful to industry because they tend to be very stable and they resist natural breakdown processes. But this also means that they may persist in the environment for decades, moving up the foodchain and contaminating wildlife and humans. |  |
Many chlorinated products and by-products are considered to be Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The best known POPs are the pesticide DDT and dioxins, which are by-products of many processes involving chlorine.
Major
outlets for PVC production - global use
| Building | 56% |
| Packaging | 15% |
| Consumer goods | 10% |
| Electronics industries | 9% |
| Agriculture | 5% |
| Others | 5% |
(ECVM, D. Brunin 1995, in Environmental Aspects of PVC, 1995, Ministry of the Environment, Denmark)
PVC
Toxic Hotspots
The
links will take you to an overview map of the hotspots in that specific
country. For countries with mulitiple hotspots one link allows you to view
all the listed hotspots in that country.
Production
BRAZIL:
Solvay Dioxin Hotspot, Santo Andre, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
NETHERLANDS: Rotterdam Harbour Dioxin hotspot, 'Chemiehaven' Rotterdam Harbour.
TURKEY: Petkim Petrochemical co. Izmit, Turkey.
UNITED KINGDOM: Holford Brine Caverns, Holford, near Northwich, Cheshire; Waste Dump.
UNITED KINGDOM; Weston Marsh Lagoons and Weston Canal, Adjacent to ICI /EVC Runcorn site, Waste dump.
USA: Calcasieu Estuary, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Vinyl and chlorinated solvents manufacturing facilities; historical dumping ground.
Disposal
AUSTRIA: Dioxin contaminated landfill, Landfill "Rautenweg", Vienna.
AUSTRALIA: Port Kembla, Steel Smelter. Emissions/discharge of dioxins and furans.
AUSTRALIA: Totalcare Incinerator, Mitchell, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
AUSTRALIA: BHP Whyalla Steelworks Pellet Plant, Whyalla, South Australia. Emission/discharge, dioxins and furans.
CANADA: PVC Plastic (vinyl) fires dioxin hotspots, Ontario and Québec, Industrial accident.
DENMARK: Staalvalsevaerket Frederiksvaerk. (Steelsmelter of Frederiksvaerk), Sealand, Dioxin emissions to air and dioxin contamination of filter ash.
JAPAN: Two gigantic landfills named Yatozawa and Futatsuduka in Hinode town, in the west of Tokyo, Waste dump.
JAPAN: Ryugasaki-City and Shin-tone town, Shirotori MSW incinerator in Shin-tone town, Ibaraki Prefecture. Shirotori MSW Batch type incinerator, dioxins and PAHs.
JAPAN: Sakai Nr. 519-1, Chuo-Cho, Kume-Gun, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Open burning site of industrial waste.
JAPAN: Toyono District Clean Centre in Nose-Town, Toyono-district in Osaka Prefecture, Dioxin emission/discharge form MSW incineration stack gas and ash-washing water.
UNITED KINGDOM: SELCHP Incinerator. Deptford, London Borough of Lewisham. Emission/discharge source.
UNITED KINGDOM: British Steel integrated iron and steel works. Llanwern, South Wales. Emission/discharge source of dioxin. Sinter plant and furnace.
UNITED KINGDOM: British Steel integrated iron and steel works. Port Talbot, South Wales. Emission/discharge source of dioxin. Source:Sinter plant and furnace.
UNITED KINGDOM: British Steel integrated iron and steel works, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. Emission/discharge source of dioxin. Source:Sinter plant and furnace.
