The transition to a chlorine­free economy would require an investment in new construction and new technologies that would provide a powerful economic stimulus.

In order to insure an effective transition, the chlorine phase­out should include the following steps:

1. Priority phase­out sectors.
   Timelines should be immediately set for the phase­out of chlorine in the following large sectors for which alternatives have been proven effective and affordable: pulp and paper, solvents and dry cleaning, PVC, and pesticides. These sectors account for about 55 percent of all chlorine used in the U.S. and Canada.
2. Secondary sectors.
   Timelines to sunset other uses should be established based on the quantity of chlorine used and the availability of alternatives.
3. Chlorine tax.
   Governments should institute a tax on the chlor­alkali process and on off­shore imports of chlorine­containing products and alkali produced through the chlor­alkali process. Chlor­alkali plants should no longer be allowed to purchase government subsidized electric power, to purchase regulated electric power at less than average market rates.
4. Transition Fund to protect workers and communities.
   Revenues equal to those generated by the chlorine tax should be held in a fund to aid the transition to a chlorine­free industrial society. In particular, the fund should be used for exploring and demonstrating economically viable alternatives and for easing dislocations among affected workers and communities ­­ particularly those associated with the chemical manufacturing industry itself.

   Funds should be targeted so that investment in cleaner production processes is concentrated in locations where chlorine based processes have been phased­out, so that new jobs are created where old jobs are eliminated. Funds should also be used to insure income protection, health care coverage, and educational opportunities for workers whose jobs are eliminated in the transition.

THE OIL, CHEMICAL AND ATOMIC WORKERS UNION PROPOSAL

Initiatives by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union in the United States have proposed a Superfund for Workers. The union believes that if the predicted job losses are to happen for environmental or other reasons such as free trade-induced migration of multinationals to lower wage countries, workers should not be the victim.

This idea builds on the Superfund act in the United States where a budget is held for chemically contaminated land clean-ups. As the union states, "working people should be treated at least as good as the dirt the EPA and other agencies have earmarked for cleanup and restoration."

The concept also stems from the economic security that corporations themselves have but which workers do not. In the United States most large corporations carry insurance against lost income during shut-downs or accidents. Similarly, a government subsidy exists to grant compensation to pesticide companies whose product is found to be a hazard to public health.

All these reimbursements never considered the workers who were made unemployed. The program is also inspired by the United States' GI Bill of Rights which ensured four years of paid education for the home-coming soldiers after World War II Fourteen million soldiers were helped to find jobs

The Superfund for Workers program advocates education with income support for workers dislocated for environmental and other reasons as an alternative to unemployment, welfare or poverty; and for workers unable to find work after retraining, a guaranteed annual wage coupled with education.

Greenpeace supports such union initiatives and furthermore believes the program should be funded by a tax on the chlor-alkali process. The tax should begin at a modest level and rise over time.

Revenues equivalent to those generated by the chlorine tax should be placed in a dedicated Chlorine-Free Transition Fund The fund should be used to aid the transition to a chlorine-free industrial society based on Clean Production criteria for protecting and assisting displaced workers, for redevelopment programs in affected communities, and to explore and demonstrate economically viable alternatives in those sectors in which further research and development is necessary.