The Stockholm Convention is a organization promoting reduction in POPs. Twelve compounds were selected for reduction (the dirty dozen). Two of them are industrial by-products dioxins and furans. The difference between furans and dioxins is a matter of chemical nomenclature. For the average scientist, they are essentially the same.
The European Union and the Stockholm Convention Implementing measures on Persistent Organic Pollutants
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that persist in the environment,
bio-accumulate, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects
to human health and/or the environment. The ecosystems and indigenous
people of the Arctic are particularly at risk because of the long-range
environmental transportation and bio-magnification of these substances. However, POPs pose a threat to the environment and
human health all over the globe. In response, the Stockholm Convention to
protect human health and the
environment from POPs was formally adopted in 2001 and entered
into force in 2004. The EC became a Party to the Stockholm Convention in
2005. This international regime promotes global
action on an initial cluster of twelve POPs.
Specific reference is made to a precautionary approach as
set forth in Principle 15 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development. This principle is made operational in Article 8, which lays
down the rules for including additional chemicals in the
Stockholm Convention. The twelve POPs: eight organo-chlorine pesticides:
aldrin, chordane DDT, dieldrin,
endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene; two industrial
chemicals: hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and the polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCB) group; and two groups of industrial by-products: dioxins
and furans.
The twelve POPs: eight organo-chlorine pesticides: aldrin, chordane
DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene; two industrial
chemicals: hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and the polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCB) group; and two groups of industrial by-products: dioxins
and furans
Directive 2000/76/EC on the incineration of waste covers all waste
incineration facilities that are a very important source of POPs by-products.
The Directive sets strict limits for emission rates of dioxins /furans in the
air.
Domestic
source of dioxins
To contribute to the aim of reducing the total releases of thechemicals
listed in Annex C of the Stockholm Convention (dioxins, PCBs and HCB) the European Commission did a study on emissions
of dioxins from domestic sources. The study summarised and
assessed current knowledge on dioxins emissions from these
sources and identified and analysed measures to tackle them.
Heating and cooking with solid fuels and waste burning came out
as the main domestic sources of dioxins in EU. The study further
concluded that the potential for domestic emission reduction is
high and even simple measures can sometimes achieve more
than an 80% reduction. Awareness raising and education on the
potential health and environmental effects of dioxins is a crucial
element for all the recommended measures. For this reason, the
Commission will work with national and regional authorities.
Directive 2000/76/EC
The fifth Environment Action Programme: Towards sustainability — A
European Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment
and sustainable development, supplemented by Decision No 2179/98/EC on its
review (sets as an
objective that critical loads and levels of certain pollutants such as nitrogen
oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide
(SO2) heavy metals
and dioxins should not be exceeded, while in terms of air quality the objective
is that all people should be effectively protected against recognised health
risks from air pollution. That Programme further sets as an objective a 90 %
reduction of dioxin emissions of identified sources by 2005 (1985 level) and at
least 70 %reduction from
all pathways of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) emissions in 1995.
The Protocol on persistent organic pollutants signed by the
Community within the framework of the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN-ECE )Convention on
long-range transboundary air pollution sets legally binding limit values for
the emission of dioxins and furans of 0,1 ng/m; TE (Toxicity Equivalents) for
installations burning more than 3 tonnes per hour of municipal solid waste, 0,5
ng/m; TE for installations burning more than 1 tonne per hour of medical waste,
and 0,2 ng/m; TE for installations burning more than 1 tonne per hour of
hazardous waste.
at least two measurements per year of heavy metals, dioxins
and furans; one measurement at least every three months shall however be carried
out for the first 12 months of operation. Member States may fix measurement periods
where they have set emission limit values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
or other pollutants.
The reduction of the frequency of the periodic measurements for
heavy metals from twice a year to once every two years and for dioxins and
furans from twice a year to once every year may be authorised in the permit by
the competent authority provided that the emissions resulting from
co-incineration or incineration are below 50 % of the emission limit values
determined according to Annex II or Annex V respectively and provided that
criteria for the requirements to be met, developed
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17, are available.
Equivalence factors for dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans For the determination of the total concentration (TE) of dioxins and furans, the mass concentrations of the following dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans shall be multiplied by the following equivalence factors before summing:
2,3,7,8 — Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
(TCDD) 1
1,2,3,7,8 — Pentachlorodibenzodioxin
(PeCDD) 0,5
1,2,3,4,7,8 — Hexachlorodibenzodioxin
(HxCDD) 0,1
1,2,3,6,7,8 — Hexachlorodibenzodioxin
(HxCDD) 0,1
1,2,3,7,8,9 — Hexachlorodibenzodioxin
(HxCDD) 0,1
1,2,3,4,6,7,8 — Heptachlorodibenzodioxin
(HpCDD) 0,01
— Octachlorodibenzodioxin
(OCDD) 0,001
2,3,7,8 — Tetrachlorodibenzofuran
(TCDF) 0,1
2,3,4,7,8 — Pentachlorodibenzofuran
(PeCDF) 0,5
1,2,3,7,8 — Pentachlorodibenzofuran
(PeCDF) 0,05
1,2,3,4,7,8 — Hexachlorodibenzofuran
(HxCDF) 0,1
1,2,3,6,7,8 — Hexachlorodibenzofuran
(HxCDF) 0,1
1,2,3,7,8,9 — Hexachlorodibenzofuran
(HxCDF) 0,1
2,3,4,6,7,8 — Hexachlorodibenzofuran
(HxCDF) 0,1
1,2,3,4,6,7,8 — Heptachlorodibenzofuran
(HpCDF) 0,01
1,2,3,4,7,8,9 — Heptachlorodibenzofuran
(HpCDF) 0,01
— Octachlorodibenzofuran (OCDF) 0,001
Israel and the Stockholm Convention
Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection
/www.sviva.gov.il/
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants
Updated: 14/11/2004
The Stockholm Convention was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in May 2004. There are 151 signatories and 83 Parties to the Convention.
Updated: 14/11/2004
The Stockholm Convention was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in May 2004. There are 151 signatories and 83 Parties to the Convention.
The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human
health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are
chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely
distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms
and are toxic to humans and wildlife. POPs circulate globally and can cause
damage wherever they travel. In implementing the Convention, governments are to
take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.
The initial target list of 12 POPs includes: aldrin,
chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated
biphenols or PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, dioxins and furans.
Israel signed the Stockholm Convention in May of 2001.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mission of Israel to the UN in Geneva. Oct. 2011
Stockholm Convention and its Website
The Stockholm Convention
on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect
human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the
environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically and
accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife. Exposure to Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs) can lead serious health effects including certain
cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater
susceptibility to disease and even diminished intelligence. Given their
long range transport, no one governing acting alone can protect is citizens or
its environment from POPs. In response, the Stockholm Convention, which
was adopted in 2001 and entered into force 2004, requires Parties to take
measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the
environment. The Convention is administered by the United Nations
Environment Programme and based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Israel signed the
Convention on 30 July 2001.
Point of Contact in
Israel:
Gilly Zimad
Deputy Director,
Hazardous Substances Division
Ministry of
Environmental Protection
Tel: 972-2-6553771/66
Fax: 972-2-6553763
Dioxin and the European Media
There were two major media flaps with dioxin in recent years. Like many of these waves of consumer panic, it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of environmental regulations. The levels selected for permitted levels are usually 100 or 1000th of the dose which causes the minimal observable effect in some animal testing system (LOEL). If something is five or ten times the permitted standard, this is meaningless for public heath. Standards are just a means for regulatory authorities to do their job of keeping contaminant exposure down.
However it also shows that it is a foolhardy approach not to keep track of an environmental contaminant like dioxin. If you don't monitor it yourself, it will not go away. Someone else will pick up on it sooner or later.
Note that the entire food chain from animal feed on has to be monitored.
European investigations into dioxin-tainted
food caught up with France’s global dairy company Danone on Wednesday, when it
pulled a batch of its fruit yogurts from Romanian shelves over fears of
contamination.
Danone’s Romanian subsidiary said that it had
traced and secured an unspecified “quantity” of yogurts possibly contaminated
with dioxins, a week after an investigation led by European health authorities.
The products were located in Danone’s main warehouse and several other points
in the distribution network, the company said.
European food safety regulators are trying to
track down dioxin traces found in guar gum, an India-grown additive which is
usually a perfectly safe thickener for dairy products. After initial
investigations in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, the net has now closed on
“numerous European countries,” according to Danone, “Romania included.”
Danone stressed it did not use guar gum directly,
but that the yogurts’ fruit preparation manufactured in the Czech Republic used
a tiny amount of the additive, equivalent to 0.02% for each cup.
The financial effects on Danone, if there are
any, will only be clear next week after the release of laboratory testing
results.
Shares in Groupe Danone fell 13 eurocents (18
cents), or 0.2%, to 54.70 euros ($74.22) in Paris Thursday morning. The slight
fall was nonetheless enough to send it to the bottom three performers of Paris’
CAC 40 index, which rose 55.99 points, or 1.0%, to 5,574.16.
Investors are likely to be more interested in
the formal $17 billion offer for Dutch baby nutrition company Numico
(other-otc: KNMUF – news – people ), which was announced last month but
actually tabled on Monday. (See “Eschewing Snacks, Danone Goes For Baby Food”)
Clearly, food contamination scares can harm
the reputation of a company and saddle it with costly litigation fees. British
confectionery company Cadbury Schweppes (nyse: CSG – news – people ) is still
facing lawsuits over a salmonella scare in 2006 that resulted in a recall of
millions of candy bars. The company has since spent $40 million in new quality
control procedures. (See “Cadbury Shares Turn Sour”)
Dioxins are harmful man-made chemicals with
high toxic and carcinogenic potential. They were used in high doses to poison
Ukrainian president Victor Yuschenko in 2005, and in 1999 Belgium had a dioxin
scare after 500 tons of tainted animal feed was distributed throughout the
country.
Dioxin contamination scandal hits Belgium
Effects
spread through European Union and beyond
By Richard Tyler
8 June 1999
8 June 1999
Farms in Belgium have been ordered to destroy livestock that
were given animal feeds believed to be contaminated with dioxin, a serious
carcinogen. The European Union has ordered a complete ban on Belgian
agricultural exports of eggs, chickens, pork and beef. All chickens and eggs
exported after January 15 have been ordered destroyed and this may be widened
to include pigs, cattle and other foods containing possibly tainted
ingredients.
The contamination is thought to have come from tanks used to
hold animal fats employed in the production of various animal feeds. The tanks
were previously used to hold mineral and industrial oil, thought to be the
source of the dioxin contaminant. Failure to sufficiently clean the tanks meant
that the animal fats became contaminated with the dioxin-bearing oil residues.
The tainted animal feeds were then supplied to hundreds of Belgian farms, and
were also exported to France, Holland and Germany. In another case involving
labelling and accounting fraud, the director of the Ghent-based firm
responsible for supplying the contaminated animal feeds has been arrested and
charged, along with other managers.
As well as a direct danger from livestock fed the contaminated
feed, eggs, poultry and other meats affected are used in a large variety of
processed foods. The crisis has started to affect jobs in butchery and the
slaughterhouses, with layoffs starting at the end of last week looking set to
widen.
The Belgian government has ordered the sealing off of about
1,000 farms believed to have given contaminated feed to farm animals. Special
containers were set up in public parks for the disposal of products suspected
of being tainted.
Belgian shoppers confronted empty shelves in shops and
supermarkets over the weekend as the ban on tainted goods took hold and stores
were ordered to withdraw suspect products. Many consumers were forced to travel
to neighbouring countries to complete their shopping.
The food crisis has precipitated a massive political crisis
inside Belgium on the eve of European and national elections. Belgium's Minster
of Health Marcel Colla and Minister of Agriculture Karel Pinxten both resigned
on June 1, as the scale of the scandal became more widely known. They were
bitterly denounced by many for having kept information about the contamination
secret for several months.
The ministers come
from the Socialist Party and Christian Democrats that form the Belgian
coalition government. It looks likely that both parties will suffer at the
polls next Sunday. The weekly British business magazine theEconomist writes,
“The party that could do best out of voter disillusion at Belgium's sloppy
politicians is the far-right Vlaams (“Flemish”) Blok.”
Belgian consumers only became aware of the potential dangers
when the government ordered shops to stop selling Belgian eggs and chickens
last week. On June 2 the ban spread to the European Union as a whole, when the
European Commission's Veterinary Committee ordered all poultry products from
the suspect Belgian farms be destroyed. Belgian shops and supermarkets that had
cleared their shelves of chicken and egg products—including fresh pasta, cakes
and mayonnaise—on June 3, had to remove even more foodstuffs when it became
clear that the contamination had also affected pork, beef and possibly milk.
The Belgian press has
highlighted the impact of the scandal. Het Laatste Nieuws wrote,
“Total havoc. This is a human and economic catastrophe. Our reputation abroad
is ruined, the agri-industry threatened, thousands of jobs in danger, companies
and traders in difficulty.”
Belgium's main
French-language daily Le Soir carries a long list of banned
foods, and foods that should be treated with caution. These include poultry and
eggs; all foods that contain more than 2 percent egg such as mayonnaise, soups,
bakery products, cakes, biscuits, desserts; also foods containing pork and
beef.
The newspaper comments that “The dioxin crisis plunges Belgium
into a fog” and complains about the lack of official information, and
contradictory reports forthcoming from the government and the authorities last
week.
After a ministerial
meeting discussing the crisis broke up at 11.30 p.m. on Sunday June 6, the
prime minister still refused to give a precise number of firms that had been
placed on the list of those affected by the contamination. “Belgium has had a
weekend of uncertainty and suspicion. Consumers and businesses sought reliable
information but only very seldom found it,” Le Soirwrote.
The paper reports that a phone line established for worried
consumers took more than 10,000 calls on Friday, but had stopped answering
calls by Sunday. “On a political level, the crisis continues to make waves.
According to the Flemish agricultural organisation Boerenbond, the crisis will
result in losses of approximately 1 billion francs [$25 million] a day for
farmers and the country.” The total cost could exceed $700 million.
The French daily Libération writes,
“In Belgium, the affair has taken on the dimensions of a national catastrophe.
The country's agriculture and food business is banned throughout the entire
world, including Asia and Africa.”
The acting EU Farm Commissioner, Franz Fischler, severely
criticised the Belgian government for not informing EU officials about the
problem as soon as it was known. All food containing suspect ingredients made
since January 15 will have to be traced and destroyed. This is a massive
undertaking, given that most processed foods only list the ingredients used,
not the country of origin of every individual constituent.
The European Union committee of veterinary experts met yesterday
to decide if Belgium has done enough to bring the crisis under control. The EU
Commission has already ordered the destruction of millions of pounds worth of
Belgian produce.
As well as the ban on Belgian agricultural exports within EU
itself, the number of countries banning Belgian produce now includes
Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Hong
Kong, South Korea and Singapore.
The United States has banned the import of potentially contaminated
produce from the EU as a whole. This has caused bitter complaints from some EU
countries only marginally affected by the Belgian events. The EU Commission
called the US decision “disproportionate”.
The crisis is also causing political fallout beyond Belgium's
borders. Dutch Agriculture Minister Hayo Apotheker resigned on June 7 following
criticisms that he had not reacted quickly enough to reassure Dutch consumers.
Several hundred farms in Holland, France and Germany have been placed under
surveillance to check if there has been a possible contamination. Over 300 pig
farms have been closed in the Netherlands, as they may have received supplies
of contaminated feed.
Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene rushed back from the
summit of EU leaders in Cologne on Friday June 4 to deal with the crisis. As in
the case of BSE-infected British cattle, the Belgian government's first
priority has been to try and limit the detrimental affects on their
agricultural sector. Issues of public health take second place. The new
Agriculture Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, said there were “enormous economic
consequences and I fear also budgetary consequences”.
Israeli Media
From Haaretz.com
Knesset panel told
dioxin levels are dangerously high
The session protocol in Hebrew is
at
Large quantities of dioxin -
considered one of the most toxic substances in the world - can be found in the
air in Israel, the Knesset committee on environmental hazards was warned
yesterday.
The panel also heard how dioxin,
which has been found to cause radical increases in various strains of cancer
and endometriosis and to drastically reduce sperm count, is virtually
unmonitored in Israel.
A subcommittee of Knesset's
Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, chaired by new Likud MK Leah Ness,
was told that one of the main culprit in dioxin emissions is the Nesher cement
factory near Beit Shemesh, which also plans to defy the Beit Shemesh
municipality and establish a tire-burning plant. According to a professional
study carried out for the municipality, incinerators burning chlorinated wastes
can increase the amount of dioxin in the air a hundred-fold.
Professor Michael Sandigursky, a
leading member of the Israel Ecological Institute, told the committee, "In
the fire last week at Mercazim building in Tel Aviv, a large quantity of
carcinogenic dioxin was released into the air. Since Israel has no dioxin monitoring system, however, we
cannot know the exact amount."
"The incinerator must not be
build," said Ness. "It is unacceptable that the Environment Ministry
does nothing to monitor the dioxin entering our bodies through the air we
breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink."
Burying a burning
issue
Six years ago, it seemed Israel was poised
to join a large number of countries in Europe, the U.S. and Japan, and build
its first incinerator designed for urban waste. First, however, it was decided
to build an incinerator in Ramat Hovav.
Environmental activism has not yet
assumed a very high profile in Israel, but when the issue at hand is the
proposed establishment of facilities for waste incineration, the public and the
environmental groups have exhibited a readiness to rise to the challenge. For
the past six years, the Environment Ministry, private entrepreneurs and local
authorities have been promoting the construction of facilities for trash
incineration, or thermal facilities (other technologies for breaking down waste
using high temperatures), but in every case they come up against strident
public opposition, which has even foiled a few of the plans.
The current struggle against a
thermal facility for treating waste is being acted out on a site near the
western Galilee village of Ibillin. The process at the facility uses a unique
torch that raises the temperature by thousands of degrees Celsius and causes
the waste to melt. The technology is called plasma gasification, and it
involves a combustion process that releases usable energy.
The facility is already in the
advanced stages of production, and has received all of the required legal
permits. But Jewish and Arab neighbors have organized together to prevent its
operation. They claim it will generate air pollution that endangers health. The
residents held a demonstration last week against operation of the new facility,
and are also fighting it in a legal battle.
The operative word repeated over
and over in the struggle, and in other struggles, is dioxin, a highly poisonous
substance even in low concentrations. Dioxin causes cancer and damages the
fertility and immune systems. Dioxin is given off by waste materials as a
byproduct of the combustion process, and is usually the primary public concern
regarding the operation of incinerators and thermal treatment.
The basic motivation for
construction of incinerators and thermal waste treatment plants is reduction of
the quantity of trash sent for burial. This has to do with the environmental
hazards produced by waste burial sites and the shortage of available land,
primarily in small, densely populated countries. This is why the Environment
Ministry decided to support the establishment of incinerators or thermal
treatment plants, in which the waste treatment process is used to generate
energy (mainly electricity), as is common in many such plants around the world.
Six years ago, it seemed Israel was
poised to join a large number of countries in Europe, the United States and
Japan, and build its first incinerator designed for urban waste. First,
however, it was decided to build an incinerator in Ramat Hovav, although it is
designated for dangerous waste materials.
Too high a cost
The plan to build the first
facility for the incineration of urban waste was promoted by the Arim
Environmental Quality Association of South Judah, which planned to build the
incinerator northwest of the city of Yavneh. The association had already begun
planning procedures and even issued a tender. Yet the plan was eventually
shelved due to public opposition that influenced local politicians, and due to
the concern that the cost of treating waste in the incinerator would be too
high for local councils, and that it would be difficult to maintain the
facility.
Two years ago, the Environment
Ministry joined up with Nesher in a plan to operate a facility for incineration
of used tires at the Nesher plant near Beit Shemesh. In this case, as well,
public protest arose, and
it was argued that the new plant would emit a dangerous amount of dioxins.
Nor were residents of Beit Shemesh
or environmental groups willing to hear about the results of a preliminary test
of incineration of tires. Eventually, a public committee was appointed to
examine the plan. It accepted the arguments of the environmental groups, and
recommended that the test not be carried out.
Another plan called for waste
treatment in Haifa and environs by means of a large incinerator. It, too, was
the subject of public opposition. "The plan called for incinerating 1,000
tons of waste a day," says Ilan Nissim, director of the solid waste
management division at the Environment Ministry. "We did not receive all
of the answers from promoters of the plan regarding the treatment of air
pollution emissions, and we recommended that the plan not be discussed at this
time."
Aside from the incinerator at Ramat
Hovav, there is one more incinerator that currently operates in the krayot
industrial zone (north of Haifa). It treats animal carcasses. In addition,
there is a plan for waste incineration in Nesher's cement kilns at its Ramle
facility. There is a possibility of a facility for the incineration of sludge
(residues of runoff) near the Gush Dan water purification plant west of Rishon
Letzion. In this case, as well, public opposition of the local residents is
expected.
In the case of the facility in
Ibillin, Zeev Bar-Gil, CEO of Environmental Energy Resources, Ltd., says the
facility is intended to treat waste in small quantities, and that its main
purpose is to serve as a demonstration model, to facilitate the sale of
technology developed in Russia to other places in the world.
`Dioxin bomb'
However, members of the "Hasviva" (the environment)
non-profit association, which is active in the Galilee, are certain the plant
poses a serious threat to their quality of life. They described the facility as
a "dioxin bomb" and presented a written expert opinion, which stated
that the facility would emit dioxin at levels tens of times higher than the
permissible limits imposed by the Environment Ministry. They argue that
malfunctions could be expected in every facility of this type, and that they
would further exacerbate environmental risks.
What provoked especially sharp
objections was the fact that it is an experimental facility. The Arab
settlements in the region joined the opposition, and the mayor of Tamra, Adel
Abu al-Haija, wrote on this matter to MK Lea Nass, who chairs the Subcommittee
for Environmental Threats: "It is unacceptable that our residents should
serve as guinea pigs for a facility meant to bring profits to private
entrepreneurs."
"In this facility, we are
going to treat a very small quantity of waste, about half a ton per hour, and
are going to use the energy produced to generate electricity," says
Bar-Gil. "The quantity of dioxin produced in the waste-treatment process
is negligible, because oxygen is needed to produce dioxin, and in our facility,
the process is without oxygen."
"All of our actions are
coordinated with the Environment Ministry," adds Bar-Gil. "They asked
for a system that would enable continuous tracking of gas emissions from the
facility, and we acquired such a system, which is extremely expensive, and we
will pass on the data in real time."
"Construction of this facility
was carried out in a very carefully arranged procedure, statutorily
speaking," says Nissim. "It is intended for demonstration purposes,
but if it turns out there is economic justification for it, it may be possible
to also use it in the future for treatment of special types of waste in Israel,
including medical waste. But for that to happen, the owners of the facility
will have to prepare a new plan for it."
The public struggle against
construction of the facility in Ibillin will be an important test for the
Environment Ministry, which has not succeeded in promoting implementation of
technologies for which, in its opinion, there is a critical need. Nissim says
Israel must base its waste treatment on incinerators, as well, due to the
increasing difficulty in finding sites to bury waste, as well as the limited
ability of the recycling industry to expand capacity.
Within a few years, capacity in
existing burial sites will be exhausted, such that it will not be possible to
increase the amount of waste that is hauled to them. In that event, there will
be a significant increase in the cost of waste treatment, since local
authorities will only be able to haul their waste to the distant burial sites
in the Negev in which there is still room. This increase in costs would reduce
the cost differential in waste treatment by burial or incineration. Added to
that is the surcharge the Environment Ministry intends to levy at burial sites,
in order to create a negative incentive for hauling waste to them.
"According to our planning, in
the future only half of the solid waste will be hauled to burial sites.
One-quarter of urban waste will go to recycling, and the other quarter will be
treated at between two and four facilities at which the waste incineration will
be exploited to generate electricity," says Nissim. Nevertheless, it is unclear
how the Environment Ministry will locate areas for establishment of these sort
of facilities, against the background of the forceful public opposition.
Heightened concern
"Waste incineration is at odds
with the conception of a sustainable environment, as it is based on the
elimination of materials that can be reused or recycled," says Gilad
Ostrovsky, of the scientific department of "Adam, Teva V'Din" (the
Israel Union for Environmental Defense).
"We do not rule out
incineration absolutely, but it has to be used only after the waste reuse and
recycling options have been exhausted," adds Ostrovsky. "In the case
of Israel, this can only be done after the organic matter has been removed from
the waste, because with this material, the waste is wet, and less energy can be
generated from it."
Ostrovsky says that even after
incineration or thermal treatment processes, some of the waste still remains as
ash, which has to be hauled to burial sites. What is more, still unresolved is
the problem of the high cost of incinerating waste. He is concerned that there
will be an attempt to lower the cost of incinerating waste by economizing on
the means for preventing air pollution.
This concern is shared by all
opponents of incineration in Israel. It is hard for them to believe that in a
state with lower environmental standards than Europe, the entrepreneurs will
adopt - at such expensive facilities - the requirements that the Europeans set
before they permit the construction of an incinerator near Paris or in the heart
of Zurich.
The experience of the incinerator
at Ramat Hovav only heightens public concern, because it has experienced
numerous malfunctions. An investigation of its managers was recently begun, for
not having met various requirements of the Environment Ministry. The
investigation was recently completed, and sources in the ministry say it is
possible an indictment will be served for the violation of environmental laws.
Nearly half of
factories don't meet emission standards
Forty-six percent of factories do
not meet Environmental Protection Ministry emission standards, the ministry
found in a series of surprise inspections.
During the inspections, conducted
throughout 2006, ministry investigators found excess emissions of carcinogens
and other dangerous materials that can cause respiratory and nerve damage, eye
irritations and heart problems.
The ministry visited 48 plants in
334 inspections, primarily in the north and in the Haifa Bay area. Twenty-two
of these plants were found to be exceeding permitted emission levels.
Some of the chemical plants
inspected had exceeded the standards for organic carcinogens by more than 3,000
percent. Other plants had excess levels of methanol and dioxin.
Yet these figures are actually an
improvement in comparison with past years. The ministry has been conducting
surprise inspections for the past six years. In past years, these tests had
found irregularities in nearly 60 percent of plants.
The Environmental Protection
Ministry attributed the improvement to its increasingly vigorous enforcement.
Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra told Haaretz his ministry will
continue enforcing regulations, and may even close down plants that fail to
meet them.
הדיוקסין פוגע במערכת העצבים; בישראל
אין אפילו תקן
דיוקסין, חומר רעיל
ומסרטן שפוגע במערכת העצבים ומחליש את המערכת החיסונית, נמצא גם במזון. במקומות
אחרים בעולם פועלים לצמצום החשיפה. בישראל אין אפילו תקן שקובע מהי הרמה המותרת
·
12.07.2009
·
09:07
הדיוקסין פוגע במערכת העצבים; בישראל אין אפילו תקן
דיוקסין, חומר רעיל ומסרטן שפוגע
במערכת העצבים ומחליש את המערכת החיסונית, נמצא גם במזון. במקומות אחרים בעולם פועלים
לצמצום החשיפה. בישראל אין אפילו תקן שקובע מהי הרמה המותרת
דיוקסין
הוא חומר רעיל הנפלט לסביבה, בין היתר בשריפת דלקים ופסולת, התכה ומחזור מתכות,
תהליכי ייצור של חומרי הדברה ושריפת צמחייה. בשנים האחרונות נחשף מידע חדש לגבי
הסיכונים הבריאותיים שנגרמים כתוצאה מחשיפה לדיוקסין במוצרי מזון שונים. באירופה
התגלו כמה מקרים שבהם התגלו ריכוזי דיוקסין הנחשבים מסוכנים בבשר חזיר ומוצרי חלב,
והוחמרו הפעולות הננקטות כדי להקטין את חשיפת האוכלוסייה לסיכון.
בכנס
מדעי שעסק בסיכונים מחשיפה לדיוקסין ולקבוצת חומרים רעילים נוספת הנקראים תרכובות
פי-סי-בי (PCB), שנערך במכון לאנרגיה וסביבה בתל אביב לפני מספר חודשים, המליצו
המשתתפים לבצע מעקב אחר ריכוזי דיוקסין בדם אצל תושבי ישראל, ולפקח באופן קבוע על
ריכוזי החומר במוצרי מזון. על פי מידע שהוצג בכנס, הדיוקסין מצטבר במשך השנים
ברקמות השומן של הגוף. מלבד היותו חומר מסרטן, הוא פוגע במערכת העצבים ובעור ומזיק
לכבד. בנוסף הוא פוגע גם באיכות הזרע של גברים, פוגע בעוברים ומחליש את המערכת
החיסונית.
השפעותיו
החמורות של הדיוקסין התגלו לראשונה אחרי מלחמת וייטנאם, לאחר שארצות הברית השתמשה
בחומרי הדברה כדי להשמיד יערות שבהם הסתתרו לוחמי הווייטקונג, וכך נחשפה
האוכלוסייה המקומית לחומר הרעיל. המראות של ילדים ממדינה זו, שנולדו עם פגמים
גנטיים, נהפכו לדימוי המוכר של נפגעי החשיפה לדיוקסין.
לפני
שלוש שנים התגלו רמות גבוהות של דיוקסין בדגה ובפירות הים שנתפשו על ידי דייגים
בנמל העיר סידני באוסטרליה. כתוצאה מכך הוטל איסור על המשך פעילות הדיג באזור. עם
זאת, בעולם יש מגמה כללית של ירידה בריכוזי הדיוקסין הנפלטים לסביבה, בעקבות
השיפור בטיפול במקורות הזיהום השונים.
בכמה
מדינות מפרסמות רשויות הבריאות המלצות למניעת חשיפה לדיוקסין. מדובר, בין השאר,
בהימנעות מחימום או שריפה של מוצרי פלסטיק ומוצרי בנייה. המלצה נוספת היא להמעיט
בצריכת שומן בעלי חיים או דגים, שידוע שבהם התגלו ריכוזים גבוהים של החומר.
בפינלנד הוחלט כבר לפני שש שנים לסמן מוצרי דגים בתו מיוחד המתייחס לריכוזי דיוקסין:
ציור של אליפסה מראה על ריכוז דיוקסין העומד בדרישת האיחוד האירופאי וציור של מלבן
מלמד על חשש מפני ריכוז החורג מהמותר. במקרים של חריגה, אסור יהיה לפינים לייצא את
המוצרים למדינות אחרות.
לדברי
ד"ר גיל כץ מחברת KTE טכנולוגיות, אחד ממארגני הכנס,
נערכו בישראל בשנים האחרונות כמה סקרים שבדקו ריכוזי דיוקסין באוויר, אך האתגר
הדחוף ביותר הוא לעקוב אחר ריכוזי החומר בדם, כדי להבין את שיעור החשיפה של
האוכלוסייה. בעיקר חשוב, לדעתו, לשפר את המניעה באמצעות מעקב אחר מוצרי מזון.
"על
פי סקר שנערך בעבור המשרד להגנת הסביבה, שהייתי שותף בעריכתו, ריכוזי הדיוקסין
באוויר בישראל אינם מדאיגים לעומת ארצות אחרות", מציין כץ. "אולם מכיוון
שמרבית החשיפה היא דרך מזון, וחלק ניכר ממנו מיובא לישראל, יש צורך בפעולות נוספות".
כץ
סבור שעל משרדי הבריאות והחקלאות להנהיג בדיקות. "אנחנו מייבאים דגים מסין
ובשר מדרום אמריקה, וידוע שדיוקסין מצטבר בעיקר במוצרים כמו דגים. צריך לאמץ את
המדיניות הנהוגה באירופה, להתקין תקנות ולערוך באופן קבוע בדיקות של ריכוזי
דיוקסין במזון". הכנס המדעי ננעל בקריאה לחקיקה מתאימה ולאכיפת בדיקות של
דיוקסין ותרכובות פי-סי-בי במזון המיובא לישראל ובמזון מקומי.
ממשרד
הבריאות נמסר בתגובה, שהמגבלות בישראל על תכולת דיוקסין במוצרי מזון מבוססות על
הנחיות ארגון הבריאות העולמי. בישראל לא ניתן לערוך בדיקות לדיוקסינים אלא רק
במעבדות בחו"ל. משרד הבריאות ערך סקר ראשוני של מוצרי מזון מן החי, שכללו
חלב, ביצים, כבד עוף ובקר, דגים ושומן בקר. הבדיקות נערכו במעבדה בחו"ל
והתוצאות מראות שלא נשקפת סכנה בריאותית. עם זאת, ייערכו עוד פעולות ניטור לבדיקת
חומרים אלו במזון.
ממשרד
החקלאות נמסר שבישראל נעשות בדיקות לקבוצת החומרים פי-סי-בי מאחר ובנוכחותם נמצא
גם דיוקסין. הבדיקות נערכו בתוצרת חקלאית מקומית ומיובאת, ועל פי המשרד, לא נמצאו
בהם שאריות פי-סי-בי, ולכן אין בתוצרת גם דיוקסין.
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