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Multinationals causing ₤1.4tn of damage to environment every year

Source: BusinessGreen

Feb. 19, 2010

ShareThis

The world’s 3,000 largest companies are causing £1.4 trillion worth of environmental damage every year, according to an unpublished UN report seen by the Guardian.

The report calculated around half the cost was associated with the release of greenhouse gases, while the remainder of the costs arise from local air pollution, and damage caused by the over-use and pollution of freshwater and fisheries.

These unaccounted environmental costs equate to six to seven per cent of the companies’ combined turnover, or an average of one-third of their profits. However, the report also noted some businesses would be much harder hit than others if made finanically responsible for the environmental externalities they cause.

Richard Mattison, chief operating officer of Trucost, which carried out the report for the UN, told the Guardian: ‘Externalities of this scale and nature pose a major risk to the global economy and markets are not fully aware of these risks, nor do they know how to deal with them.’

To continue reading, click here

http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=31242&codi=153538&lr=1

Had to sign up for membership to continue – chk email for password

02-20-10

Also check these companies that have advertisements on this page /

Applied Water Solutions – Solving the pure water needs of industry

Opto Acoustics – Optical Sound & Vibration Sensors

Goudsmit Magnetic Systems – Magnets and Magnetic Systems

Filter Innovations Inc. – Activated carbon, self cleaning backflushable filters

BakerCorp – Tank rental, Pump rental, Filtration rental and Shoring rental

Cambridge Environmental – Expert and timely risk assessment, scientific testimony, and research

FarrAPC.com – Factory Dust Explosions, Industrial Dust Collection Systems exceed OSHA dust collector mandates

NorthropGrummanGlobalSecurity.com – Environment Protection, dedicated to Ocean Preservation & Climate Change Observation. Call Us.

Siemens – www.siemens.com/urbanization – urban CO2 reduction, Siemens has the answers how to protect the climate in cities

Business Green, 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG, United Kingdom – this info about multinationals causing 1.4 trillion pounds of damage to the environment every year

http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=31242&codi=153538&lr=1

http://www.northropgrummanglobalsecurity.com/

Lawsuit: Putrid fumes drove tenants from Mesa strip mall

by Angelique Soenarie – Jan. 29, 2010 09:21 AM
The Arizona Republic

Jennifer Parks opened her Pizza Fusion franchise in east Mesa with the intent of offering pizzas made with organic and natural ingredients and delivered in hybrid cars. Even her building was made from eco-friendly material.

In fact, it became the first Arizona restaurant to win silver certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED.

But her dream lasted less than a year.

Last summer, she closed because of a hazardous odor that she believes cost her business.

She is not alone. Three other tenants at the Shoppes at Legacy House center on McKellips Road, east of Higley Road, say their businesses were also affected by the odor and closed their doors.

They also say that the property manager, Phoenix-based Capital Asset Management, is now coming after them for back rent.

In a lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, the tenants contend the property managers failed to promptly fix an improperly installed sewer line, causing noxious gases to build and creating a putrid smell throughout the complex for more than a year.

The property managers have yet to file a legal response. They declined to speak on the record to the Republic, but issued a statement in response to written questions.

They said actions by Parks and a neighboring steakhouse contributed to the sewer problem, and that several tenants broke their lease before giving the company a fair chance to fix it.

They also contend that several of the tenants were behind on rent and said they had tried to work with them before the odor became an issue.

“After all the work was completed the tenants all moved out without notice,” said the statement from broker Merri Krugen and owner Aaron Strole, of Capital Asset Management.

They also said one tenant damaged the space when they moved and removed plumbing, electrical fixtures, and a water heater.

But Parks and the other tenants said they left because the smell was not only unbearable, but toxic.

“We were trying to offer (organic food) being that our returning customers wanted something healthy,” Parks said. “Then there’s this smell. It kind of defeats the purpose,” she said.

All parties agree that the problem stemmed from a dip in the sewer line that caused it to back up, creating hydrogen sulfide gas.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, flammable hazardous gas that smells like a rotten egg. Exposure to small amounts – less than 10 parts per million – are not considered harmful.

In early July, the Mesa Water Resources Department measured gas concentrations in excess of 500 ppm, well above the safe level, city records show.

City officials recommended that the property managers send a camera into the line to identify any plumbing problems.

Days later, a plumber found a dip in the interior of the drain line that was causing waste to back up 4 feet to 5 feet beneath the shopping center, a city report shows.

According to the property managers’ statement, the problem was aggravated by the fact that grease traps at EJ’s Steakhouse were backed up while at the same time, Pizza Fusion was pouring hot water into the drains.

That caused grease to flush into the sewer line, where it became trapped in the bend and decayed, creating the gas.

A city report, however, states that EJ’s practices were adequate and did not fault the restaurant. It concluded that the gas was caused by “internal and external plumbing problems.”

On July 10, the property managers cleaned out the lines in an attempt to stop the smell while they got bids to repair the sewer line. Weeks later, the statement said, EJ’s closed without notice, and crews went to clean out its grease traps on July 30.

According to the statement, that cleaning caused tenants to complain of an overwhelming gas smell and call the fire department. The statement claims that while several people were treated after being overcome by the smell, no hazardous gas traces were found.

However Parks claims in the suit that she was hospitalized and treated for hydrogen sulfide poisoning, as were two employees from a nearby Office Max.

The property owners say the sewer problem was fixed by the first week of August, but by that time two of the tenants had already broken their leases and left. However, during the August 4 repair, tenants claim in their suit they were again overcome by the gas and forced by the fire department to evacuate for five hours.

“The sewer smell was addressed and resolved,” the statement said. “The tenants moved out during the night and without any notification . . . This seems to be a case of a group of tenants that are looking for a way to be released from their leases.”

However Joseph Stalcup, part owner of EJ’s Steakhouse, the center’s first tenant, said he noticed an odor almost from Day 1 and told the owners about it.

He said the odor persisted the entire time he was open, affecting both his customers and the staff of his restaurant, which had received rave reviews from local media for its meals and a meat shop. He said it took him a week to move out and that he didn’t damage the unit when he left. He said he took his kitchen equipment because it was purchased with a Small Business Administration loan that he is still obligated to pay.

Lynn Knuth of Red Mountain Family Chiropractic also moved her practice to the center when it opened.

She said she complained about the odor while her office was under construction, but was told it was from construction work. Knuth eventually moved to another location and is seeing an increase in business.

The fourth tenant in the suit is Derek Frader, owner of Kaizen Martial Arts Academy, who left the complex in June and moved down the street. He said he left because the odor was making his students and pregnant wife sick.

The gas also burned through parts of his karate mats and left a residue, he said.

Two of the four tenants, Pizza Fusion and EJ’s Steakhouse are no longer in business.

Parks said she could not reopen if she wanted to because she owes thousands of dollars in franchising and vendor fees.

She said she and her husband, who is a firefighter, are barely making a living, even with a side plumbing business.

“It was one whirlwind after another,” said Parks, who said that stress over losing her business and being exposed to the hazardous smell has caused a series of health problems.

“To have the business go down . . . ” said Parks, her voice trailing off with tears in her eyes. Parks said before she closed her business last summer she hosted a fundraiser to help a two-year-old who was sick with a heart condition. “That’s what kills me, not being able to give back to the community.”

Parks said when the odor was not affecting her business, she had customers.

“I really believed in my business,” she said.

Make your voice heard

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/01/29/20100129mr-smell-sparks-lawsuit.html

Toxic batts claim ups pressure on Garrett

Updated February 13, 2010 14:55:00

Peter Garrett says he has not seen proof to back up claims that dangerous levels of chemicals were present in the insulation batts. (ABC News: file photo)

The Opposition has ramped up calls for Peter Garrett to resign as Environment Minister, after he said he was warned imported insulation batts may contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.

Mr Garrett has been under fire in Parliament all week over the safety of the Federal Government’s insulation program, with the Opposition saying he repeatedly ignored safety warnings about problems that led to the deaths of four insulation installers.

Now Mr Garrett has confirmed that an industry leader warned him cheap imported insulation reeked of formaldehyde and could generate toxic fumes when heated.

Warrick Batt says he has had several meetings with Mr Garrett over the last six months and also raised concerns about whether the batts were being installed to Australian standards.

Mr Garrett says he has not seen any proof to back up claims that dangerous levels of chemicals were present in the insulation batts.

“We know that formaldehyde is used as a binding agent, but all batts have to conform to Australian standards and if products that conform to those standards and have the appropriate warnings then they’re acceptable to go into ceilings,” he said.

Opposition Environment spokesman Greg Hunt says he should be sacked.

“It’s about standing up for the Australian people on the basis of safety,” he said.

Mr Hunt says it should not be left to the insulation industry to produce the proof.

“Mr Garrett’s program created the problem, created the need for importing Chinese batts and we know that there are potentially deadly Chinese batts,” he said.

“Of course the Government should oversee its program.

“To blame the industry, to blame the installers and not to take responsibility is simple negligence and the Minister now, surely, must go.”

Opposition leader Tony Abbott says the matter calls into question Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s competency.

“Someone has to take responsibility for the very, very serious maladministration of this program,” he said.

“But every day Mr Rudd protects this incompetent Minister, his own Prime Ministership is called more into question.”

Mr Garrett says he has Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s full support.

Tags: government-and-politics, federal-government, labor-party, liberal-party, programs-and-initiatives, australia

First posted February 13, 2010 14:47:00

(Australia)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/13/2818748.htm?section=australia

Chk –

The Ghost Writer – CNN Live report on 4.3;;;8 pmET – 02-20-10

And “The Informant” about Archer-Daniels- Midlands agribusiness price fixing schemes – yes happened

Suspicious Shipwrecks and Toxic Seas

Posted on 30 January 2010 by | Maggie Romuld | Posted In: Science

a-four-year-old-scandal-involv2 – (photo on MyPictures)

Increasingly stringent environmental regulations, and increased costs for processing, transporting and storing toxic waste have made illegal dumping a profitable business throughout the world, and yesterday, Scientific American reported that scientists from the University of Calabria in Italy are certain that ships full of poisonous garbage have been scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to Legambiente, an Italian environmental organization, an average of two ships per year disappeared in the Mediterranean under suspicious circumstances during the 1980s and early 1990s. Physicist Massimo Scalia of the University of Rome acknowledges that while “no wreck has yet been found that contains toxic or radioactive waste,” their existence has been proven “beyond reasonable doubt.” Scalia has been involved in parliamentary commissions on illegal waste disposal, and he believes that almost 40 ships were “wrecked under questionable circumstances between 1979 and 1995 alone.” In every case the crew was long gone before the ship sank.

The problem of illegal dumping is certainly not confined to the Italian coast and Scalia further states that “The tsunami of December 2004 dredged up giant metal containers from the seabed and placed them on Somali beaches—proving that the country’s coastal waters had also received questionable trash.” The United Nations has attributed internal hemorrhages and deaths of local people to fumes from that trash.

http://indyposted.com/9994/suspicious-shipwrecks-and-toxic-seas/

Written by: Maggie Romuld

Maggie lives in southern Alberta, Canada in a now-empty nest with her husband and various assorted pets. She studies rivers, teaches Earth Sciences at a local college, and writes for a sustainability magazine. A half-finished PhD is gathering dust in her office.

January 25, 2010

Federal probes begin at DuPont plant

By Ken Ward Jr.

Staff writer

Advertiser

Read updates in the Sustained Outrage blog.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Federal investigators began to descend on DuPont Co.’s Belle chemical plant Monday after a worker who was sprayed in the face by the poison gas phosgene died and U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd warned of “a severe breakdown in even the most basic safety protocols.”

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors were at the plant Monday, and a team from the federal Chemical Safety Board has also been dispatched to begin a separate probe.

Carl “Dan” Fish, 58, of Gallagher, died Sunday at CAMC General Hospital. He had worked at the Belle plant for 32 years.

On Saturday, Fish was hit with a small cloud of phosgene that leaked from a line used to transfer phosgene from storage cylinders to a crop protection chemical production unit, plant officials said.

The fatal accident was the third in a series of four incidents at the Belle plant in just two days, including Friday’s discovery of a 1,900-pound leak of toxic and flammable methyl chloride that went undetected for nearly a week.

Byrd, D-W.Va., urged federal and state agencies “to act swiftly in mitigating any threats that may exist at the plant, to identify breakdowns in the safety structure, and to recommend and implement corrections.

“That deadly toxic chemicals reportedly were allowed to escape over a period of days undetected suggests a severe breakdown in even the most basic safety protocols,” Byrd said in a statement released Monday.

DuPont officials had already announced their own “safety pause” in which workers were reviewing the entire facility for problems and not restarting manufacturing units until any issues are resolved.

“The purpose of the safety stand down is to reinforce the seriousness of this situation and maintain the site’s focus on safe work, consistent with DuPont’s core values,” the company said in a statement.

“The site is undergoing a thorough investigation of the units involved in the incidents.”

But the company has offered few details on how the methyl chloride leak could have gone unnoticed for so long, or about exactly how Fish might have been hit in the face with phosgene fumes.

Read updates in the Sustained Outrage blog.

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors were at the plant Monday, and a team from the federal Chemical Safety Board has also been dispatched to begin a separate probe.

Carl “Dan” Fish, 58, of Gallagher, died Sunday at CAMC General Hospital. He had worked at the Belle plant for 32 years.

On Saturday, Fish was hit with a small cloud of phosgene that leaked from a line used to transfer phosgene from storage cylinders to a crop protection chemical production unit, plant officials said.

“The site is undergoing a thorough investigation of the units involved in the incidents.”

But the company has offered few details on how the methyl chloride leak could have gone unnoticed for so long, or about exactly how Fish might have been hit in the face with phosgene fumes.

“He was just walking by, doing an inspection in the area,” said plant manager Bill Menke. “As to why it occurred, that’s still under investigation.”

In its initial media statement, DuPont said that Fish was hospitalized “for treatment and observation as part of the standard protocol for exposure to this material.”

Phosgene is a valuable building block for making other chemicals and DuPont uses it to produce various crop protection chemicals. But, it is also extremely toxic. It was used as a chemical weapon in World War I, and is considered dangerous even in very tiny levels.

As little as 2 parts per million of phosgene is considered “immediately dangerous to life or health” by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Phosgene can cause coughing and watery eyes, but can also lead to heart failure and to pulmonary edema, a buildup of fluid in the lungs that can be fatal.

DuPont buys phosgene in 2,000-pound cylinders, and stores about 44,000 pounds of the chemical on site, according to plant officials and company disclosures filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Menke said Fish was exposed when “less than a pound” of phosgene leaked from a hose that is used to transfer the material from storage cylinders to manufacturing units. The hose was attached to the unit and a storage cylinder at the time, but was isolated from them with safety valves, Menke said.

The other incidents were a sulfuric acid leak Saturday morning and what the company initially described as a “small fire” Saturday night, but later said was just electrical “arcing.”

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., called the events at the plant “very disturbing” and said he had been in contact with DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman to express his concerns.

“There must be a thorough review and investigation of DuPont’s overall safety infrastructure and the facility’s compliance with emergency notification requirements to Metro 911 and federal agencies,” Rockefeller said in a statement.

William E. Wright, a member of the Chemical Safety Board, said his agency was concerned about recent events at the Belle plant “and will proceed with an investigation to understand why these unfortunate events occurred.”

The CSB does not issue citations or fines. Instead, the agency tries to find root causes for chemical accidents and recommends ways to avoid similar events.

In voting Monday to launch its own investigation, the Chemical Safety Board said it was aware of six other releases from the Belle plant since December 2006.

Board spokesman Dan Horowitz referred requests for a copy of that list to board investigator John Vorderbrueggen, who did not immediately respond to a request.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.

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http://wvgazette.com/News/Bayerexplosion/201001250662

October 28, 2009

Science academy may study Bayer MIC stockpile

By Ken Ward Jr.

Staff writer

Advertiser

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The National Academy of Sciences would study ways for Bayer CropScience to eliminate the use of deadly methyl isocyanate at its Institute plant, under a budget bill likely to be approved by Congress.

Lawmakers tucked $600,000 in funding for the study into a conference committee report on the appropriations bill for Interior, Environment and related agencies. The report was made public Wednesday.

Because it’s part of a larger budget bill, and has received conference committee approval, the study funding is likely to become law.

Under the provision, the National Academy would “examine the use and storage of methyl isocyanate, including the feasibility of implementing alternative chemicals or processes as an examination of the cost of alternatives” at the Bayer plant.

The Bayer plant, adjacent to West Virginia State University’s campus, stores more than 200,000 pounds of MIC, the chemical that killed thousands of people in a 1984 leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India.

Federal lawmakers, including Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., have been taking a closer look at the Bayer facility following the August 2008 explosion and fire that killed two workers.

In April, congressional investigators concluded that the explosion could have easily damaged a nearby MIC storage tank and triggered a disaster that would have been worse than Bhopal. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board described the incident as “potentially a serious near miss, the results of which might have been catastrophic for workers, responders and the public.”

In late August, as the one-year anniversary of the deadly explosion in Institute approached, Bayer announced it was cutting its MIC storage by about 80 percent. After the changes, Bayer hopes to keep its daily maximum MIC inventory below 50,000 pounds — still far more than any other chemical plant in the nation.

Previously, legislative language had been proposed to require the Chemical Safety Board to conduct a detailed study of MIC use and storage at the Bayer facility.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.

Lawmakers tucked $600,000 in funding for the study into a conference committee report on the appropriations bill for Interior, Environment and related agencies. The report was made public Wednesday.

Because it’s part of a larger budget bill, and has received conference committee approval, the study funding is likely to become law.

Previously, legislative language had been proposed to require the Chemical Safety Board to conduct a detailed study of MIC use and storage at the Bayer facility.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.

More Articles in Bayer explosion

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http://wvgazette.com/News/Bayerexplosion/200910280942

Pollutants giving you sick car syndrome

House Calls

By Gerald W. Deas, M.D.

Folks spend a great deal of time to and from in automobiles. They are constantly exposed to environmental pollutants. Certainly, most cars today have heaters, as well as air-conditioning systems. They also have other ventilation systems which draw air from the outside to the inside of the car.

I am sure that you have had the experience of sitting in your car behind a bus, truck or outdated car and smelling the gas fumes leaping out at you. Those gases are toxic and that is why they are exhausted to the outside. Many folks, however, can be allergic to the hundreds of chemicals in the exhaust gas. These irritants affect the eyes, skin, nasal passages and respiratory system.

In the winter, particularly, when all windows are closed tightly, these toxic substances become highly concentrated, resulting in symptoms that might be misinterpreted as viral or bacterial infections.

Because of my background in industrial toxicology, I have always been aware of environmental causes of diseases. Asthma, as well as bronchitis can be produced from even dry cleaning fluid that is present in clothing that you have just picked up from the cleaners. In fact, those clothes should be aired out properly before putting them in your home closet.

If the filters of the air conditioning system in your car are not adequately cleaned, you might be exposed to mold and other infectious agents. This is known as the “sick car syndrome.”

Recently, the market has been flooded at garages with chemical laden deodorizers which are hung in your car. They give off odors simulating anything from a strawberry to a new car smell. All of these items have been saturated with chemicals that are capable of vaporizing due to the cars heating system. Many folks may experience a chemical asthma or bronchitis. One should take this very seriously if you are transporting children or babies. This allergic reaction could cause a runny nose and itchy eyes and an antihistamine is not the answer.

I hope that by this time you get my point. Anything that is natural or unnatural can trigger allergic asthma and bronchitis, which should not be treated with cold remedies and antibiotics. You can prevent the “sick car” syndrome by airing out your car and not driving with the windows so tightly closed, especially during the winter months.

Many folks can also experience this same feeling of carsickness due to the cars motion and this is called “motion sickness.” One can experience this in cars, airplanes, trains, elevators as well as sailing. This condition can be relieved with a simple antihistamine known as Dramamine. This drug was discovered several years ago by scientists at Johns Hopkins Hospital that relieved patients suffering from hives. It was also used during WWII on seagoing troops to prevent seasickness.

I believe that many auto accidents might be caused by toxic chemicals released into the cars, which could produce mental confusion and thus be a contributing factor, rather than an alcohol consumption. By all means, do not drink while driving!

For great health tips and access to an online community of physicians and other healthcare professionals visit Dr.Deas.com.

This is part of the February 10, 2010 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

Have an opinion on this matter? We’d like to hear from you. Click here.

http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=7040&current_edition=2010-02-10

Globalization batters Bangladesh

By Sara Flounders

Published Feb 12, 2010 7:54 PM

Are the global problems of grinding poverty, illiteracy and hunger faced by a majority of the world’s population a mere accident of history? Is the enormous inequality and underdevelopment of the formerly colonized countries of Africa and Asia due solely to the crimes of conquest by European colonial powers 100 and 200 years ago?

Or does U.S. imperialism and modern finance capital in the drive to maximize profits bear the greatest responsibility for continuing and actually intensifying this historic inequality?

Tea workers’ meeting.

WW photos: Michael Kramer

These are the questions that were discussed again and again during a visit to Bangladesh to attend the convention of the Socialist Party of Bangladesh as 2009 ended.

Following the party’s dynamic convention in Dhaka, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh made every effort to introduce the international delegates to as much of the struggle around the country as possible.

The SPB-arranged trip was accompanied by party General Secretary Khalequzzaman and several other party leaders from the capital, Dhaka, a densely populated city of 14 million, to Chittagong, the industrial port — a city of 4 million. The U.S. military continues to pressure Bangladesh to grant port facilities and landing rights at this strategic seaport on the Bay of Bengal.

Barefoot Bangladesh workers strip steel
ships in Chittagong’s.toxic hell.

After attending a rally of about 1,000 people in Chittagong, the international group traveled to the southernmost tip of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal, then to the border of Myanmar, and to an island off the southern tip, where the U.S. is also pressing for a base. Then it proceeded to the east of Dhaka to the tea and rubber plantations of the hills in the Syhlet district. Delegates had the unique opportunity to attend organizing meetings of tea and rubber workers and to meet with activists working to organize garment workers and rickshaw drivers.

The trip was an opportunity to see how the imperialist countries enforce the serious underdevelopment of Bangladesh despite the enormous resources and potential of the country. Delegates were also able to observe the organizing efforts of the party in major cities and rural areas.

Roads were often single lanes of blacktop clogged with old trucks, dangerously overcrowded buses and countless rickshaws. Bicycle rickshaws propelled by human labor provide most transport for people and materials even in the capital, where there are more than 1 million rickshaw drivers in motion almost round the clock. It is a brutal job with no security.

Lowest pay in the world

Lining the roads of Dhaka are thousands of garment sweatshops, easily identified by the rows of fluorescent lights glowing inside. In the near dark of early morning, millions of garment workers, primarily young women, rush to arrive on time for 12-hour work shifts. It is dark again as they leave.

The pay in Bangladesh for garment workers is the lowest in the world. Garment workers in India, Vietnam and Thailand now earn an average of $60 a month, a desperately low wage. But in the capitalist race to maximize profits on a global scale Bangladesh now has the largest garment industry in Asia — workers are paid only $20 per month with no benefits and no job security.

Large retail trading companies in the U.S. and Western Europe give most of the orders for Bangladeshi garment products. A handful of Western banks control the capital funds. The garment industry has been a main source of foreign exchange in Bangladesh for the last 25 years. Women garment workers are now trying to organize for higher pay and improved working conditions.

Chittagong’s ship-breaking yards

The ship-breaking yards of Chittagong service another industry that reflects a globalized market’s ruthless exploitation of low wages in Bangladesh. The shipping industry is the backbone of international trade. It is also the source of major environmental toxins.

The SPB arranged to get a few delegates into the internationally notorious yards, along with video cameras. There had been a deadly explosion in one of the yards the day before the international delegates arrived in Bangladesh. Security in all the yards was tight.

At high tide a spent vessel is driven onto the beach. It is then pulled apart by thousands of workers laboring with bare hands or using acetylene torch cutters to break huge carriers down into small pieces. Workers wear no helmets, gloves, goggles, restraining harnesses or even shoes.

This inferno of fumes and toxic chemicals creates hellish working conditions. Asbestos, lead, chromates, mercury, metal shards, radiation, noise, intense vibration, and welding and cutting fumes all mix together.

The industry is subject to no environmental laws and no health or safety requirements. No statistics are kept of accidents.

This toxic industry could not exist without the active complicity of the largest shipping conglomerates. Hundreds of ships from cargo vessels, bulk carriers, fish factories to super tankers ride at anchor in the sea waiting to be scrapped at over 70 ship-breaking yards.

Previously ships could be scrapped in two weeks in a modern shipyard using union labor in Britain, Japan, Germany, the U.S. or other countries where ships used to be built. In the last 25 years of the globalized labor market, all this has changed. Breaking up one ship now takes over six months on a beach with unskilled labor. This is now a cheaper way to recycle parts of an aging ship. Thousands of small shops, each selling a few recycled electronic or metal pieces of salvage, line the roads to the ship-breaking yards.

Ever since International Monetary Fund bankers denied credits and forced Bangladesh to shutter its steel plants, Bangladesh depends on ship breaking to meet its domestic steel requirements.

China once had a major ship-breaking industry. But as soon as China began enforcing environmental and safety laws, this dangerous industry became unprofitable there. In international shipping there is a race to find countries where no occupational health and safety standards are enforced and where wages are the lowest — a race to the bottom.

Tea and rubber workers organize

A major cash crop in Bangladesh, tea is bought and sold on the world market by a handful of large corporations. The tea pickers are mainly women and children. Men do the pruning, cutting and road work.

A high moment of the trip was attending a night meeting of hundreds of workers on an isolated tea plantation in the Syhlet district. Their very moving meeting was a vibrant mix of music, chants and talks of labor conditions. Based on their organizing, the workers at several plantations had finally won a 50 percent pay increase from $10 a month to $15 a month. They were determined to win their demands for schools for their children and basic health care.

Ratan Rajequzzaman, a leader of the Socialist Workers Front, explained in depth about both working conditions and organizing efforts.

British colonial plantation owners had imported tea workers from southern India more than 150 years ago. These workers have lived in both cultural and linguistic isolation ever since. They work under conditions of modern-day indentured slaves and depend totally on management for food and all basic necessities. These workers, who are victims of the greatest abuse and discrimination, seldom leave these extensive plantations.

Tea and rubber plantations are often combined, with tea bushes on one side of the road and rubber trees on the other. Tea plantations are idyllically called “tea gardens.” Picnicking in a tea garden is a popular tourist attraction for middle-class and returning Bangladesh immigrants. But picturesque photos of women bending and stooping to pluck tea leaves can hardly convey this backbreaking work or show that there is no protection from dangerous fertilizers and pesticides.

Archaic equipment for drying, shredding and bagging tea leaves exposes an industry that has changed little in decades. But now the old relations are being challenged with new energy.

Challenging the theft of resources

Along with its focus on labor organizing, the SPB has helped in organizing broad coalitions to challenge the grossly unequal contracts presented by such multinational oil corporations as Chevron, Shell and Conoco for development of Bangladesh’s gas, oil and coal resources. The oil giants are demanding contracts of between 6 and 21 percent royalties after exploration costs are met.

On Jan. 12, the final day of the visit, Michael Kramer, representing the International Action Center, was able to participate in human-chain demonstrations challenging these outrageous leases that were organized across the country by the National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas-Natural Resources. (The coalition has also opposed open-pit coal mining, which has resulted in destruction of wide areas of arable lands, water reservoirs and fish ponds.) The human chain was formed at 150 points along the cross-country line from Teknaf, the southernmost city, to Tentulia in the north.

Past challenges to unequal and secret leasing of national resources have led to important victories. A long march from Dhaka to Chittagong led to the cancellation of a 199-year lease of the country’s main seaport to a U.S. company.

In Bangladesh despite its enormous problems, made much worse by the global capitalist market, there are revolutionary forces who are confident that, with socialist planning and the creative involvement of the most oppressed and lowest paid workers in the world, the challenges to develop their rich resources are solvable in ways that will benefit the whole population.

Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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http://www.workers.org/2010/world/bangladesh_0218/

A Squeamish Surreal Charade

CounterCurrents.org – Prabhat Sharan – ‎Feb 5, 2010‎

In the city shrouded in a dark mass of toxic fumes with sleep-choked, stench-soaked streets running and twisting amidst architectural monstrous fulmination …

Woman’s death after chemical spill leads to search for answers

SDNN – Khari Johnson – ‎Feb 10, 2010‎

“We could smell the fumes in the house for weeks,” Hope Goodwin said. The mature cottonwood trees near the spill would eventually die, as well as fruit …

PARI Pharma Enrolls First Patient in Phase 2b Study of L-CsA

PR Newswire (press release) – ‎Feb 11, 2010‎

The disease is also a factor in other lung diseases such as collagen vascular diseases, inhalation of toxic fumes, and respiratory tract infections. …

Letters: The noise bombardment

Jakarta Post – ‎Feb 7, 2010‎

… while being bombarded by cars honking constantly and the never-ending sound of the engine, releasing toxic fumes in the air for others to breath. …

Delaware adopts new NFPA codes

SecurityInfoWatch – ‎Feb 9, 2010‎

… while NFPA 101 creates standards for building design and construction to protect occupants against dangers caused by fire, smoke and toxic fumes. …

letsrecycle.com

WEEE recycler fined £140000 over mercury exposure

letsrecycle.com – ‎Feb 10, 2010‎

Glasgow-based WEEE reprocessor Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd has been fined £140000 for exposing workers to toxic mercury fumes at its site in …

ntnews.com.au

TIO bombing described as a ‘mini Bali’

ntnews.com.au – Daniel Bourchier – ‎Feb 3, 2010‎

“The main injuries were burns, inhalation of toxic fumes, and mild airway injuries.” The worst affected had burns on up to 20 per cent of their body. …

Mercury exposure causes company and director to be prosectued

February 10, 2010

A recycling company and its director have been fined after several workers reported ill health following expsoure to toxic mercury fumes.

Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd, of Glasgow, (formerly known as Matrix Direct Recycle Ltd) recycles electrical equipment, including fluorescent light tubes containing mercury and TV sets and monitors containing lead.

Ventilation problems at a plant in Kirkheaton meant that employees were being exposed to potentially harmful emissions. Following the exposure between October 2007 and August 2008, Bradford Crown Court heard how twenty employees had levels of mercury in their system above UK guidance levels. Five workers showed extremely high levels.

Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £35,127 costs. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, three separate breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, and one breach of the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002.

Also fined was company director Craig Thompson, aged 38, of Huddersfield, who was fined £5,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

The Health & Safety Executive issued five Improvement Notices and one Prohibition Notice to the company in relation to the incident.

HSE Inspector Jeanne Morton said after the hearing: “This is a shocking case involving a large number of employees, many of them young and vulnerable, who were suddenly faced with the worrying possibility of damage to their long-term health.

“The risks associated with handling toxic substances like mercury have been known for generations, so it is all the more unacceptable that something like this has happened.

“The company failed to see the risks created by their recycling work and failed to develop effective plans for safe working. They also did nothing to check their workers health after exposure.

Inspector Morton conlcuded: “Workers have a right to expect a reasonable level of protection in the workplace, and employers have a legal duty to provide it.”

Site inspector for the Environment Agency, Max Folkett, added: “We have worked closely with HSE and other organisations during the investigation which led to this prosecution.

“Electrical Waste Recycling Group Limited requires an environmental permit from us for the recovery and processing of hazardous waste and we routinely inspect the site to check the company is complying with the permit.

“We suspended the permit following this incident in August 2008, removing the risk of mercury escaping from the site, because of our concerns the operation posed a serious risk of pollution from mercury. Our soil monitoring around the site to check for long-term contamination showed metal levels not unusual for urban areas.”

Find out more about Environmental Awareness

http://www.safetymedia.co.uk/news/court_cases/mercury_exposure_causes_company_and_director_to_be_prosectued/428893

539w –woman’s photo with scleroderma – in File Two

(see caption and story below)

Elizabeth Lombard is among the residents of South Boston who has scleroderma, the autoimmune disease that hardens muscles and internal organs. (Suzanne Kreiter/ Globe Staff)

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Scleroderma study brings little comfort

S. Boston cluster may be genetic, not environmental, but true cause is elusive

By Meghan Irons

Globe Staff / January 25, 2010

Elizabeth Lombard’s right hand is stiff and wooden, unable to flex or move.

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	COMMENTS (24)

“It won’t bend,’’ she said, displaying the tightened skin that is pulling back her fingers into a crooked and clawlike form.

Lombard has scleroderma, a rare, life-threatening autoimmune disease that hardens muscles and internal organs, and causes the body’s immune system to attack itself.

The disease, which has no cure, has long confounded South Boston, where a cluster of longtime residents from the City Point section – most of them middle-aged women – were falling ill with it. The residents, who lived near a power plant and hazardous waste sites, believed they were victims of their environment.

Their case gained national media attention and sparked an 11-year investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. In their findings, released earlier this month, state researchers acknowledged “higher than expected cases’’ of scleroderma in South Boston, a neighborhood of roughly 30,000 people.

But it determined that genetics, not the environment, played a significant role.

“It’s not necessarily that the community they were living in was producing this disease,’’ said Robert Simms, the chief of rheumatology at Boston Medical Center and a researcher in the study. “When you look at the data, it does not support that.’’

Researchers also said low participation in the $1.75 million study may have limited their ability to find an environmental link.

Without a large enough sample, Simms said, it was difficult for scientists to gather reliable estimates on scleroderma’s link to the residents’ proximity to toxic wastes and other pollutants.

“Those are the things the South Boston study tried to do and came up short,’’ said Simms, who added that the study now opens the door for much larger, national research.

The study found that people with a family history of specific autoimmune-rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Raynaud’s disease, lupus, and thyroid disease, were more likely to develop scleroderma.

For the women afflicted with the disfiguring disease, the findings have come as a bitter disappointment.

“I thought that if we had an answer then we could fix it,’’ said Lombard, whose eyebrows have fallen out and whose face is tight and covered with red blotches. “It would help us make sense of why so many of my neighbors have this horrible disease.’’

Ann Dilorati Macaulay, another woman with scleroderma, recalled being slick with oil after swimming in the bay and seeing soot raining down from the oil-burning former Boston Edison power plant, blackening residents’ clothing and backyard laundry. The plant now uses natural gas.

“I still believe that there is something in the environment that is causing this,’’ Macaulay said. “I do think there is a genetic component, but when we are exposed to it, it triggers the disease.’’Continued…

Page 2 of 2 —

For years, residents have been raising the issue of South Boston’s troubling history with pollution – streets that glistened with chemicals when it rained, fumes from planes heading to Logan, the smell from smokestacks not far away.

“I believe there is a cumulative effect,’’ said Mary Cooney, a South Boston activist who has been working with the state on the study. “If these women had grown up in West Roxbury or Hyde Park, they would not have gotten the disease.’’

Macaulay and Lombard were Fourth Street neighbors who found out they had the disease in the late 1990s. Back then, word spread in the tight-knit community. Names began surfacing about others who lived nearby who also had the disease.

Figuring it was not a coincidence, Lombard wrote a letter to the state seeking a review.

“Longtime residents, even if we had no proof, we were always suspicious about how this little tiny community can have all these people with this rare disease,’’ Lombard said.

In the study, researchers collected information about participants’ residential, occupational, and family medical histories. They checked for possible exposures to pollution, including hazardous waste sites and a Coastal Oil refinery.

Researchers tried to recruit large numbers of people for the study, but ended up with 41 people who have the disease and 219 randomly selected individuals who did not have it.

Such a small sample, though it suggested no link to the environment, was not large enough to draw hard conclusions, Simms said.

“The trouble is that science isn’t perfect,’’ said Simms. “It can’t always give the emotional validation that they are seeking.’’

More studies in the immediate future appear unlikely, though state researchers are encouraging present and past South Boston residents with scleroderma or lupus to participate in a national registry designed to identify a genetic link.

At her home in North Attleborough, Macaulay, with a physical therapist aiding her, lifted a resistance band over her head to exercise her arms. She is not convinced by the results.

The study may be over for South Boston, she said, but the battle to understand scleroderma has not.

“South Boston is very polluted,’’ she said. “I think [this disease is] still going to keep happening.’’

Meghan Irons can be reached at mirons@globe.com.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/25/study_says_genetics_not_environment_may_be_cause_of_s_boston_scleroderma_cluster/?page=2

ndg1 wrote:

Toxins in the environment can effect, change or trigger genetic mutations. It seems to me that these studies begin with the end point in mind, which is, spare the companies and government any role or responsibility.

1/25/2010 5:48 AM EST

Recommend (16)

JimmyCon wrote:

I believe they told the Woburn residents the same thing about their cancer cluster. Hard to believe that so many folks who grew up in the same neighborhood would develop this same disease.

1/25/2010 7:01 AM EST

Recommend (17)

edwal wrote:

stupid researchers cant see the forest thru the trees they probably go around asking the old question about if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around does it still make noise classic case of to much education

1/25/2010 7:19 AM EST

Recommend (6)

Potlemac wrote:

The good old Mass Dept of Public Health!!! They have yet to find an industry responsible for anything! Wouldn’t a simple map showing the number of cases surrounded a power plant be evidence enough for a reasonable person that something is wrong? Not for DPH. They want to go an study a remotely possible genetic link to this outbreak which means, simply, that industry is not responsible. Shameful!!!

1/25/2010 9:20 AM EST

Recommend (6)

roweswharf wrote:

MGH is always doing medical studies subsidized by and for the benefit of Big Pharm. It’s time someone did a medical studies for the benefit of patients.

1/25/2010 10:24 AM EST

Recommend (6)

JennieR wrote:

Toxins can trigger autoimmune diseases. Even if these people have a family history, it is not to be expected that the autoimmune disease would take this rare form. Scleroderma is normally quite rare.

1/25/2010 10:24 AM EST

Recommend (8)

cjygudwin wrote:

There was no corporate input in this study in any way. Rhumatic autoimmune diseases do occur far more often in people of Northern Celtic descent than in other ethnic groups. The reason for this is not known. It is thought that hyperactivity of one type of immune response may have served some survival advantage in antiquity.

1/25/2010 10:53 AM EST

Recommend (3)

Carnagal wrote:

I thought that at the same time of this Study that a Study for Lung Cancer, Lupus was also in order and that it was put on hold due to the $$$ not coming from the State. Well over one half of a million dollars had been spent and jobs were funded to the DPH. There should’ve been some results…or has this money been just p—-d away too?

1/25/2010 11:13 AM EST

Recommend (1)

SingleVoice wrote:

cjygudwin: The “Northern Celtic” observation was my hypothesis, as well.

I wonder if the specific incidence identified for women to date in this study would mimic what one might find in the general population of one of Ireland’s historically industrial, coastal cities. Belfast, for example?

1/25/2010 11:23 AM EST

Recommend (4)

thisisdumb09 wrote:

They’re upset because they can’t sue anyone and get a big chunk of money, which always eases the pain of disease.

Diseases happen, unfortunately- it doesn’t have to be someone’s “fault”.

1/25/2010 12:30 PM EST

Recommend (2)

plunkettfan wrote:

But remember, no windmills to ruin our veiw off the Cape muffy

1/25/2010 2:14 PM EST

sblass wrote:

So “thisisdumb09” evidentially you have family members afflicted by this “cruel” disease and I suppose they’re looking for ‘a big chunk of money’? So I see your id name fits your IQ….People are NOT always looking for money…they ARE looking for reasons “why” they have this disease, especially when there is no family history of it. Based on the Globe’s headline, I believe that the people ‘conducting’ these studies need to ‘really’ divulge the true information to the individuals afflicted, it doesn’t have to be disclosed on the front page of ANY newspaper. All I know is that the people affected with this are basically living with a death sentence!!

1/25/2010 3:09 PM EST

Recommend (9)

Joannski wrote:

The MA Dept. of Public Health claims they couldn’t find a link to the Power Plant, etc. due to low participation in it’s study. Did they advertise in South Boston & on the South Shore (where most former Southie residents reside) that a study was to take place? My thoughts are they probably did not. I have long been of the opinion that the Power Plant in Southie caused many cancers. Far too many of my female friends, who grew up in City Point, were diagnosed with breast cancer & far too many of them are no longer with us due to that insidious cancer. The study should be reopened & expanded to include a study of cancer in Southie.

1/25/2010 3:58 PM EST

Recommend (4)

citypointer wrote:

I read the comments. A couple of things struck me. First, was the connection to an Irish heritage. The study made no such statement. In fact, it was related to us that women of African-American heritage are afflicted to this in much higher numbers. Second, the comment asking about the money and the opinion that it may have been spent wrong. The fact was that other possible sources for these ailments couldn’t be studied because of the lack of funds. The state and volunteers worked hard to let the public know about the study. Sadly, for some reason the people contacted declined or refused to participate. This definitely hurt the study. Last, to ‘thisisdumb09’ I haven’t heard anybody talk about suing anyone or anything. That may be your answer to these sort of things. Nobody is looking for a ‘chunk of money’. We’re looking for a cause not fault. I’ll just attribute your comment to ignorance of the situation. I hope nothing of this sort occurs to you or any family of yours.

1/25/2010 5:13 PM EST

Recommend (4)

dpenna wrote:

This was so well written and I appreciate the effort made by this reporter to share the stories of the warriors, Liz and Ann, who for 11 years taught us all something about grace and dignity in their daily battles with this disease.

1/25/2010 6:32 PM EST

Recommend (3)

southiedot wrote:

igrew up on east fourth between m and n. we lost 3 guys to luekemia from the same class. my ma said dont eat the snow,it used to snow a lot then. it wasnt because of dor urine but the stuff coming from the edison and mbta power plants,landing on the snow.our clothes would actually have holes in them from the yellow and brown soot.diabetes in kids is also very high,especially on 2nd street between l and m . right under the edisons nose…makes you wonder…

1/25/2010 6:37 PM EST

Recommend (2)

momofkeed wrote:

I agree, it is not always about the money. Sometimes, finding the source or cause of an ailment is the key to finding the cure.

1/25/2010 7:30 PM EST

Recommend (3)

PeterES wrote:

Seems like most comments say that if a study doesn’t agree with your preconception then it’s a bad study; if it agrees then it’s a good one. Clustering is difficult. Try a little home experiment: sprinkle some raisins on your breakfast cereal and see if you observe some clustering.

1/26/2010 9:19 AM EST

elombard wrote:

WOW, who said anything about money or lawsuits? That’s right, no one did, except the two commenters hiding behind anonymity.. I am one of the SB women stricken with Scleroderma in the prime of my life. None of us (not one) ever asked the questions we asked because we were laying the groundwork for a lawsuit, that’s you.. Looking for people to sue doesn’t rate when your fine motor skills are gone, your lungs are filling up with scar tissue or you’re on dialysis because your kidneys have stopped functioning properly. Many of us can’t zip our coats, start a car or hold a fork without help.
For the two ‘charmers’ who accuse us of looking for someone (anyone) to sue, you’re wrong, not everyone is like you. My husband & I raised five great kids, two who are active duty military so despite Scleroderma, I treasure my life. Thank you to dpenna, momofkeed & other commenters for not taking cheap (and cowardly) shots and who recognize that finding the source of something can often lead to a cure.

1/26/2010 9:52 AM EST

Recommend (5)

blazingtruth wrote:

Liz Lombard you are an inspiration. You have persevered and raised a beautiful,beautiful family. I am in awe of what you have accomplished, your stamina and your incredible courage. Those of us who have been priviledged to see you in action know that you are fighting for future generations of South Boston children, so that they might not be afflicted with this horrible disease. Thank you for your fight on their behalf. The world is full of hard hearted, malcontents. With everything you have gone through, you had every excuse to become on of them but you have carried on with grace and dignity. God bless you.

1/26/2010 10:35 AM EST

Recommend (1)

Gena-G wrote:

Ladies, you will always have idiots out there that have to put a dollar sign on everything or a least think that everyone else does. Now my heart goes out anyone that has to deal with this cripling disease. I too have this crazy condition. I have tried it all, I have the limited version. Which when I was first diagnosed with it two years ago I felt defeated as if my life was over. I tried things that really helped, and some that didn’t. I spent a lot of money on things that didn’t but after spending all this all a long main ingredient was Jesus. I know, I know lets not get God into this. But the truth of the matter is we have an advocate to turn to, and with his guidance he put man made products in my path to do his work. My disease is reversing. I would like to share more of my thoughts with anyone who wis intrested. It’s not church it’s products and prayer that has saved my life. Lets not sit defeated lets defeat it. I’m in the process of creating a website to post what worked on me so it may help someone else. I’m not very good on a computer. I’m looking for a website that is free or dirt cheap. So that everyone can try it for on cost to them if possible. Anyone can contact me through my e-mail Please if your contact me to judge me don’t i just want to help those who want and become a team to form against this disease. Remember there is power in numbers.

1/26/2010 3:32 PM EST

lisanagy wrote:

I am a speaker on environmental health and Medical Doctor whose story has been on Nightline and in many newspapers. Environmental doctors I am sure were not involved with this assessment. I have bee lecuring on autoimmunity, chemical sensitivity, mental changes associated with environmental exposure among other topics. Feel free contact me if you need referral or look at the website www.aaemonline.org for the American Academy of environmental medicine’s practitioner listings.
My website is: www.environmentalmedicineinfo.com, lisa@nagy1.cm and 508 696 6998 is my contact info.

1/31/2010 3:08 AM EST

ShamrockPoprock wrote:

Meghan Irons often forms her conclusion first(the bad business people caused the Scleroderma cases in South Boston) then reports only the facts that support her preconceived conclusions in her reports. There is almost a sense of disappointment that she and the so called “community activists” can’t pin the illness on the local businesses as the cause. Community activists are the worst source information to quote in a supposed news story because they have an agenda, and a failed politician like Mary Cooney who has tried to, and failed to get herself elected to public office seek the public spotlight by latching onto “causes”. Scientific facts to the contrary, Cooney will not be dismayed from forming her own conclusions and based on supposition and guesswork, not science. This lazy reporting style of relying on all too easy sources of “opinion vs facts” from attention seeking “community activists” like Cooney is a waste of ink. The facts are that not all the things that are dumped in the water, or pumped out of a smoke stack necessarily harm you. Would we like to see cleaner water or air? Of course. But targeting industry as the source of everyone’s illnesses is irrational. We are all going to die from something some day. The best that medicine can do is delay the inevitable. Industrial pollution turned out to be a blind alley in the scientific research, so turn your attention to a different possibility, don’t keep beating a dead horse. Activists are not deterred by facts, they prefer to form their own conclusions in a vacuum devoid of supportive research and stick to them.
Attention needs to be devoted to the real cause of Scleroderma and it’s treatment without being distracted by unqualified, non scientific opinions of wanna be politicians.

2/8/2010 1:18 PM EST

Recommend (1)

Tobeycup wrote:

Miss Irons, You should stop hanging out with community activists/advocates. Mary Cooney doesn’t seem happy with anyone. She recently opposed a new start up business bringing jobs, tax revenue and a much needed service to South Boston. She complains about pollution, smokestacks, chemicals and fumes from overhead planes in the above article. BUT yet she opposes furry faced and wagging tail clients of a dog kennel. It is a proven medical fact that pets promote a healthy life and and contribute towards a positive attitude. Maybe we should get Mary a dog… that might make her happy!!!

2/8/2010 1:44 PM EST