As Chlorine Sector Dioxin Releases Diminish, The Chlorine Chemistry Division of the American Chemistry Council Continues to Endorse National Academy of Sciences Dioxin Review

C. T. "Kip" Howlett, Jr., Executive Director of the Chlorine Chemistry Division of the American Chemistry Council, released the following statement today:

"On the heels of the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, the members of the Chlorine Chemistry Division of the American Chemistry Councilⁱ report steady progress in managing dioxins in 2003, further reducing already low Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) emissions to air and water. The facilities of the Chlorine Chemistry Council member companies released approximately 8.6 g-TEQ^* of dioxins in 2003, representing a 70 percent decline over releases in 2000, the first year of dioxin TRI reporting. Chlorine industry releases declined 30 percent between 2002 and 2003.

Today, as EPA posts the 2003 TRI database, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) commences a two day meeting of a panel of experts in Washington, D.C. to review EPA's exposure and human health reassessment of dioxin. The Chlorine Chemistry Division of the American Chemistry Council supports the NAS review, and believes it is crucial to harmonizing EPA's dioxin risk characterization with those of respected public health agencies worldwide. Overly conservative assumptions and selective use of the available data on dioxin have resulted in an EPA dioxin risk analysis that is inconsistent with the conclusions of other agencies.

The dioxin environmental success story began long before EPA began requiring facilities to report dioxin releases to the environment as part of the year 2000 TRI. The recent release of EPA's draft 2000 Dioxin Source Inventory shows dioxin emissions from all quantified sources plummeted by 89 percent between 1987 and 2000, and were projected to decline by 92 percent by 2005. Releases to air and water from the chlorine industry in 2003 represent less than one percent of the EPA-projected 2004/2005 dioxin emissions. The vast majority of dioxin generated by the chlorine industry as an unwanted byproduct in 2003 was destroyed either on- or offsite, or disposed of in special hazardous waste or other facilities.

As dioxin emissions to the environment have declined, so have measured levels in sediments, foods and human tissue. Clearly, the EPA, industry and environmentalists alike can celebrate this impressive victory-achieved through the winning combination of government regulations, voluntary industry efforts and citizen campaigns.

While the volume of dioxin science grows daily, our member companies continue to support efforts to further reduce dioxin emissions and, at the same time, provide the building blocks of chlorine chemistry that help produce essential products that make our lives safer, healthier and more convenient."

^*TEQ (toxic equivalents) is the internationally accepted standard for measuring dioxin emissions.

The Chlorine Chemistry Division of the American Chemistry Council, is a national trade association based in Arlington, VA representing the manufacturers and users of chlorine and chlorine-related products. Chlorine is widely used as a disease-fighting disinfection agent, as a basic component in pharmaceuticals and myriad other products that are essential to modern life.