And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 16:56:38 -0600 To: "Wild Rockies Alerts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: Billy Stern <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: SIGN-ON TO STOP CHLORINE USE IN NEW PAPER MILLS Dear Environmental and Social Activists, This a serious and urgent request for your group to sign on to the letter below, addressed to Carol Browner at the EPA. The letter was inspired by activists in North Carolina, who are currently working to stop the permit of a new recycling mill that would use sodium hypochlorite, but this scenario could happen in any community, including those in the Rockies, considering that as yet we do not have a waste paper recycling facility. It is time for pulp and paper activists, toxics activists, and the larger environmental, health and social communities to take the initiative by presenting a unified front to the EPA. We must make it clear that any new use of chlorine and chlorine derivatives that have any chance of producing organochlorines is simply intolerable. Please sign on to this letter by April 14, by e-mailing or calling me at the address below. Also, please forward this request to any activist group which you think may be interested. Sincerely, Billy Stern Pulp and Paper Strategist Native Forest Network mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************************************************* Ms. Carol Browner United States Environmental Protection Agency 401 M St. SW Suite 1200 Washington, D.C. 20460 April 15, 1999 Dear Ms. Browner: We are aware that the Environmental Protection Agency is in the rulemaking process to set pollution limits for pulp and paper production, having already promulgated Phase I of the "Cluster Rules" in April 1998. The Phase I rules, however, are only applicable to bleached kraft pulp mills, not secondary fiber or dissolving mills, and are currently under legal challenge. It has now been one year since the first set of rules was formalized. The timeline for Phases II and III, applicable to secondary fiber, sulfite and dissolving pulp mills, is unclear, but could take years. Of concern as well, the Dioxin Reassessment has not yet been released in final draft, even though the draft of the document showed that dioxins were more dangerous and more abundant than previously thought. Despite these lapses, new mills are being permitted, and companies are still building and investing in mills relying on the existing but antiquated "Best Available Technologies" (BAT) standards. Further, the EPA has failed to review every these BAT standards every 5 years as required. For example, Wisconsin Tissue Mills has proposed to locate a new paper-recycling mill in Halifax County, North Carolina. We were very disturbed to discover that they plan on using sodium hypochlorite, a chlorine derivative, for bleaching. In our investigation of this process, we discovered that the use of sodium hypochlorite may lead to the formation of dioxins and furans, and will most certainly create large amounts of chloroform and hundreds of other persistent bioaccumulative and toxic organochlorines. Although outright bans on most chemicals are not currently in fashion, regulators around the world, including the EPA, are crafting standards that will essentially eliminate the use of hypochlorite because of its recognized environmental and health hazards. The proposed mill site is adjacent to the Roanoke River, perhaps the most valuable spawning area in North Carolina. The Striped Bass, or Rockfish, has been restored to health in the Roanoke only though the investment of millions of tax dollars, and heavy restrictions on recreational and commercial fishermen. Subsistence fishermen and women line the banks of the river seeking to provide supplemental protein for themselves and their families. Fish advisories for dioxin already exist on the lower Roanoke We are concerned that mills such as this will be permitted under older standards, that may not be protective of public health and the environment, and that our community and others will be saddled with dirty technology, while the rules are endlessly debated. Permitting more mills under the old BAT standards provides an economic disincentive towards implementing stronger and cleaner standards. We again note that the EPA has not completed the Phase II and III Cluster Rules and the final Dioxin Reassessment has not been released. We are asking that the United States Environmental Protection Agency place a moratorium on new permits for mills that plan to use chlorine or chlorine derivatives such as sodium hypochlorite, until such time as the rules are fully promulgated. It would be a terrible injustice for communities to suffer the potentially devastating environmental, economic, and health effects that could occur, while waiting for the permitting process to be finalized. Sincerely, North Carolinians Acting For The Environment Native Forest Network Billy Stern Pulp and Paper Strategist Native Forest Network Western North American Box 8251 Missoula, MT 59807 Ph: 406-542-7343 Fax: 406-542-7347 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.nativeforest.org http://www.nfn.org.au -NFN Southern Hemisphere ************************************************************************ List-Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> News Submissions or Problems: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> This list is a public service provided by WIN: http://www.wildrockies.org &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
