In Reply to: Re: Imperial Chemical Industries ?? posted by Sue on January 07, 1997 at 10:49:18:
> > > Can anyone tell me anything about ICI?> > Michael - I am Senior Press Officer at the ICI headquarters in
> > London and I will be delighted to give you any information you
> > need. E mail me at ici@icipuaff.demon.co.uk or check out our
> > website at http://www.demon.co.uk/ici/
> > We are actually Demon customers but expect shortly to become ici.com> Dear Geoff Paddock
> I read in a recent Environmental Data Services press release
> that ICI is discharging tonnes of oestrogenic chemicals into the
> environment. The release says that ICI discharges APEs (alkyl phenol
> ethoxylates - toxic industrial detergents) into the Tees estuary.
> I would like to know why ICI is doing this? I visited your site
> but couldn't find anything about this.> Hope to read your reply soon.
> Sue
> P.S. I remember reading articles about ICI carrying out experiments
> on live animals at its site at Alderley Edge in Cheshire during the
> 1980's. Do ICI still carry out animal experiments there or elsewhere?
> And if so, what do you test and why?
Sue:
ICI shares the increasing public concern over chemicals said to affect the reproductive capabilities of man or animals.Product safety and the protection of our employees and customers and the general public are major priorities for us.
At this time the scientific evidence is unclear and does not support a single cause for these effects. The latest information suggests that natural oestrogens from sewage treatment works are a principal cause. Regardless, we fully support a scientific approach to clarify the issue and identify any relationship between reproductive changes and industrial chemicals. We have initiated our own research programme and are contributing to and supporting the work of leading independent scientists with other European chemical companies.Animal testing, whether one likes it or not, is a legal requirement, and although ICI's needs were drastically reduced following the demerger of our bioscience businesses in 1993, we are still obliged to carry out the smallest number of tests necessary to make sure that our products are safe. We no longer have our own in-house testing facility, and it is our policy to minimise the use of animals wherever possible. Much of our testing is carried out in consortia with other companies, thereby reducing the number of tests even more.
We have recently redesigned the ICI website and will be putting a new environmental update onto the site soon.
I hope the above is helpful.
Geoff Paddock
Senior Press Officer
ICI