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Chlorine is a naturally occurring substance. Its manipulation and use in forming artificial chemical products has had devastating effects on the environment which we are only now beginning to understand.
In its various artificial forms, chlorine plays a major role in the most pressing environmental problems which we face today; depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and acid rain. The pollution cau sed by its widespread use has been linked to a variety of serious health effects; poisonings have occurred in the chlorine industry since its inception and chlorine compounds have accumulated in the bodyfat of animals and humans.
Chlorine can exist safely, in the form of common salt (sodium chloride), for example, but the process of splitting common salt into caustic soda and chlorine gas makes it become dangerously toxic. One million tonnes of chlorine is produced from salt in this way every year in the UK. Most of this is combined with chemicals containing carbon to form organochlorines.
Organochiorines are contained in many of the familiar products we see in our shops, such as in solvents, pesticides, plastics, disinfectants, forms of packag ing and bleached pulp and paper products. If a product shows a list of its ingredients, any word containing the letters 'chloro' suggests the presence of an organochlorine. Many of the products which we buy are predominantly made of or encased in, plastics which contain chlorine such as PVC (polyvinylchloride). Some other plastics which do not contain chlorine stifl involve it at some stage in their production.
Polychlorinated biphenyls, (PCBs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and DDT are examples of organochlorine compounds which, although banned or discredited, are still evident in our environment. PCBs and DDT accumulate in the bodyfat of fish, animals and ultimately humans, through the food chain.
The manufacture of organochlorines gives rise to many unintentional by- products. Many of these are likely to lead to the same kinds of problems as the organochlorines which have already been banned.
In making organochlorine products, highly toxic by-products such as dioxins are inadvertently made at the same time and accumulate in the same way as PCBs in our bodyfat and in the environment generally. Similar major pollution problems also arise when these chlorinated products such as plastics and solvents are burned or incinerated as rubbish. The resulting polluted air affects the surrounding area, falling on agricultural land and accumulating in the food chain, putting food such as dairy products at risk from high levels of dioxins.
Studies in the US have shown that the presence of dioxins and PCBs is linked to nervous system damage in babies, with effects on memory and co-ordination. WEN's report, Chlorine, Pollution and the Parents of Tomorrow assesses the levels of dioxins and PCBs in Britain and concludes that similar effects may be occurring in between 1% and 8% of babies in this country.
International bodies and scientific institutions worldwide are calling for chlorine phase-out. In February 1994, President Clinton announced a strategy for the phase-out of chlorine in manufacturing; many towns and cities in Europe have banned PVC and the amount of chlorine used to bleach paper has fallen dramatically over the last few years. Chlorine has such a huge presence in our industrialised society, but now awareness is leading to the development of alternatives.
The dioxins that arefound in our bodies in the UK come mainly from the burning of material containing organochlorines such as PVC and wood treated with PCP. The dioxins are actually created on particles of soot and dust which are then spread efficiently into the air as the hot gases rise from the fire. The airborne dioxins fall on fields over a wide area beyond the burning site, where animals such as cows eat grass and plants contaminated by them. The dioxins stick firmly to fat in the cow, particularly to the milk fat, and to the fatty part of the meat. Since they do not break down, the cow acts as a dioxin concentrator. This also appliesto otheranimals, and is the reason why animal fat is the major source of dioxins for humans. Dioxins in fish come partly from airborne particles falling on the sea, but also from industrial and sewage discharges. Sewage contains dioxins - partly originating from the use of PCP wood preservative in homes and wood treatment plants. Municipal incinerator ash is landfilled. The ash from incinerators and fires contains large amounts of dioxins, furans and other toxic substances. Pollutants released from the ash may reach the water supply.
The US EPA expects more subtle effects, such as onthe immune system, to occur at the levels we now have in our bodies. Recent evidence suggests these effects could include endometriosis, a painful menstrual disease occurring in 10% of women.
Chlorine in swimming pools
The substance used to chlorinate swim-
ming pools is usually a salt (sodium
hypochlorite) which contains very little
free chlorine. Organochlorines do occur
inswimming pools, butthesedo not include
the highly toxic dioxins. Levels of other
organochlorines are higher in people
immediately after swimming; and they also
cause sore eyes. Better filtration and pool
maintenance would reduce the amount of
hypochlorite used.
MAIN FOOD SOURCES OF DIOXINS AND FLURANS Meat, dairy products and animal fats in other foods supply nearly all the dioxins in the average UK diet. Fish and eggs are smaller sources.
Chlorination of drinking water
The process uses chlorine gas and prduces
smailquantities of organochlorines.
A major statistical review of US studies
has found that people who drink
chlorinated drinking water are more likely
to contract rectal and bladder cancer.
Alternatives for purifying water such as
ozone and ultraviolet radiation could be
developed. Only 2.5% of the million tonnes
of chlorine produced annually in the UK is
used to disinfect drinking water.
Chlorine is an element which has always existed on earth, but almost entirely in safe forms such as common salt. Trouble arises when common salt is split in order to make caustic soda, a useful industrial chemical, and elemental chlorine, which is a green gas used as a poison gas in World War I. Chlorine gas is now an important raw material in the chemical industry. Itis combined with organic (carbon) chemicals from oil and coal to make organochlorines. These include the plastic, PVC, many solvents such as drycleaning fluid, pesticides and wood preservatives such as entachlorophenol (PCP), and some disinfectants and drugs. Chlorine gas is also used to disinfect water, but this is a minor use. The use of chlorine to make chemicals increased enormously from around 1940. This is mirrored by a huge rise in dioxins in the environment.
Within the general population, some people will have relatively low intakes of dioxin, and some will receive higher than average doses because of their diet (fatty foods), living near to dioxin sources (like Coalite in Der- byshire) and exposures at work. The United States Environmental Protection Agency says "Some more highly exposed members of the population may be at risk ... of decreased sperm counts, higher probability of experiencing endometriosis in women, reduced ability to withstand immunological challenge, and others."
It is sometimes said that known sources only account tora small proportion of the total dioxins created each year, but the enormous uncertainty in the amounts from each source could easily account for this. In 1993 the US EPA made an estimate for dioxin Production from municipal incinerators, but this has since been exceeded by the measured emis- sions from one incinerator. This suggests that the only safe course is to eliminate air known sources.
Women's Environmental Network, 22 Highbury
Grove,London N5 2EA Tel: 071 354 8823
Dioxin contamination is usually made up of a mixture of chemicals, and the toxicity of these different compounds varies. The amount of each type is multiplied by a number representing its toxicity (a TEF) and then all the contributions of all the different types are added up. This gives an overall toxicity in toxic equivalents or TEQs.
The US EPA has previously stated that dioxins do cause cancer in humans. In the recent draft they estimate risks of cancer due to dioxins in the general population. Existing levels of dioxins in the US popu- lation may cause cancer in one in every ten thousand or even in one in every thousand people in a lifetime. In the UK, this would be behveen 6,000 and 60,000 cancers in a lifetime of 60 years, or between 86and 660 cancers a year.
Non-cancer effects include damage to reproductive, hormone and immune systems. These effects of dioxin, in animals and humans, are much worse than was previously thought. The EPA says that some of these effects are already occurring in the US popuia- tion. In the UK, we have, if anything, higher levels of dioxins in our bodies.
On average, we are likely to have body burdens of 9 ppt of dioxin TEQs. The US EPA states that monkeys get endometriosis at 27 ppt. Decreased testosterone occurs in men at 13 ppt. Altered glucose tolerance (suggesting the threat of diabetes occurs at 14 ppt in one study. Enhanced viral susceptibility is found in mice at 7 ppt, implying that we could be less resistant to viral illness at our current body level of dioxins. Dioxins stimulate the production of certain enzymes, which could have effects on cell processes, and this effect is found in rats at 1 pp. So virtually the whole human population could already be experiencing these subtle changes.
Chlorine gas (elemental chlorine) is pro-
ducedwhensalt is split upto make caustic
soda, an essential industrial chemical.
The processis not easy: it requires a large
input of energy and is usually done by
passing an electric current through brine
(salt solution). Mercury, a metal which is
associated with severe health and envi-
ronmental effects, is often still used.
Chlorine is a by-product of the manufac-
ture of caustic soda for which uses, many
of them disastrous, have been sought.
Partof thesolutiontothe chlorine problem
will be to successfully manufacture caustic
soda without pro-'
ducing chlorine, a
process which is
already beginning
The German Council of Experts for Environmental Issues, a government think-
tank, stated in 1990:
'.... the dynamic growth of chlorine chemistry during the 50s and 60s
represents a decisive mistake in twentieth century industrial development, which
would not have occurred hadour present knowledge of environmental damage
and health risks due to chlorine chemistry then been available.'
Organochlorines are made by reacting chlorine gas with organic chemicals from the coal and oil industries. After World War II the petrochemical industry expanded and organochlorine production increased. As a result, the quantities of synthetic organochlorines now in the environment far outweigh trace amounts that might occur naturally.
Many organochlorines are strongly fat- seeking- they tend to build up in the fatty parts of living creatures where they become more concentrated and toxic.
Many chemicals that are environmentally damaging are organochlorines like PCBs and DDT. The pesticide DDT is now banned in many countries.
OZONE DEPLETION
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which
damage the ozone lays contain chlori ne.
The CFCs break down in the earth's upper
atmosphereto release their chlorine. This
chlorine destroysthe ozone layer which
protects us front harmful ultraviolet rays.
Many additional skin cancers and damage
to vegetation will be caused as a
result of this ozone depletion.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
CFCsand otheroompounds such as 1,1,1 -
trichloroethane, a solvent used in correcting
fluid, contribute to the greenhouse
effect by absorbing the sun's heat and
preventing Ifrom escaping into space.
ACID RAIN
Organochlorines,such as trichloroethylene
which breakdown to form acids in the air,
contribute to acid rain and consequently
to damage done to trees and wildlife.
TOXIC POLLUTION
PCBs are a past product of the chlorine
industry. Their main use has been in
equipment in electricity substations and in
washing machines and electric motors.
Accidents involving PCBs have caused
severe poisoning andtheir manufacture
- and use is now banned worldwide. A large
amount of the PCBs producedin the past
are still present in our environment, especially
in the sea wherethey are concentrated in the bodies of fish.
HEALTH EFFECTS
Many organochlorines have been connected with effects on human health:
Perchloroethylene (perc), is an organochlorine and the main solvent used in dry cleaning. It is recognised as a probable human carcinogen in California and Sweden. An increased risk of miscarriage has been found in women exposed to perc in early pregnancy.
Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and lindane, both used for wood treatment, have caused ill health in employees and in people who have had their homes treated with either of these chemicals.
Minute traces of dioxins may have existed before industrialisation, but a huge rise occurred in the 1940s. This parallels the massive expansion of organochlorine manufacture which started at this time.
Organochlorines are rarely found in living systems; those that are have specialised and powerful functions, sometimes as natural disinfectants. There are some natural organochlorines in the atmosphere, but considerably greater amounts of artificially produced ones.
Chlorine bleached paper
In the paper-making process, wood is
broken down, and many different chemical
compounds are produced. If chlorine is
then used to bleach the woodpulp, it reacts
with these chemicals to form dioxins
and hundreds of other organochlorines
These are then discharged to rivers in the
affluent from pulp millsorburnt as sludge
in incinerators and traces also remain in
the paper products themselves.
Chlorine is not used in woodpulping in Britain, but chlorine bleached pulp is imported and so supports the continuation of an extremely polluting process in other countries. Pulp does not have to be bleached with chlorine - paper products made from unbleached and non-chlorine bleached pulp are now available throughout Europe.
The US government Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a public review of dioxin toxicity. Its research shows
DO NOT BURN rubbish, especially plastic and painted or treated wood.
AVOID organochlorine products, PVC in cling film,
stationery and shampoo bottles, solvents in paint remover
and correcting fluid, Pentachlorophenol and Lindane in
wood preservatives. Some disinfectants contain
organochlorines - look at the label.
CHOOSE clothes that can be washed at home. AVOID
dry cleaning: perchloroethylene is hazardous in use and it
is a bulk chlorine product whose manuf acture and disposal
create long lasting toxic pollution Alternative treatments
for non-washable clothes are already being developed.
USE water based correction fluid; avoid 1,1,1-
trichloroethane.
ENCOURAGE companies to reduce waste and to cut
their use of organochlorines.
ASK companies if products contain organochlorines. Ask
supermarkets what their packaging is made from, and
avoid packaging which contains organochlorines. PVC
packaging is often labelled with a "V".
USE water based paint; solvents may include
organochlorines.
LOOK on product labels. Organochlorine products often
have "chloro" in their names; check the label and avoid
the chlorine. Alternatives are usually available.
EAT ORGANIC FOOD; avoid or cut down on pesticides -
many are still organochlonines.
USE less petrol - leaded petrol is a small source of dioxins
and although unleaded petrol is a better option it is
becoming apparent that there are health problems linked
to this too.
LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES TO PVC
USE paper wallpaper - vinyl wallpaper is PVC.
USE cork or line for floor covering.
USE less plastic generally where possible - some plastics
other than PVC involve chlorine in their production
Changing your diet very suddenly could make you lose weight quickly, releasing pollutants from fat which could burden the liver and other organs.
Most people eat too much fat and protein and should eat more fruit, vegetables and starchy foods.
Breast feeding: breastfed babies are healthier and may be more intelligent. Any significant risk from pollutants in the mother is likely to be from intake before birth. However, the fact that dioxin-like pollutants occur in our food, our bodies and in unborn children means that we should reduce these pollutants at source.
The Women's Environmental Network Trust is one of Britain's leading environmental charities. It is a non-profit organisation funded by grants and donations. Its aim is to educate, inform and empowerwomen who care about the environment. WEN campaigns are funded mainy by members.
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Acknowledgements:
Researched and written by
Ann Link, Laura Canning and
Rebecca Rees.
Cartoon by Valerie Jones.
Cover illustration by Daksha Patel
Updated June 1994
