[] TL: GREENPEACE STUDY: THE ELBE
SO: Greenpeace Germany (GP)
DT: Spring 1990
Keywords: toxics rivers germany elbe europe greenpeace gp
reports /

   Results of the Measuring and Campaign Trip of the Beluga
   in the Spring of 1990

Scientific revising and editing:
OKOPOL - Institute of ecology and Politics GmbH, Hamburg

(Abridged Version)


CONTENTS

Foreword by the publishers
Preface by the authors

The drainage area of the Elbe

The sections of the Elbe

The Elbe and conservation

Stations of the Beluga

VEB Vereinigte Zellstoffwerke Pirna
(Pirna State-Owned Pulp Works)

VEB Pharmazeutisches Kombinat GERMED, Dresden
(GERM ED State-Owned Pharmaceutical Combine)

Zellstoffwerk Coswig
(Coswig Pulp Mill)

VEB Chemiewerk Nunchritz
(Nunchritz State-Owned Chemicals Plant)

Black Elster

VEB Synthesewerk Schwarzheide
(Schwarzheide State-Owned Synthesis Plant)

VEB Kombinat Agrochemie Piesteritz
(Piesteritz State-Owned Agrochemicals Combine)

The Mulde

VEB Chemiekombinat Bitterfeld
(Bitterfeld State-Owned Chemicals Combine)

VEB Fotochemisches Kombinat Wolfen
(Wolfen State-Owned Photochemicals Combine)

The Saale

Low temperature carbonization of brown coal

VEB Chemische Werke Buna
(Buna State-Owned Chemicals Works)

VEB Leuna-Werke "Walter Ulbricht"
(Walter Ulbricht State-Owned Works in Leuna)

VEB Fahlberg-List

VEB GroBgaserei Magdeburg
(State-Owned Gasworks in Magdeburg)

VEB Zellstoffwerke Wittenberge
(State-Owned Pulp Works in Wittenberge)

Hamburgs contribution to pollution of the Elbe

Dow Stade BmbH

Temming AG, Gluckstadt

Bayer AG, Brunsbuttel

Drinking water

Evaluation and conclusions

References
Lexicon of hazardous substances
The ship's laboratory


Foreword by the publishers

The opening of the East has brought with it new opportunities
and challenges for the former GDR. Carefully guarded secrets
about pollution and destruction of the environment in this part
of Europe were revealed and it became clear just how urgently an
environmental policy is needed that is geared to the future and
avoids past mistakes. For the first time environmental groups
were able to state their demands and expectations openly and
actively engage in politics. For the international environmental
organization, Greenpeace, the days of illegal activities in the
GDR came to an end as well. In the spring of 1990 it was
possible to found a section in the GDR (Greenpeace e.V. GDR). At
the same time it became clear that quick action was called for. 
In the course of considering a plan of action the Elbe river
became a prime focus of Greenpeace's work for a number of
reasons.

- The catastrophic condition of the river had proven once again
that international environmental problems require intense
cooperation among all countries. Past discussions on the correct
borderline along the Elbe, which now seem ridiculous, were a
major hindrance to its clean-up.

- Most of the population of the former GDR live in the drainage
area of the Elbe and are directly dependent on the river's
water. In addition, the industrial centers with their widely
varying impacts on the environment are also located here. The
Elbe will be a useful indicator of any improvement in the
environmental situation in the five new German states.

- Immense pollutant loads are discharged daily into the North
Sea by the Elbe. Greenpeace has been fighting for years to save
this ecosystem, which has already received some irreversible
damage. Consequently, it was a logical step to also extend
activities to one of the major inflows.

- To save the river, fundamental political decisions must be
demanded with massive public backing. Rebuilding the industry in
the five new German states offers a unique historical
opportunity to put into practice a model for dealing with nature
that is ecologically responsible and socially compatible. The
Elbe could thus become the model for a fundamental ecological
reorientation of industrial society in the East and West.

It is hoped that the ecological-political evaluation of the
Greenpeace Elbe trip presented here will make a constructive
contribution to the decision-making process.

Jorg Naumann, Christoph Thies 
G r e e n p e a c e 
November 1990

If not otherwise specified, the analyses on which this study is
based were carried out by: 
AL control GmbH - independent laboratory specializing in the 
environment, Bremen.


Foreword by the Authors

From April to May 1990 the Greenpeace measuring and campaign
ship, the Beluga, travelled the Elbe, measuring pollutants,
informing the population and conducting campaigns at the worst
polluters of the Elbe. The aim was to draw attention to the
extent of pollution of this river as well as to economic
consequences and possible corrective actions. The present report
was originally meant to be purely a travel log of this trip but
its character has since gradually changed. As the GDR disbanded,
the states joined the Federal Republic of Germany, nationally-
owned businesses were converted to capitalist forms of business,
and plants were modified or shut down, there were also so many
changes at the plants and combines visited by Greenpeace that
just a few weeks after the trip it seemed senseless to publish
a mere travel log describing facts as found and uncovered by
Greenpeace. Documentation of the old condition is still
important but it is no longer adequate.

Even now it is still daring to publish the present study, as
developments continue to progress rapidly and many are not
nearly complete. Just one example is the ghost of I.G Farben. It
was long believed to be dead but has recently reared its head
and filed claims for the possession of Buna, Leuna, Wolfen,
Bitterfeld and Piersteritz plants also treated in this report.

This report does not pretend to be complete. This applies not
only to documentation of the condition of the Elbe and its
drainage area, which encompasses virtually all of the GDR, as it
was at the beginning of this year. This is even more applicable
to the description of current developments and future plans for
redeveloping the GDR economy. The amount of information
available for different plants and combines varies considerably
as it depends largely on the willingness on the part of those
responsible in plants and the authorities to provide this
information. 

Often the public was not sufficiently aware of the fact the
Beluga made stops not only in the GDR but also in the FRG to
point out environmental destruction there as well. These stops,
which received too little attention in mass media reports, will
be evaluated once again in detail in the present report. The
main idea is to communicate the mistakes made in the West,
whether in establishing businesses, in poor planning in the use
and exploitation of the land and resources or in setting up
inadequate standards, to the people and politicians of the new
states of the FRG in such a way that they will not repeat
painful mistakes.

Finally, the report will try to show just how far the industries
in the West are removed from a production that is beneficial to
the environment and man and to define goals that will be worth
pursuing even in years to come.

Sabine Winteler, Joachim Lohse
Okopol,
November 1990


Stations of the Beluga in the GDR and FRG

The Greenpeace campaign ship, the Beluga, travelled the Elbe
from Czechslovakian border to the mouth of the river from April
7, 1990 to May 10, 1990. The purpose of the trip was to make use
of the political opening of the former GDR to point out flagrant
destruction of the environment, to gather and disseminate
information and, whenever possible, to remedy deplorable
situations quickly. At the same time the Beluga trip was
supposed to establish a connection to the production processes
on the former territory of the FRG. Although direct
contamination of water, air and soil from them is not as high,
sludge, flue dust, slag, toxic waste and ultimately the marketed
finished products (eg made of PVC) themselves create many
environmental problems.

The trip focused primarily on problems relating to chlorinated
hydrocarbons with their innumerable adverse effects on the
environment and all levels of living organisms including man.
These hazardous substances are discharged into the Elbe mainly
from the sewage pipes of the chemicals industry and by pulp
industry plants that still use chlorine bleaching.

Campaigns were conducted at the Arzneimittelwerk Dresden
(pharmaceutical production), at the Fotochemischen Kombinat
Wolfen (photochemicals), the pesticide manufacturer, Fahlberg-
List, the important West German chemicals producers, Dow Stade
and Bayer Brunsbuttel as well as at the pulp production
facilities in Pirna, Coswig, Wittenberge and Gluckstadt.

However, Greenpeace's work was not limited to campaigns alone.
Numerous talks were also held with those in responsible
positions. Moreover, at several locations water samples from the
Elbe and its most important tributaries were analysed.

Detailed summary of the results:

VEB Vereinigte Zellstoffwerke Pirna: 
(Pirna State-Owned Pulp Works) 

The pulp mill in Pirna is located on the left bank of the Elbe
between the Czechoslovakian border and Dresden and produces
sulfite wood pulp from beech wood for the manufacture of
synthetic fibers. During the production process the wood pulp is
bleached with chlorine chemicals.

The production of wood pulp loads waste waters with dissolved
and suspended wood constituents that generate a high oxygen
demand detectable as the chemical oxygen demand COD. Bleaching
loads waste waters with the products of lignin chlorination that
are virtually non-biodegradable and can be toxic. 

Greenpeace measurements gave an AOX (a measure of the load of
organochlorine compounds) of 30,000 micrograms and a COD of more
than 1,000 milligrams per liter. 

The explosive nature of this toxic load in the waste water is
enhanced by the fact that drinking water is obtained from the
riverside filtrate of the Elbe. Just a few kilometers below the
Pirna plant the Hosterwitz and Tolkewitz water works are located
on the right and left banks of the Elbe respectively. With
2,4,5-trichlorophenol the Beluga's laboratory was able to track
down a hazardous toxic substance in the Tolkewitz water works
that had previously been identified in the waste water of the
bleaching plant in Pirna but not in the Elbe above Pirna.

The mill's management attempted to play down the measured load
by arguing that only 0.6 per cent was actually toxic. However,
it is a known fact that decomposition processes taking place in
water can break down the large, initially "harmless" molecules
into smaller fragments that can very easily be toxic.


Prospects 

A pulp liquor concentration facility and a biological sewage
treatment plant will not go into operation until the end of
1993. Until then the Elbe will continue to be loaded with 300
tons of COD daily, the highest organic pollutant load from any
of the pulp works in the former GDR. 

The decision of Summer 1990 to stop bleaching with pure chlorine
does not go far enough. Only a total ban on all chlorine-
containing chemicals, ie chlorine dioxide and hypochlorite as
well, can reduce the AOX to zero. A totally chlorine-free
viscose fiber is now already on the market. This refutes the
argument so often used that it is impossible to produce pulp for
synthetic fiber production without chlorine bleaching.

VEB Pharmazeutisches Kombinat GERMED, Dresden 
(GERMED State-Owned Pharmaceutical Combine) 

The largest drug manufacturer in the territory of the former GDR
with a total of 3500 employees produces about 250 chemical-
pharmaceutical products, such as cardiovascular drugs,
psychotropic drugs and antirheumatic agents.

The plant pollutes the air with soot from the brown coal power
plant and a wide variety of harmful substances emitted from
approximately 400 chimneys and fume hoods. The grounds are most
likely highly contaminated owing to several burst sewage pipes
and must be considered one big abandoned pollution area.

The only measure taken to control waste water until the spring
of 1990 consisted of a stacking container for "equalization", ie
for compensating extreme fluctuations in the acid content. In
the Greenpeace water samples high concentrations of oxygen-
depleting substances and organochlorine compounds were found
including, for example, the highest concentration of
hexachlorobenzene of the whole trip as well as PAH's, toluene,
chlorinated solvents, chlorobenzenes and chlorophenols. 

Management at first denied several effluents, as for example the
solvent carbon tetrachloride. However, it turned out that
unknown to the plant management carbon tetrachloride was still
being used in the apprentices' workshop.

Greenpeace's greatest achievement was to force the plant to take
a close look at each of its own processes individually in an
effort to eliminate unnecessary emissions. In addition,
the Water Conservation Authority ordered a stop to parts of
production and issued a ban on the discharge of the pollutants
in the highest water hazard category, carbon tetrachloride,
chloroform and benzene. Standards limiting the emission of
other hazardous substances were also established.

In September 1990 the COD load in the waste water was in fact
reduced by 50 per cent. Chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and
benzene are avowedly no longer being discharged.

Plans for more far-reaching measures, such as incineration of
toxic wastes or joint treatment of the plant waste water with
the municipal sewage of Dresden must be viewed with a great deal
of skepticism.

VEB Chemiewerk Nunchritz 
(Nunschritz State-Owned Chemical Works) 

This plant near Riesa has about 2000 employees. It produces
sulfuric acid and its secondary products, silicone products for
adhesives, paints, rubber and oils and even two "ozone killers",
the chlorofluorocarbons, CFC-11 and CFC-12. In addition, the
silicone-based building conservation agent, "Contraquin", and
teflon are produced. Silicone production was begun in the early
60's. 

The plant discharges approximately 4,000 cubic meters of highly
contaminated waste water into the Elbe daily. Particularly
hazardous pollutants include chlorobenzenes, chlorophenols,
chlorinated solvents (eg carbon tetrachloride) and heavy metals
(especially copper).

The Beluga laboratory once again proved to be an excellent
detective when finding the right places to take samples, as the
sensors for measuring the temperature and oxygen content were
covered with a sticky, viscous mass. This was raw uncrosslinked
silicone that was obviously contained in considerable
concentrations in the waste water of the Nunchritz Chemical
Works.

A talk with plant management revealed that neutralization was
the only waste water treatment on the premises. The plant
management had no explanation for the source of the solvent
(chloroform) and chlorinated benzenes.

Prospects 

Continued production of ozone-depleting CFC's is totally
unacceptable. Production must be stopped immediately!!! (At the
same time this would solve the problem of carbon tetrachloride
emissions.) It should be relatively easy to separate the other
pollutants from the waste water. Heavy metals and organic
pollutants can often be recycled and do not have to end up
either as water pollutants or as waste. In the medium- and long-
term, an ecologically safe reorganization of the plant
production should focus on phasing out substances with
questionable properties.

Black Elster 

Although the confluence of the Black Elster improves the level
of nutrients in the Elbe, it also pollutes the Elbe with
cyanide, oxygen-depleting substances and organochlorine
compounds. Some of those responsible for this include the
Synthesewerk Schwarzheide (Schwarzheide Synthesis Plant),
Zellstoffwerk Groditz (pulp mill) and the Lauchhammer brown coal
refinery.

VEB Kombinat Agrochemie Piesteritz (Piesteritz State-Owned
Agrochemicals Combine) The VEB Kombinat Agrochemie Piesteritz is
located on the right bank of the Elbe in Wittenberg-Piesteritz.
It produces in addition to inorganic acids (sulfuric acid,
nitric acid, phosphoric acid) a wide variety of nitrogen- and
phosphorus based fertilizers, eg urea, calcium cyanamide, and
white phosphorus. Its production range is based on the synthesis
of carbide from chalk and coke in an electric furnace, which
consumes large amounts of electricity.

Currently there is only limited production of pesticides.

The plant in Piesteritz emitted enormous amounts of dust, sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air in 1989. The processes
used generate cyanides and hydrogen cyanide, which are then
processed further. There is no treatment plant for the waste
water on the premises.

Random water samples contained large amounts of cyanide in
addition to slightly elevated concentrations of phosphate,
benzene, toluene, dichloro- and pentachlorobenzene and also the
heavy metal, copper.

Plant management was very open to discussion and elucidated the
origins of some of the pollutants but expressed doubts about
other pollutants found by Greenpeace in the waste water, for
example, the organochlorine compounds, which were neither used
nor produced in the plant. The concentrations of some of the
chlorobenzenes in particular were markedly elevated although the
cause for this could not be clearly identified.

Prospects 

A number of pollution control measures have been planned and
financing for others is being sought. The plant management hopes
that pollution of the Elbe with the plant's waste water will be
abated by 1995 when the Wittenberg/Piesteritz combined sewage
treatment plant will be completed. 

Although construction of a combined sewage treatment plant for
industrial and municipal waste is not without problems, any
problems arising should basically be solvable by pretreatment of
individual streams of the industrial waste water in the
chemicals plant.

It is, however, uncertain whether an ecological overhaul of the
carbide production process is feasible and, given the product
range, even sensible.

The Mulde 

With the confluence of the Mulde near Roblau the quality of the
Elbe water suddenly deteriorates. The Mulde adds water with low
oxygen content and a high organic load (up to 19 milligram BOD/5
days and up to 100 milligrams COD/Cr) to the river. This reduces
the oxygen concentration in the Elbe to less than 2 milligrams
per liter and produces a rapid increase in the nitrogen
concentration. Furthermore, the concentration of salt and heavy
metals, in particular mercury, increases.

The main polluters of the Mulde are the industrial plants in the
Bitterfeld-Wolfen area.

VEB Chemiekoubinat Bitterfeld 
(Bitterfeld State-Owned Chemicals Combine) 

The Halle region with the VEB Chemiekombinat Bitterfeld (CKB),
the Wolfen Film Factory and other companies is known worldwide
as an ecological disaster area. Here six thousand smoke stacks
emit hazardous substances into the environment, but only 675 of
them are registered with the authorities as emitters and are
monitored by regulatory agencies.

Chlorine is found at the center of CKB production processes. It
is inevitably formed as the coupling product of chloralkali
electrolysis during production of potassium or sodium hydroxide
solution. The chlorine is reacted further to chlorinated
solvents and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's, CFC-11, CFC-22) and
used, for example, in the production of phosphorus chlorides,
chlorobenzenes, chlorophenols, pesticides, organic dyes,
silicones, etc.

Measurements 

The biggest problem in the 200,000 cubic meters of waste water
per day is mercury. The chloralkali electrolyses lose five tons
every year, which is a quarter of the mercury load discharged
into the North Sea by the Elbe every year. Hidden behind such
collective terms as "dissolved organic carbon" or "chlorinated
hydrocarbons" were often many highly toxic pollutants, as
analysis in the Beluga's laboratory revealed, including the
trimethylester of dithiophosphoric acid (possibly from pesticide
production), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, chloronitrobenzenes and
chlorinated ethanes.

Beginnings of a cleanup? 

The damage to the environment caused by the Chemiekombinat
Bitterfeld is so grave that it will take decades to repair. A
convincing concept for pollution abatement understandably enough
does not exist as yet. The only immediate action to date has
been the shutdown of a few production processes. Further
planning leaves much to be desired. Instead of phasing out
chlorine production because of the ecological risks, plans are
being made to install a chlor-alkali electrolysis according to
the membrane process that operates without mercury emissions. 

CFC-11 and CFC-12 production is to be replaced by the production
of CFC-22, which is also an ozone-depleter but still permitted
as a "substitute".

VEB Fotochemisches Kombinat Wolfen 
(Wolfen State-Owned Photochemicals Combine) 

The Photochemicals Combine with a total of 21,000 employees
produces magnetic tapes, films, photographic papers and photo
chemicals as well as viscose fibers and cellulose. Every day
125,000 cubic meters of waste water with an enormously high
concentration of oxygen-depleting substances are discharged. At
almost 4,200 milligrams of COD the waste water samples taken by
Greenpeace contained the second highest load of the entire trip.

A total cleanup of this disastrously polluted waste water is no
where near in sight. Although isolated shutdowns will
undoubtedly bring considerable reductions, the film factory in
Wolfen will not have its own neutralization and sedimentation
plant until 1998.

In addition to a very high COD value, Greenpeace determined
extremely high loads of chlorobenzenes and phosphate as well as
elevated levels of heavy metals.

Prospects 

Viscose fiber production already ceased in December 1989 and
sulfate wood pulp production was discontinued in the summer of
1990. Production of sulfite wood pulp will cease in January
1991. Chlorine bleaching will be totally eliminated from future
wood pulp production. Films and magnetic tapes are to be
produced in the future jointly with Agfa-Gevaert AG, a Bayer
subsidiary.

The Silbersee (Silver Lake) 

The "Silver Lake" is an environmental scandal without
precedence. It is a strip mining pit that has not been sealed
and that is presumably in contact with the groundwater. This pit
serves literally as the sedimentation basin for untreated water
from pulp and viscose production in Wolfen before it flows into
the Spittel and subsequently the Mulde.

It is an eerie sight: a lake full of foam with dark brown water
and shores lined only with dead trees - it could well be a lunar
landscape. 

Since chlorine bleaching is used in Wolfen, it seemed reasonable
to assume that deposits in the sludge of the pit included
dioxins and other chlorinated hydrocarbons. Therefore,
Greenpeace took a sludge sample and had it analyzed: 


At 25 to 70 nanograms of dioxin (expressed as the toxicity
equivalent, TE) per kilogram dry substance, the sludge does
contain increased amounts of dioxin but not of the order that
would alone require an immediate cleanup. The same is true for
the chlorobenzenes and chlorophenols. Nevertheless, these loads
must certainly be taken seriously. The heavy metal content
(zinc, lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel and
mercury) of the "Silver Lake", however, currently calls to mind
that of a coal mine and should be immediately eliminated.

The measures taken thus far to limit damage to the environment
are inadequate and a comprehensive abatement program is urgently
needed.

The Saale 

With its confluence with the Elbe near Barby the Saale inflicts
another blow to the already ailing main stream. Its contribution
to oxygen-depleting substances alone accounts for 4.9 per cent
of the total load of the Elbe measured at Schnackenburg.

Added to this are large amounts of nutrients, salts, cyanides,
heavy metals, phenols and chlorinated hydrocarbons, in short,
once again the whole horror of chemical water pollution from A
to Z. Four large groups of polluters are chiefly responsible:
the potassium industry, metals mining and smelting, brown coal
processing and the chemicals industry. Other polluters include
the pulp industry in Blankenstein and Merseburg, as well as the
Synthetic Fiber Combine in Schwarz on the Wipper but also
municipal sewage and runoff from surfaces used for agriculture.

In a random sample taken from the Saale, Greenpeace found the
highest river concentration of dichlorobenzene (106 micrograms
per liter) and almost 1000 micrograms of phosphate per liter of
Saale water, which is twice as high as the phosphate content of
the Elbe above the confluence of the Saale.

Low temperature carbonization of brown coal 

High environmental loads originate from the low temperature
carbonization of brown coal in Bohlen and Espenhain. The waste
water there is highly polluted with phenols as well as other
hazardous substances. However, the air pollution from dust,
suIfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, tar and other
hazardous substances is probably even worse. Abating this
pollution would be so costly that shutdowns are planned instead.

VEB Chemische Werke Buna, Schkopau 
(Buna State-Owned Chemical Works in Schkopau) 

The Buna Chemical Works in Schkopau is one of the largest
producers of chemicals in the territory of the former GDR and
the largest producer of polymers ("plastics and elastomers").
The combine has over 20,000 employees.


Buna has engaged in large-scale production of the polymer PVC
since 1938. PVC is formed by polymerization of the carginogen,
vinyl chloride.

The carbide synthesis carried out at Buna is detrimental in a
number of ways: For every ton of product synthesized up to three
tons of chalk sludge are generated as toxic waste. In addition,
the massive air emissions (eg dust) and the waste water
(cyanides, etc.) really require purification, which is costly
and has never been carried out.

At the same time just one of the twelve carbide furnaces in Buna
consumes as much energy in one hour as the city of Leipzig in
one day.

Plant emissions 

Dust and sulfur dioxide emissions constitute the major air
pollutants. Nitrogen oxides contribute to pollution in amounts
that are almost as high. 

Large amounts of pollutants are also discharged into the Saale
with waste water (230,000 cubic meters daily), including the
extremely toxic heavy metal, mercury, of which over 20 kilograms
is discharged daily into the Saale. It emanates on both from
chlor-alkali electrolysis facilities and from acetaldehyde
production. Workers cannot be employed there for more than four
weeks; afterwards they are so highly contaminated with mercury
that they must be transferred to another job location. Other
problem substances in the Buna waste water are cyanide, ammonium
salts, oxygen-destroying substances, surfactants, volatile and
chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Ever since part of the carbide production with its high water
demand has ceased, all of the waste water can be disposed of via
the treatment plant, which has improved the situation. The
shutdowns have also led to a decrease in the mercury load in the
waste water from more than 20 kilograms daily to 7 kilograms. In
the future surfactant recycling and an expansion of the
biological treatment plant should provide further improvements.

Planned restructuring 

In the next few years the Buna Chemical Works plans to
completely cease carbide production. It is hoped that this will
produce a substantial reduction in emissions and toxic wastes.
Carbide substitution is already in full progress. Due to the
high energy savings production costs could even be lower than
they were before substitution. In the next few years the
synthesis of the starting materials will be redesigned on the
basis of clean petrochemical processes.

Most of the Mercury emissions have been abated, as both the
acetaldehyde production (effective October 31, 1990) and the in-
house chlorine production have been discontinued. The chlorine
required by the plant is now purchased from the USSR.

Further abatement of pollution around Buna should be achieved
through construction of a power plant fired by hard coal. It is
currently unclear what role chlorine chemistry will play in the
plans of Buna's management. After the opening of the former GDR
the Buna Works started to work closely with Huls AG of the
former FRG, which has its own production of chlorine, PVC and
other chlorinated hydrocarbons. Huls AG could be planning to
move production processes encountering difficulties in the
western part of Germany.

VEB Leuna-Werke "Walter Ulbricht" 
("Walter Ulbricht" State-Owned Works in Leuna) 

The Leuna Works has almost 30,000 employees (1988). Like the
Buna Works, it has a wide product range. However, crude
petroleum constitutes the basis of the product range at Leuna.
The former BASF subsidiary has been operating a plant for the
synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen since 1916. The
plant is a considerable nuisance to its surroundings, for
example, due to the permanent odor of diesel oil and phenol.

Greenpeace found massive pollutant concentrations in
preliminary samples of waste water from the Leuna Works taken-
in March 1990. The amounts of chlorinated hydrocarbons (AOX),
solvents, the heavy metal, nickel, as well as pesticides,
which were found repeatedly, were particularly high.

The enormous amounts of waste water discharged by the Leuna
Works contribute substantially to the total load of the Saale
and thus also of the Elbe. The nitrogen discharge is higher than
in any of the other sections of the Elbe, including even
discharges emanating from the Piesteritz agrochemical works. The
Leuna Works is also one of the biggest emitters of oxygen
depleting substances: their contribution to the total pollution
of the Elbe at the former border community of Schnackenburg was
estimated at four per cent! Other pollutants in the Leuna waste
water are phenols, hardening constituents, sulfite, extractable
substances, surfactants and cyanides.

Future plans 

First steps to reduce the waste water load are in the planning
stage and should be completed by 1993. To avert bankruptcy the
Leuna management board is currently (September 1990) working on
a new company plan that is to ensure a "ecologically safe and
competitive company that will endure".

VEB Fahlberg-List, Magdeburg 

The largest pesticide plant in the territory of the former GDR
with about 2,000 employees is located in Salbke, a district of
Magdeburg, on the left bank of the Elbe. A wide variety of
agricultural chemicals in addition to sulfuric acid and
pharmaceutical products are produced here. Belonging to the
group of agricultural chemicals are fertilizers (super
phosphate) and pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides,
fungicides and caustics. Of these the mercury containing caustic
("Falisan") and the organochlorine pesticides (eg "Melipax") are
especially problematical. Not only their production but also
their usage is detrimental to the environment and health, as
they are hardly degradable. Other products include preparations,
such as the sweetener, saccharine, the disinfectant, chloramine
T, ephedrine, the cough medicine, bromhexin (based on
bromobenzene) and various barbiturates.

Large amounts of raw materials and products are stored on the
plant's premises. Production residues are also stored in drums
on concrete surfaces in the open. An inventory list of
substances contains over 2,000 individual substances.

Pollution from the plant 

Every hour the VEB Fahlberg-List discharges 500 cubic meters of
waste water into the Elbe. Preliminary random samples of the
waste water contained substantial amounts of hazardous
substances but primarily mercury and organic pollutants. There
were dangerously high concentrations of the aromatic compounds,
benzene, toluene and xylene as well as numerous chlorobenzenes
(including hexachlorobenzenel) and chlorophenols, chlorinated
solvents and pesticides. During the Elbe trip these findings
were confirmed by the ship's laboratory, which identified other
hazardous substances as well. Moreover, the grounds were
permeated by an intense odor and dust emanating from the highly
toxic pesticides and the super phosphate fertilizers.

After the sewage pipe had been sealed by Greenpeace the
production manager ceased all production. Current production
accounted for most of the pollutant effluents. Only production
of lindane and the related compounds, alpha- and beta-HCH had
already been stopped in 1981. The fact that these substances
could still be detected in the waste water indicates that the
soil is highly contaminated with these substances!

Talks with the plant management revealed that the plant planned
to cease production of the caustic, phenylmercury, and the
chlorine pesticides.

Prospects 

The most significant achievement of the Greenpeace campaign was
to make public the pollution of the plant's waste water. In
addition the pollutants in the waste water were analyzed for the
first time. Several immediate steps were also taken to abate
pollution of the Elbe: discontinuation of some production
processes (Falisan, Melipax, sulfochlorination) and production
cutbacks (ephedrine) together with the installation of equipment
for collecting distillation residues containing pollutants has
improved the quality of the waste water. Thus benzene emissions
have been reduced by about 80 per cent and the mercury emissions
totally eliminated.

Immediate cessation of the synthesis of especially hazardous
substances, such as mercury caustics and chlorine pesticides, is
essential. For other plant areas it is a matter of determining
what can be done to ensure that future production will not be
detrimental to human health and the environment. In the process
it will be important to integrate measures to minimize pollutant
emissions in each individual process and not to rely on end-of-
pipe technologies, such as central waste water treatment or
filtration plants. This is a demand that the responsible water
conservation authority has been making for years.

VEB GroBgaserei Magdeburg 
(Magedeburg State-Owned Gasworks) 

The Magdeburg Gasworks is the second largest town gas producer
of the former GDR and together with the coking plant in Zwickau
supplies over one-third of the blast furnace coke requirement of
the former GDR (altogether 2.5 million tons per year).

Environmental pollution 

The Magdeburg Gasworks discharges 700 cubic meters of waste
water into the Elbe daily. It is only purified by a gravity
phase separation which, however, fails to retain a large
proportion of hazardous substances. True purification stages,
such as a biological treatment of waste water, do not exist. In
the random samples of waste water dramatically high
concentrations of cyanides (250 milligram per liter), benzene
(18 milligrams per liter), toluene and xylene as well as
polycyclic aromatic compounds (16 milligrams per liter) were
measured.

The plant pollutes not only the Elbe but also the air to an
intolerable extent. The ancient furnace batteries leak and
permit carbon dioxide to escape in concentrations significantly
higher than the maximum allowable concentrations. Moreover, the
workers are presumably exposed to aromatic compounds like
benzene, toluene and xylenes as well as to polycyclic aromatic
compounds, aromatic a mines and other carcinogenic substances.

The plant management frankly admitted to Greenpeace that the
plant is one of the major polluters of the Elbe. Until at least
the middle of last March emissions far surpassing the tolerable
limits were the "order of the day", as revealed by studies by
the Magdeburg Water Conservation Agency.

Prospects 

In 1991 construction of a sewage treatment plant will commence
and it is supposed to be completed by 1994. The Elbe will be
spared 4,900 tons of nitrogen, 435 tons of phenols and 22 tons
of cyanide every year. A method for wet desulfurization is also
planned as another pilot project. Immediate replacement of the
furnace batteries is essential for reasons of industrial safety
alone (just to protect the employees), as the Magdeburg gas
works will continue to be in operation until conversion to
natural gas which will probably only take place several years
from now.

VEB Zellatoff- und Zellwolle-Werke Wittenberge 
(Wittenberge State-Owned Cellulose and Viscose Works) 

The plant previously produced sulfate wood pulp, viscose fibers,
regenerated cellulose films, spun rayon, cellulose acetate
membranes and tall oil products.

The equipment used for these processes are "extremely worn".
Consequently, an exceptionally high hazard to the air and water
emanates from the plant. Thus the bleaching plant waste water is
a significant source of organochlorine compounds including even
dioxins. Random samples of the waste water showed high values
for AOX, COD and chloroform. Moreover, various chlorophenols and
chlorobenzenes (including also hexachlorobenzene!) as well as
elevated zinc values were found.

Because of overdue modernizations, the plant has cut back its
viscose production and discontinued production of regenerated
cellulose films and chlorine bleaching.

The plan to combine treatment of the industrial waste water with
the municipal sewage of Perleberg should be viewed with
skepticism. Usually the resulting purification does not reach
the level attainable with a separate treatment of industrial
waste water and sewage.

In the future the Wittenberge cellulose plant plans to change
over to the so-called ASAM process. This process permits
chlorine-free bleaching.

Hamburg's contribution to pollution of the Elbe

Eleven per cent of all the inhabitants (three million) of the
entire drainage area of the Elbe live in the region from
Schnackenburg to Cuxhaven. Approximately half of these (5.5 per
cents live in Hamburg. The Hansa city makes a disproportionately
high contribution to pollution of the Elbe. Thus according to
the Emissions Land Register of 1986 the city of Hamburg
discharges into the Elbe, relative to the preload, 3 per cent
COD, 6 percent BOD (over 5 days), 12 per cent ammonium salts, 21
per cent orthophosphate, 6 per cent copper, 3 per cent cadmium,
3 per cent lead and 0.3 per cent arsenic. For the navigable
waters there are 1,100 water permits regulating about 3,000
discharge locations. Added to this are widespread discharge
locations that are not or cannot be registered and whose numbers
can only be estimated.


A brief description of some of the major polluters follows:

Norddeutsche Affinerie AG (North German Refinery)

The Norddeutsche Affinerie (NA) is one of the largest nonferrous
metallurgical plants and the largest copper mill in Europe.
Recently the NA has also begun smelting of computer and
electronic scrap. It is Hamburgs biggest industrial discharger
of heavy metals. Although it has never had a discharge permit
for chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) the surrounding water
sediments show one of the highest CHC waste loads. The
concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and the pesticide DDT
are the highest in the Hamburg harbor.

Lubricating oil industry and oil refineries. 

A major portion (34%) of the approximately 3,000 hectares of
land comprising the Harburg harbor is used by the basic
materials processing and oil refining industries. In 1983 73 per
cent of the 184 million cubic meters of cooling and waste water
was discharged into surface waters or the subsoil. Aside from
the sewage plants, the oil refineries were the biggest direct
discharger of ammonium salts (Shell: 4.5 per cent, Holborn: 2.4
per cent) until at least 1986. The DEA (previously Texaco), at
1,100 tons in 1986 (7.1 per cent), was Hamburgs biggest
industrial direct discharger of chlorinated hydrocarbons (AOX).

Sewage treatment plants. 

The dense population produces a large amount of municipal sewage
from households, small and medium-sized businesses and the
industry, which is carried with rain water primarily to the huge
Kohlbrandhoft/Dradenau sewage treatment plant. Despite reduction
of the pollutant load in the treatment plant, the discharged
treated water still constitutes a heavy load for the Elbe. In
1988 600 tons of ammonium salts, 3,600 tons of total nitrogen
and 400 tons of phosphorus were discharged into the Elbe by the
Kohlbrandhoft/Dradenau plant. Furthermore, in the random waste
water samples a high benzene concentration was found which is
presumably attributable to inadequate pretreated of industrial
effluents.

Shipping. 

Shipping pollutes the river with sand blasting and paint
residues or oil-containing (bilge) water among other things.
However, the extent of contamination is very difficult to
quantify. Moreover, the navigable channel is deepened regularly
by dredgers and mud harrows. With dredging the dredged materials
are pumped onto fields and the water running off is loaded with
exceptionally high amounts of pollutants. With a mud harrow
hazardous substances that have deposited in the inner harbor are
swirled up and partly remobilized. This leads to a high local
contamination of the river with toxic substances. 

The source of pollutants in the sediment cannot always be
identified unequivocally. Comparison of river samples with
reference samples having pollutant profiles specific to certain
processes can indicate a possible emitter. With this method it
can be clearly shown that many pollutants in the sediment are
abandoned pollutant wastes that have been produced locally and
do not emanate from the area of the former GDR.

DOW Stade GmbH, Butzfleth. 

The Dow Stade plant on the Butzflether Sand was founded in 1969
as part of an industrial complex that also includes a nuclear
power plant and an aluminum mill.

Any Dow production process starts with oil and chlorine. Dow is
the biggest chlorine producer in the FRG. The approved capacity
is 1.25 million tons, of which approximately 1 million are
utilized. The plant is totally dependent on chlorine: not one of
Dow's production units could be operated without chlorine (or
secondary products of chlorine) as it is currently installed.

In the random waste water sample the highest nickel
concentration of the entire trip was measured. In addition, the
concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloroethane and pentachlorophenol
were remarkably high. However, the campaign at Dow Stade was not
directed at these pollutants but at the products themselves.
These include, for instance, chlorinated solvents, which on the
one hand cause long-term damage to organisms and on the other
hand, like the CFC's, contribute to destruction of the
stratospheric ozone layer. The production capacity for
perchloroethylene and trichloroethane alone exceed 200,000 tons.
With the first use of these compounds roughly 50 per cent
evaporate directly into the atmosphere. At 10 tons per year
(according to Dow's data), the solvent emissions in the waste
water are comparatively small. Chemical pollution cannot be
combatted here by a reduction in waste water loads but only by
banning the use of chlorinated solvents. 

Another serious problem is the risk of contamination of products
with ultra toxic substances from these production processes,
such as dioxins and hexachlorobenzene. The danger emanating from
this could be at least equal to that from direct plant
emissions.

Prospects. 

Like many other chemical companies, in past years Dow Stade GmbH
has at least to a large degree met the demands of the
environmental movement "for closed production cycles". These
technical emission reductions are counteracted by massive
emissions of problem substances and carried-over ultra toxic
substances from products when they are used as well as when they
are discarded. This represents an irresponsible threat to the
environment and human health.

Temming AG. 

The Temming AG in Gluckstadt on the lower Elbe produces
graphical papers, packing paper, recycling papers from waste
paper, but also cellulose from cotton tinters for further
chemical processing. 

Cellulose production from linters is a big source of pollution
because of chlorine bleaching. Temming discharges 25 kilograms
of organochlorine compounds from cellulose production into the
Elbe daily. In the random sample an AOX of 1,100 milligrams per
liter was determined. The COD was 385 milligrams per liter.

Prospects. 

Construction of an anaerobic waste water treatment plant should
reduce the COD. In addition, the planned conversion to bleaching
with chlorine dioxide will result in a reduction in AOX.
However, this conversion will not prevent organochlorine
compounds from continuing to enter the Elbe. Incineration of the
pulp liquor should also continue to pose a dioxin threat.
Moreover, Temming plans to expand its tinters production so that
part of the AOX saving would be counteracted by increased
production. The intended reduction of AOX does not go far
enough. The goal must be an AOX value of zero, which can only be
achieved by a complete phase-out of chlorine chemicals from the
bleaching process.

BAYER AG, Brunsbuttel. 

BAYER Brunsbuttel is the newest West German plant of the Bayer
group. After the state of Schleswig-Holstein had made numerous
concessions for a new industrial development area on the Elbe,
the plant started production in 1977. To date BAYER has set up
facilities for the production of the polyurethane basic
materials, MDI and TID, dye intermediates (the letter acids),
over 100 different organic dyes (azo dyes), the pesticide
intermediate, methylethylaniline, and Vulcanox 20/40, an
antioxidant for rubber. Bayer also operates a plant for
incineration of toxic, aqueous wastes from its own plant, PGB-
containing oils from the mining industry in Nordrhein-Westfalen
(North Rhine-Westphalia) as well as a variety of other liquid
toxic wastes from ali parts of the former FRG. Facilities for
producing aniline and iron oxide pigments are planned or under
construction.

In the preliminary random waste water samples Greenpeace found,
in addition to copper and nickel, also 1.2 milligrams of
hexachlorobenzene per liter, a particularly hazardous toxic
substance with a long lifetime in the environment.

The BAYER products are manufactured from extremely hazardous
substances like chlorine and phosgene. This results in a
permanent threat to workers and the populace in case of an
accident.

The polymer, polyurethane, is one example: Polyurethane is
formed by reaction of TDI (tolylene di-isocyanate) or MDI
(diphenylmethane di-isocyanate) with polyhydric alcohols. BAYER
produces only one of the two reaction components, TDI or MDI.
MDI and TDI are toxic and allergenic. TDI in particular is
already hazardous to health in concentrations below the
threshold odor. Since MDI and TDI are often processed further
in smaller factories and shops that do not have adequate safety
equipment, this property is especially problematical.

Polyurethanes are relatively safe as finished plastics. However,
numerous toxic additives or additives that are detrimental to
the environment are used in the "composition" of the finished
synthetic products. For example, ozone depleting CFC's are used
for the production of insulating foams and flame retardants in
building materials. In 1986 about 17 to 25 per cent of the total
CFC's consumed in the FRG was used in polyurethane foams.

Drinking water. 

The drinking water situation in the territory of the former GDR
presents the following picture: The water supply in the drainage
area of the Elbe is practically exhausted. The river's water is
sometimes used more than ten times. Because of the lack of
sewage treatment techniques and the pollutant intensive
production facilities on the Elbe the drinking water of the Elbe
communities is often more apt to be inadequately diluted waste
water than a healthy nourishment.

The measurements carried out by Greenpeace in March 1990 at
seven water works on the Elbe clearly demonstrate that the
pollutants from industry and agriculture discharged into the
Elbe eventually end up, for instance, in Dresden's drinking
water. The contamination of the drinking water with chemicals is
actually increased by disinfection of the water with chlorine.
The emission limits of the Drinking Water Regulations for
chlorinated solvents are almost exhausted the pure water of two
water works. It is likely that the emission limits are regularly
surpassed. For instance, in Tolkewitz. Saloppe and Brockwitz
water works in the in the Dresden/Meiben area chloroform
concentrations of more than 100 milligrams per liter were
measured.

Playing down the situation and exhausting emission limits stand
in the way of a medium-term improvement in the drinking water
situation. The installation of a long-distance water supply
system will only shift the problems to another time and place.


Evaluation and conclusions

As devastating as the conditions found by the Beluga at a number
of companies in the former GDR may be, the trip revealed that
there is one area where they have been far ahead of the FRG
since the Fall of '89. This is in the exemplary willingness of
many of those in responsible positions to provide information
and to talk openly about company problems. In comparison, the
(old) Federal Republic could almost be called a developing
country. Data on the types and amount of materials produced and
marketed as well as on emissions are still being held back with
the excuse that they are company secrets. The chemicals industry
is still bitterly defending its information monopoly.

Considerations of how to clean up the Elbe often include a
glance at the Rhine where progress has unquestionably been made
in the past 15 years. However, pollution abatement is stagnating
and past results are by no means sufficient. The concentrations
of some heavy metals in the Rhine have even increased
significantly in the past few years. And: Reduced concentrations
of heavy metals and other long-lived hazardous substances do not
necessarily represent an improvement but only a slower
deterioration of the state of the environment. The Rhine with
its pollutant load is still the biggest single source of
pollution of the North Sea, whose condition is continuing to
deteriorate despite a certain degree of success in cleaning up
the Rhine.

Problematic production processes have only actually been
discontinued in rare cases. Usually a decrease in the direct
load of the river with hazardous substances is achieved by
accepting an increase in indirect loads in the form of trash,
widespread emissions or pollution from the products and their
usage. From our point of view the road taken here is extremely
unsatisfactory and West German politicians and industrialists
have absolutely no right to pat each other on the back.

The long-standing criticism of the way the West has been
exploiting nature and health is still valid despite the dramatic
conditions in the former GDR. Making the GDR into a mere copy of
the former FRG, as industry and government are trying their best
to do, will also mean taking on all the mistakes of the West.

The economic system of the West is characterized by large scale
production of short-lived (ie intended for consumption and not
for use) goods accompanied by a wide product range. Almost none
of the sources of materials and energy exploited are renewable
(natural resources such as ores and oil). A constantly
increasing number and amount of synthetic substances are being
produced and marketed. Their behaviour and impact are largely
unknown, for the most part uncontrollable and not necessarily
identifiable. This economic process gives rise to huge amounts
of refuse (these are residual substances and emissions from
production and every product after use). In other words, nothing
but refuse is produced, although some of it can be used for a
limited time period. This means, however, that all substances
involved in this process will sooner or later end up in the
soil, air or water. Sometimes their odysee takes them through
plants, animals and humans. The consequences of this type of
economics are not all known. We know that some of these
substances destroy our basis for life because they cause
irreversible changes in our environment or disturb the balance
of natural systems. We do not know what new equilibria will look
like (for example has the atmosphere-ocean-biosphere system,
which determines our climate, departed from equilibrium with
man's assistance?) and what species will still will be able to
exist under the new equilibrium conditions.

Technical pollution control measures (for example, filters,
sewage treatment plants or plants that exploit energy more
efficiently) are important but by no means sufficient. Such
measures, as they have been increasingly instituted in the
Federal Republic of Germany in the past two decades, have not
been able to abate continued destruction of our basis for life.
They are only "end-of-the-pipe" measures starting at the end of
a detrimental process, not at the beginning. Often their effects
are negated by the higher goal of "growth". (For example, the
sharply increasing number of cars has increased the emission of
air pollutants despite introduction of the catalyst.)

Man is a part of nature and is subject to its laws as are all
living beings. We should learn from nature where reliable
survival techniques have existed for ages.

Every production process, every conversion of materials consumes
energy that must first be generated. Its generation and usage is
usually associated with pollution (this applies especially to
non-renewable sources of energy: thus emission of CO2 from
combustion of coal and oil enhances the so-called "greenhouse
effect").

The large amounts of substances that we use in our economic
processes cause environmental problems not only during
production but even more so after the products have been put on
the market. This is particularly true if these are heavy metals
or synthetic substances, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons (CH).
The conversion of materials and energy consumption must
therefore be minimized. The question, "Can we afford a new car
(walkman, TV, etc.) every few years?", should not be a matter of
the current retail price. From procurement of raw materials
through production of the product until fate of the product
materials after use, it all has to be taken into account and the
overall ecological balance drawn up. Whoever does this will come
to the conclusion that the car, like so many other goods, has
such a "cheap" sales price only because we produce, use and
discard it at cost to the environment (ie today's living
community and future generations). The question just asked could
probably sooner be worded: Can the human race afford to buy a
new car (walkman, TV, etc.) every few years? 

We have to learn to think through the processes associated with
our lifestyle from beginning to end and ask ourselves whether we
can or want to expect for ourselves or others a certain product,
type of production or lifestyle.

The assertion repeatedly made that products are put on the
market to meet the needs of the consumers misrepresents the
facts. Today a market is first created for a majority of
products. Then the consumer is made to believe he needs the
product. An entire branch of industry, the advertising industry,
makes its money creating markets for products that are really
not needed. The environmental problems associated with the
product are not mentioned. It is impossible to ask about the
"adverse effects" of a product even after damage has been done.
The freedom of companies to decide what product to produce and
how to produce and distribute it places the burden resulting
from the adverse effects of these creations on the general
public. Instead there should be public discussion on what should
be produced and how. Only then will society be capable of
handling the ecological challenge of the future.

However, the basis for any wide discussion is free access to
information. In the past manufacturing and industrial groups
have not always had the best reputation in this respect. The
myth of the industrial secret has even been successfully used in
court up to now with the consequence that the consumer,
environmental groups, scientific institutions and government
regulatory agencies have been forced to grope in the dark while
the environment was being ruined. This must be stopped.

What does all this have to do with the Elbe, the interested
reader might now ask. Our answer is: Everything! The Elbe is
suffering, like many other ecosystems, from the effects of our
lifestyle. The questions arising from the impact of our economic
system and lifestyle on our environment and future generations
must be discussed and decisions made on a wide political basis.
Science can be a useful aid in this process but should be seen
by politicians and society as a convenient "final authority".
Furthermore, these questions may never be decided by the
industry "for all of us" exclusively on the basis of sales and
power.

To be concrete - what positive goals must be pursued to improve
the current state of the Elbe and the rest of nature:

1. A conversion of our economy to renewable resources.

In the territory of the former GDR a conversion from brown coal
to oil as the source of energy and raw materials is currently
taking place. A superficial comparison of the two resources
shows oil to be more favorable both ecologically as well as
economically. However, converting chemical production to an oil
basis cannot be the only long-term goal of an ecological
redevelopment policy. This only pushes a number of problems out
of sight. Basic trends of current industrial production, which
consumes large amounts of raw materials and energy, in the
direction of a global ecological catastrophe are not even being
considered:

* destruction of the environment through depletion of the
reserves in oil-producing countries and the oceans


* use of very distant resources instead of local resources,
therefore permanent loading of the environment through losses
during transport, storage and handling as well as through
accidents (see the Exxon Valdez tanker accident)

* dependence of the entire economy on the world market for oil

* the greenhouse effect.

2. Traffic reduction and promotion of public transportation for
passengers and goods and the use of bicycles

The automobile is today one of the biggest sources of
environmental pollution. Air traffic inflicts heavy damage on
the earth's atmospheres We will have to give consideration to
how much mobility we can afford in view of the costs to the
environment and future generations.

3. Attempt to achieve maximum recycling

Once the economy has been converted to maximum use of renewable
resources achieving a maximum recycling of nonrenewable natural
resources still needed in small amounts will be essential.
However, recycling "per se" does not necessarily make a positive
contribution to the environment. The question to ask is, what is
being recycled to what. (The production of park benches and
flower pots from used PVC window frames does not deserve to be
called recycling!).

4. Products and technologies must be designed to be repairable.

This should apply both to the products and technologies
themselves and to any possible negative effects they might have.
To reduce consumption of raw materials and energy, products
should be designed to be long-lived, ie repairable. The products
themselves often emit the highest amounts of pollutants into the
environment. They act as widespread sources of pollutants and
their impact is usually irreparable, especially if they are
virtually non degradable and are bioaccumulable. (Examples: many
applications of halogenated hydrocarbons, such as polymers and
polymer additives, solvents, pesticides or flame retardants).

5. Development of an ecologically oriented chemicals policy

The chemicals producers should not be granted freedom to produce
or convert chemicals as they wish. Likewise, instead of
presuming the innocence of new chemicals proof of their safety
must be compulsory. The idea of prevention must be translated
into real action not just in colored brochures but as a central
policy of the chemicals industry.

6. Ecological land cultivation

To prevent loading of ground and surface waters with nutrients,
fertilizing should be restricted to those amounts that can be
taken up again by plants from the soil. To date, immense damage
has been caused by pesticides, whose expressed goal is to
interfere with natural systems to destroy them. Contrary to
claims by pesticide producers, restricting the duration and
spread of pesticide effects is still an unsolved problem.
Bioaccumulable and persistent pesticides must be totally banned.
Instead other methods of plant protection like integrated land
cultivation, biological plant protection, etc. should be
introduced.

7. Decentralized technologies instead of high-risk large-scale
industrial technology

This applies both to the generation of energy and raw materials
and to industrial production.

8. Freedom of information

The right to information about the exploitation of natural
resources is a fundamental right! This is the only way the
public will be able to openly discuss chemicals policy and
trends in economic development.

9. Critical production processes must not be transferred to the
former GDR!

Encouraged by high unemployment and the previously high
pollution level in the states of the former GDR, many companies
expect less resistance to critical production facilities there
than in the former FRG (eg chlorine production, chlorine
chemicals, waste disposal plants, combustion of computer scrap).

10. Establishment of funds for abandoned pollutant wastes

Eastern and western Germany still have no solution to the
problem of abandoned pollutant wastes. Here the industry must be
forced to take action, for instance by establishing funds for
abandoned polluted wastes similar to those that have already
existed for years in the USA.

It is self-evident that government support of these measures in
every way possible (eg by legislation, official procurements or
financing of research) is extremely important. Experience has
shown that only massive public pressure and a lively discussion
about future chemicals and economical and environmental policies
can set things in motion that are needed to make the environment
a better place to live.


Used Literature

(list omitted here; virtually all of it is German and
unscannable)