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BAN Press Release

The latest destination proposed by the Defense Department involves export to tiny Johnston Atoll in the South Pacific, where the US military is just now finishing incinerating stockpiles of chemical weapons. This location is seen by them as just a temporary staging point for onward destinations. Under the law, it is strictly forbidden to destroy any wastes there other than actual weapons. BAN considers the Johnston Atoll idea completely inappropriate.

“The Defense Department has an opportunity to look like heroes instead of fools, but they seem hell bent on proving the latter,” said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network. “Playing the global game of hide and seek with this waste is unacceptable, particularly when a viable, safe on-site destruction technology is well in hand. We will do everything in our power to prevent them bringing this waste into the Pacific,” he said.

According to BAN a mobile technology that does not produce the notorious hazardous by-products of waste incineration -- dioxins and furans, is ready to go. A technology commercially available from the Canadian based Eco-Logic company has already destroyed many thousands of tons of pesticide and PCB wastes in Australia, is entirely mobile, and now is fully licensed in Japan to destroy dioxins.

The 14 containers that were initially rejected in Canada and then were rejected from the Port of Seattle is the first consignment of hundreds more expected consignments of PCB wastes that exist on military bases around the world. They now sit in the port of Yokohama after returning from their first wayward journey. The Japanese government imposed a 30 day deadline for their removal from Japan which expires on May 18th. In the face of that deadline the Defense Department is looking to ship the waste to a temporary site while they try and make arrangements for yet another port of call.

While ignoring on-site options for these 14 containers, the Defense Department is increasingly running out of destinations. They believe that they will be able to ship this waste directly from Johnston Atoll to Europe but according to BAN they can expect similar protests and blockades there particularly when the waste arrives on-board US military vessels instead of commercial ones.

BAN claims that the larger global implications of the “ship and burn” mentality that still prevails at the Defense Department has alarming implications as the world can soon expect many thousands of such shipments as PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants will now be increasingly targeted for global phase-out and destruction under a new United Nations treaty.

“Its not just about these 14 containers,” said Puckett. “We need a long term solution. Rather than exporting and importing toxic wastes, we should, whenever possible be exporting and importing appropriate, safe, waste minimization and destruction technologies,” he said.

END

For more information contact:

Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network -- Tel: (206) 720-6426

Website: http://www.ban.org