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Basel Action Network Press Release SEATTLE, USA, 7 April 2000 -- Following a flurry of intense negotiations and protest, environmentalists and labor activists succeeded today in halting the off-loading of PCB contaminated waste in the port of Seattle. The ship, M/V Wan He set sail for Vancouver today with the wastes on board. The waste will not be off-loaded in Canada, the original destination either, but will return to its point of origin -- the Sagami military base in Japan. The coalition of activists claimed another victory in a broader effort to try to get the United States Department of Defense to utilize onsite chemical detoxification technologies to deal with their PCB stockpiles on military bases overseas rather than incinerate the wastes. Incineration technologies produce very dangerous toxic by-products -- dioxins and furans. "Once again, Washington State labor and environmental groups have succeeded in sending a message that a free trade in toxic wastes which simply promotes the cheapest and dirtiest disposal options is not acceptable," said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network (BAN) in Seattle. We demand responsibility -- in this case by the Department of Defense to do the right thing and treat the waste onsite." The ship set sail at 4 p.m. just following a dockside press conference featuring Greenpeace, BAN, Steelworkers of America, Teamsters Union and the International Longshoremen's Union. The exodus followed an initial sounding of the alarm by BAN, a refusal to unload the cargo by the longshoremen, arbitration, a threatened lawsuit by enviromentalists, and all-night vigils. While the activists claimed this as a major victory they stated the job is not yet done. There remain concerns that the waste might still be re-exported at a later date to Canada or another country rather than be chemically de-toxified onsite. "We will remain vigilant to not only see that this misguided waste shipment is returned to the military base in this instance, but more importantly, to see that the Department of Defense opts for the best environmental solution to their massive long-term toxic waste problem," said Dave Batker of BAN. Shipping and burning is NOT the solution," he said. For more information contact: Dave Batker: (253) 224-5208 Jim Puckett: (206) 720-6426 FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. More News |