space Press Releases, News Stories

Japan Economic Newswire

 NEW DELHI, India, 4 February 2002 -- : The environmentalist group Greenpeace and leading Indian trade unions expressed concern Monday over the possible contamination of steel debris exported to India from the World Trade Center wreckage for recycling. They demanded in a letter to the U.S. Embassy that Washington provide immediate evidence that the exported steel scrap is free from toxins and asked that it be re-exported if shown to be contaminated. 'We admit that the steel scrap may not all be contaminated...but it is better to be safe than sorry and the burden of proving that the scrap is safe is on the U.S. exporter and the government,' Greenpeace India toxicologist Manu Gopalan said. Environmental activist E. Deenadayalan said the debris from the World Trade Center wreckage 'is no ordinary steel scrap' since 'everything was incinerated after 91,000 liters of jet fuel ignited in the buildings.'

The environmentalists worry that the scrap may contain toxins like dioxin waste and heavy metals like lead and mercury, as well as volatile contaminants like PCB, asbestos, benzene and chromium. At least 30,000 tons of scrap from the wreckage has reportedly been exported from the United States to the southern Indian city of Chennai.

Concerned city citizens and activists have failed in their efforts to seek information and action from port authorities and customs officials in Chennai, according to local activist T. Mohan. The first consignment of scrap metal arrived in early January on a Maltese vessel. Two other ships are also said to have arrived with the scrap cargo.