MillWatch #39 (December 2002): Sulphur Dioxide Linked To Pulp Industry Work And Cancer

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Researchers from around the world, including UBC's School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, have released a study that suggests exposure to sulphur dioxide (SO2 ) on the job may be linked to an increased risk of dying from lung cancer.

The paper, "Mortality from Lung Cancer in Workers Exposed to Sulfur Dioxide in the Pulp and Paper Industry" was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (Volume 110, Number 10, October 2002).

The study also noted increased mortality from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia in workers exposed to high levels of SO2. In the case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma there was evidence that cumulative exposures increased the risk.

Approximately 57,000 workers were studied, with about 41,000 of those classified as exposed. None of the other causes of death analysed by the research group showed a correlation to SO2 exposure.

Reach for Unbleached! is pleased to announce that our Pulp Info Centre is now accessible to all. Research papers on the environmental and health effects of the pulp and paper industry are catalogued and available to the public at our Vancouver Office.

People interested in research on the pulp and paper industry can search our keyword database and find the cited documents right in our office. We provide this as a service to our members and the public. Official copies of all papers must be secured from the authors.

Come on down to #708-207 W. Hastings in Vancouver to see what we have in store. Please call ahead (604-879-2992) to arrange research time.

Huhtamaki, Inc. is the latest company to have product lines certified as Process Chlorine Free (PCF) by the Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA). Huhtamaki, Inc., a Finnish company founded in 1920, manufactures food service products for major companies such as McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Sysco and Bunzl.

Process Chlorine Free means that the paper is both recycled and not bleached with any chlorinated compounds. CFPA's detailed certification process also assesses post consumer content, no environmental permit violations, no harmful chlorine chemistry, lower water consumption, no trees from old growth or rainforests.

Huhtamaki's production facilities in Waterville, Maine and Hammond, Indiana, USA are covered by the current certification. Certified products include food trays; molded fibre plates, bowls and circles; and tray products.

Over 1.3 million tons per year of pulp and paper products are certified as recycled and chlorine-free by the Chlorine Free Products Association.

The Paper Campaign, a coalition of dozens of citizen groups dedicated to moving the marketplace towards recycled paper, announced in early November that they will end their campaign targeting Staples stores.

The end of the campaign comes after two years of demonstrations, letters and phone calls directed at Staples stores and the company's CEO and was triggered by Staples, November 12th announcement of new guidelines that will:

Staples, move will put pressure on its paper suppliers to change their logging practices. These suppliers include some of the major companies implicated in logging endangered forests in both Canada and the USA: International Paper and Georgia Pacific in the USA and Domtar, Xerox and Weyerhaeuser in Canada.

While environmental organizations involved in the Paper Campaign are pleased with the move by Staples, several observers have noted that the term "Endangered Forests" is not clearly defined, a potential area of future disagreement. Please visit www.ThePaperCampaign.com for more details.

Norske Canada is BC's newest big player in the forest products industry and a major player in world markets. More than 300 newspapers in North America, Latin America and Asia use Norske Canada newsprint. It is the world's largest producer of telephone directory paper and is a global leader and the pioneer in making sawdust-based pulp, for which it has received environmental certification from the Canadian government. Made up of the major assets most recently held by Fletcher Challenge Canada and Pacifica Papers (MacMillan Bloedel), Norske Canada is a Canadian company with about 30% of its stock held by Norske Skog, of Norway.

The company has a large economic profile in the province. A 5-year contract was reached with workers in October. The company has an annual payroll exceeding $400 million and employs more than 4,000 people between its Vancouver head office and Port Alberni, Crofton, Powell River and Campbell River divisions. Last year, the company purchased goods and services in BC totalling $835 million and paid close to $30 million in municipal taxes.

Russell Horner, President of Norske Canada also lays claim to another kind of value for his company. In October he told the Vancouver Board of Trade that Norske Canada has no complicated mission statement; it merely follows the dictates that Horner says we all learn from our parents. "They were pretty simple: be a good listener; treat people with respect; don't lie or cheat; keep your word; take responsibility; be safe and productive; help your neighbours when you can; and play fair.

"I know that some of those things read like the what-I-learned-in-kindergarten cliche," Horner said. "I know that Enron and World.com probably had most of them stencilled on their front doors. But I'm prepared to stick out my neck and challenge anyone to deny that we have kept to our word we have honoured those values."

Norske Canada has applications before the BC Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection to burn both old tires and coal as an inexpensive fuel source at two new mills and is already burning tires at Port Alberni. The proposals have come under criticism from Campbell River City Council, concerned residents around the mills, and several scientists for using inadequate and poorly designed tests to justify burning the cheaper, but dirtier fuels.

Last summer, Norske Powell River Division announced their plans to apply for a permit amendment to allow them to test the addition of tire derived fuel (TDF) at the 2 and 5 percent addition rates to their hog feed for power boiler 19.

The response of many in the community has been to put up signs, run ads, write letters expressing their opposition and to organize a Town Hall meeting which was held on November 12.

The meeting was chaired by Paddy Goggins and had a panel of Dr. Paul Martiquet, the Medical Officer for the region and Bill Andrews, a lawyer specializing in environmental law. The format was a short introduction and a few words from each panelist followed by a public question and answer session.

The meeting was well attended. Over a hundred of the public is pretty good attendance here and it beat the all candidates meeting that I went to. Except for a couple of mill employees who spoke out in support of TDF most of the public expressed concern, asked a lot of very good questions and interesting discussion ensued. Dr. Martiquet said that if there was any decrease in air quality shown by the tests, he would oppose TDF.

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* Sponsored by Reach for Unbleached! #708-207 West Hastings, Vancouver BC V6B 1H7; ph: (604)879-2992; fax: (604)879-2272; ritchlin@rfu.org; http://www.rfu.org