Unions, Companies Form Alliance to Address Chlorine Chemistry Benefits and Concerns

A group of unions and corporations has formed an alliance to communicate the benefits and address the public concerns related to chlorine chemistry. Among its activities, the alliance will support independent scientific research into the health and environmental effects of chlorine-related industrial processes in order to allow industries to make adjustments if and when any are necessary.

"On the one hand, we have to educate people about the many contributions of this chemistry, its impact on job creation and competitiveness," said Wayne Glenn, President of the United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU) and Co-chairman of the Alliance for the Responsible Use of Chlorine Chemistry, or ARCC. "The industries put advanced chlorine chemistry to work, generating hundreds of thousands of high-wage jobs in the United States. On the other hand, we must insist on safe workplaces and environmental protection alongside the responsible uses of chlorine chemistry. Our experience proves it can work." "Many people don't realize it, but the products of chlorine chemistry are as common as table salt," according to Occidental Chemical Corporation's President and Chief Executive Officer J. Roger Hirl, who is Co-chairman of ARCC with UPIU's Glenn. "Most people connect chlorine chemistry with drinking water purification and swimming pools,'' he continued, "but it gives us paper products, semiconductors, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, hospital supplies, compact discs, car air bags -- to name only a few benefits. This chemistry is fundamental to our modern society."

Leon Anziano, President of Olin Corporation's Chlor-Alkali Products Division, said, "No-one can seriously dispute the fact that chlorine chemistry has helped us make tremendous advances in terms of human health, material science and prosperity in this century. ARCC's goal is to preserve the many advantages of this chemistry and to react appropriately to the findings of sound scientific research."

Jack Barry, President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), said, "When you talk to people about all that this chemistry provides, they understand its importance. When they learn about the good jobs it creates and its huge positive impact on our economy, they support it. People also need to know that the workers and companies using chlorine chemistry are dedicated to using it safely." Balancing the Chlorine Debate

Chlorine, made from saltwater and electricity, is the key building block of modern chemical industries. Chlorine is central to the synthesis of about 60 percent of all U.S. chemical production. Chlorine plays a major role in the U.S. economy, supporting millions of jobs and helping to generate a significant percentage of the gross domestic product. Ever since chlorine purification of drinking water eliminated typhoid and cholera from our water supply, chlorine has saved countless lives and helped us achieve tremendous gains in longevity and wealth.

Despite these benefits, chlorine chemistry is under attack. Some activists are trying to ban all applications of chlorine chemistry. They claim that chlorine poses a singular threat to our health and the environment. These assertions are taken seriously by the chemical industry and its workers. A few organic chlorine compounds have been restricted or banned in some countries. Efforts continue to effect global bans, as exemplified by the CFC phaseout. But the activists claim that all chlorine compounds behave in the same fashion -- a claim which science does not support. In fact, banning chlorine chemistry would impose tremendous and unnecessary burdens on workers, industry and society. Instead, any specific problems should be scientifically indentified and corrected.