Just Published! Benign by Design: Alternative Synthetic Design for Pollution Prevention This new volume describes the current status and potential of syn thetic chemistry designed to use and to gener ate fewer hazardous substances.
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It presents research results on the replacement of hazardous feedstocks with biologically derived, innocuous feedstocks; of hazardous reagents with visible light; and of phosgene, benzene, and halogens in a variety of industrially important reactions. In addition, the volume examines new techniques for carrying out transformations in environmentally benign solvent systems and provides examples of how alterna tive synthetic design for pollution prevention has been made com mercially available. It also de scribes how to conduct a sourcereduction assessment and analyzes computer-assisted synthetic design. Paul T. Anastas and Carol A. Farris, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Editors ACS Symposium Series N o . 5 7 7 208 pages (1994) C l o t h b o u n d ISBN 0-8412-3053-6 $59.95
ORDER F R O M American Chemical Society Distribution Office Dept. 74 1155 Sixteenth Street, N W Washington, DC 2 0 0 3 6 Or CALL TOLL FREE 1 800-227-5558 (in Washington, DC 872-4363) and use your credit card! FAX: 202-872-6067. ACS Publications Catalog n o w available on internet: gopher acsinfo.acs.org
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CORRESPONDENCE Dioxin-free paper Dear Editors: ES&Τ deserves con gratulations on an almost thorough series on dioxin risk in the January 1995 issue. Unfortunately, the article "Incinerators Targeted by EPA" (p. 33A) contains a one-sided descrip tion of the U.S. pulp and paper in dustry's dioxin elimination effort. The article gives the erroneous impression that totally chlorine-free (TCF) technology was central to this effort. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was process changes in pulp manufacture, including the in creased use of chlorine dioxide as the primary bleaching agent, that have been the key to the industry's dioxin reduction successes. Chlorine dioxide is the foundation of Elemen tal Chlorine-Free (ECF) pulp bleach ing technology. Consider the findings released at the 2nd International Environmental Fate and Effects of Bleached Pulp Mill Effluents conference held last November. The cumulative evidence prompted the British Columbia Min ister of Environment to suggest a reconsideration of the province's controversial ban on the discharge of chlorinated organic compounds from pulp bleaching. At the recent International NonChlorine Bleaching Conference, scien tists and technical experts from around the world confirmed once again that the pulp and paper indus try has solved the problem of dioxin. Even Sodra Cell, the world's largest manufacturer of TCF pulp, has stated publicly that TCF is no better than ECF for water quality. This informa tion is omitted from the ES&T article. Instead, the article reports a "pre diction" by Archie Beaton of the Chlorine-Free Products Association that the number of TCF pulp mills will grow "as pulp mills find it diffi cult to comply with cluster regula tion emissions limits without dump ing chlorine and as paper makers discover that customers want to buy paper made with TCF." This state ment is wrong and contradictory.
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EPA's proposed Cluster Rule is based on ECF technology. EPA Admin istrator Carol Browner's own science adviser testified at a February 10, 1994, EPA public hearing on the pro posed Cluster Rule, that "the environ mental risks of. .. bleaching with chlorine dioxide are insignificant." Beaton also claims that consum ers want TCF products. Perhaps Beaton should have been asked to explain why with approximately 68 TCF mills worldwide, TCF produc tion remains at only 5 million tons, but capacity exceeds 10 million tons. The fact is that consumers demand ECF products. Since 1990, ECF pulp production has grown more than 1800% in the United States to cap ture more than 30% of the bleached chemical pulp market. Worldwide it will surpass 40% of the market de mands by year's end. TCF, on the other hand, is less than 1% of the U.S. market, and holds only 7% of the world market. Recent reports suggest that TCF pulp yield is lower than ECF. As a consequence, TCF pulp manufacture would translate into an increased demand on our forest resources. Es timates suggest that an additional 100 million mature trees would be required to meet today's pulp and paper market demands. ECF has proven itself to be supe rior in terms of environmental per formance, market demands, and economic security. The North Ameri can pulp and paper industry has staked its future on ECF, and it could not have placed a better bet. DOUGLAS C. PRYKE Alliance for Environmental Technology Erin, Ontario NOB 1T0 Readers are encouraged to comment on articles and research papers pub lished in ES&T and on other issues facing the environmental community. Contributions are limited to 500 words. Send contributions to the Managing Editor. Submissions are subject to editing for clarity and length.
