Re: question

["Charlie Cray" <ccray@dialb.greenpeace.org>]

  What's missing here is an estimation of how much mercury is released  
  from chloralkili and catalyst use--via non-product pathways.   
  There is evidence of high levels of mercury around some of these 
  plants (e.g. in Lake Charles).   Just because 80% of the mercury in 
  the environment comes from fossil fuel combustion doesn't mean the 
  chlorine industry's contribution isn't significant, particularly in 
  local areas near these facilities.
  
  For instance, there is a huge mercury Superfund 
  site in Point Comfort Texas, which was caused by an old chloralkili 
  plant (now closed)...Formosa Plastics built a public walkway out  of 
  recycled plastic lumber over the site.   But no one actually cleaned 
  the mercury up. 
  
  Date:          Mon, 22 Dec 1997 00:59:46 -0500 (EST)
  Reply-to:      DrBillC@aol.com
  From:          DrBillC <DrBillC@aol.com>
  To:            Multiple recipients of list <dioxin-l@essential.org>
  Subject:       Re: question
  
  Some facilities that electrolyze brine to make chlorine and caustic soda use
  mercury electrodes.  About 14% of the capacity in the US is this way, a larger
  percentage in Europe.  Some chlorine made over mercury electrodes probably
  goes into production of ethylene dichloride (EDC).  When EDC is made in the
  balanced process from ethylene and chlorine (97% of US capacity) then cracked
  to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and then the VCM is purified,  if there were
  any mercury left from chlorine made in this process, it would not distill
  over.  Thus, with very little to no mercury in the VCM there would be very
  little to no mercury in the PVC resin.
  
  For the acetylene process used by Borden the same holds true about
  distillation of the monomer.
  
  To my knowledge there are no additives currently in use with PVC that contain
  mercury.
  
  However, Sam is right.  80+ percent of the mercury in the environment arises
  from combustion of fossil fuels.  Thus, there is mercury all around you, and
  most things are likely to contain a little from this source.
  
  Bill Carroll
  Chlorine Chemistry Council
  
  Charlie Cray
  Greenpeace US Toxics Campaign
  847 W. Jackson Blvd., 7th floor
  Chicago, IL 60607
  Ph: (312) 563-6063
  Fax: (312) 563-6099
  Note new e-mail address: Charlie.Cray@dialb.greenpeace.org