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24 Jul 2002
The Environment Agency should produce league tables showing which companies
are releasing the most health threatening pollution, Friends of the
Earth said
today, as the Environment Agency released its Annual “Spotlight
on Business
Environmental Performance”.
While welcoming the Agency’s report, Friends of the Earth warned
that simply
naming those companies who had been prosecuted does show which firms
are causing most environmental damage or releasing most health threatening
pollution.
Friends of the Earth research has shown that a number of firms are legally
allowed to release hundreds of tonnes of cancer-causing gases every
year, but
these companies are not highlighted as poor performers in the Agency
report.
Ironically, the biggest polluter – Ineos Chlor in Runcorn, releasing
over 2000 tonnes of cancer-causing chemicals in 2002 (latest published
data) – is highlighted in the Agency report as a good performer.
Friends of the Earth believes that league tables highlighting the firms
with the
biggest environmental and health impact would drive improvements and
encourage
the investment industry to use its influence more strongly.
Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth Pollution Campaigner, said:
“While we welcome the Environment Agency’s report, we are
concerned that their
list of prosecuted companies could be misinterpreted as a list of the
worst
polluters. Instead the Agency must produce a league table of the companies
releasing most health-threatening pollution. This would be a better
measure of
performance. A league table of the most polluting factories would clearly
show
that although pollution gains are being made, much more needs to be
done to
protect the environment and public health.”
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
