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CFPA TODAY - Spring 1998
CFPA Introduces New TCF and PCF Marks
- Algonquin, IL -
The Chlorine Free Products Association has introduced two new certification marks to indicate that a product is totally chlorine free (TCF) or processed chlorine free (PCF). The announcement of the new logos follows a decision by Fraser Paper Company to use the original PCF emblem on its papers that are manufactured with chlorine dioxide as a bleaching agent.
"Fraser has informed CFPA that it has changed the meaning of PCF to include chlorine dioxide pulps and processes," said CFPA executive director Archie Beaton. "The change is so significant that CFPA can no longer in good conscience use or endorse the original emblems. These new labels are now available so that consumers can be clear that the paper they buy is, in fact, chlorine free."
Fraser acquired the PCF and TCF emblems when it purchased Cross Pointe Paper Company, the owner and creator of the original labels. Cross Pointe, which manufactured Aquarius, a PCF paper, had created the logos in cooperation with CFPA to certify that its paper products were manufactured without harmful chlorine or chlorine compounds.
The Chlorine Free Products Association works with paper companies and governments around the world to identify PCF and TCF products and to help educate and assure consumers that the products they buy are environmentally safe and made without chlorine compounds.
Using the highest industry standards, CFPA certifies that products are PCF or TCF only after comprehensive mill audits by industry experts. In addition, a product bearing CFPA's new PCF or TCF emblem is subject to ongoing testing, inspection, and enforcement. The PCF logo not only certifies chlorine-free content; it is the only environmental certification program that also indicates the percentage of postconsumer content.
In an market where environmental terms can be misperceived by consumers and unsubstantiated by manufacturers, CFPA's new PCF and TCF logos clearly indicate chlorine free. l
Internationally Recognized Certification Marks Assure Consumers of Chlorine-Free
The TCF mark (Totally Chlorine Free) is reserved for virgin fiber papers.
TCF papers do not use pulp produced with chlorine or chlorine-containing compounds as bleaching agents.
The TCF mark and term not only guarantee that chlorine chemistry has not been used, but it helps differentiate between TCF papers and papers bleached with chlorine dioxide, which are sometimes mistakenly called "chlorine free."
The PCF mark (Processed Chlorine Free) is reserved for recycled content papers.
All recycled fibers used as a feedstock meet EPA guidelines for recycled or postconsumer content and have not been rebleached with chlorine-containing compounds. A minimum of 20 percent postconsumer content is required. If the paper contains any virgin fiber, that fiber is totally chlorine free. The PCF mark and term guarantee that products contain at least 20 percent postconsumer content (increasing to 30 percent in late 1998).
Sweden's Nordic Swan Label Does Not Indicate TCF- Stockholm, Sweden -
Confusion and inconsistency surrounding the use of Sweden's leading environmental label, the Nordic Swan, has led to public misperception about what the label signifies.
This story came to light recently when an environmental magazine television program in Sweden, "E-fekt," began investigating whether all products and packages bearing the Nordic Swan label are totally chlorine free.
Paper products bearing the Nordic Swan are readily available throughout Sweden, where chlorine bleaching in the paper industry came under intense scrutiny and debate several years ago. According to Dag Jonzon, producer of "E-fekt," most consumers in Sweden now believe that the Nordic Swan label means the product is totally chlorine free. But that belief is in error, he said.
"The fact is that today only 40 percent of all paper sold in Sweden is totally chlorine free," Jonzon said.
Jonzon has discussed the Nordic Swan and TCF technology on his television program to highlight important discrepancies between public perception and truth in labeling of chlorine-free products.
The only environmental label internationally recognized as totally chlorine free is the official TCF emblem.
"When consumers buy products bearing the TCF mark, they can be assured that their purchasing dollars are not being used to contaminate the environment with chlorine or chlorine-containing compounds." said Archie Beaton, CFPA's executive director. "Chlorine standards of the TCF mark exceed standards of any other environmental label around the globe, including Germany's Blue Angel and Sweden's Nordic Swan.
Environmental Groups Object to EPA's Cluster Rule Leading members of the environmental community joined in protest against EPA's Cluster Rule.
American Oceans Campaign
American Rivers
Defenders of Wildlife
Earth justice Legal Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Information Center
Environmental Working Group
Friends of the Earth
Izaak Walton League
National Wildlife Federation
Native American Rights Funds
Natural Resources Defense
Council
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Sierra Club
United States Public Interest Research Group
The Wilderness Society
Zero Population GrowthContinued Use of Chlorine-Based Bleaching Fails to Protect Public
- Washington, DC -
Seventeen leading environmenttal organizations criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently released Cluster Rule, claiming the new guidelines fail to protect Americans from paper industry toxic pollution.
Released on November 14, the Cluster Rule regulates the air emissions and water discharges of the pulp and paper industry. The guidelines support chlorine-based bleaching chemistry that reduces, but does not eliminate, the production of dioxins, furans, and other related toxic organic pollutants from the paper industry.
Calling paper mills the "second largest known source of dioxins and related chemicals in U.S. waters," the environmental groups urged EPA to support totally chlorine free processes and oxygen delignification, a critical first step toward a TCF closed-loop system. In a released statement, the organizations argued that Cluster Rule standards do not protect children or the environment, nor do they benefit the paper industry or economy.
"The Cluster Rule is a woefully inadequate response to a serious toxic pollution problem," said National Wildlife Federation president and CEO Mark Van Putten. "It allows the pulp and paper industry to continue using hopelessly obsolete and environmentally damaging technology while failing to protect the quality of the waters on which our health and our environment depend.
"By refusing to require the paper industry to adopt cost-effective technology [TCF] that reduces not just dioxin but other dangerous pollutants, the Clinton Administration has squandered a golden opportunity to demonstrate that a healthy environment and a sound economy go together."
Several of the environmental groups are reportedly considering filing a lawsuit against EPA charging that Cluster Rule standards are inconsistent with the intent of the Clean Water Act.
CFPA Member in the NewsCalvert Group Leads in Environmentally Conscious Investing
- Bethesda, MD -
The Calvert Group, a mutual fund company based in Bethesda, Maryland, is a recognized leader in socially and environmentally responsible investing. Calvert looks beyond the numbers and the corporate bottom line to assess how a company does business and what effect it has on society and the environment, including whether it manufactures with chlorine and chlorine compounds.
The firm has evolved from a single-funded management company in 1976 to one of the Washington DC area's largest mutual fund management firms, with more than $5 billion in assets under management for over 200,000 investors.
The company's environmentally responsible attitude reaches into its procurement practices. It buys TCF and PCF papers and prints its materials with soybased inks. The company champions socially responsible policies and invests in companies that are sensitive to environmental issues.
Calvert is also a leader in shareholder activism. Once it invests in a company, Calvert continues to engage management in a dialogue that can include dozens of letters, meetings, and even shareholder resolutions.
Calvert's mission is not limited to investment performance. It also offers its employees innovative opportunities and flexible benefits.
Water Pollution Seen as Top Environmental Concern
The public remains highly worried about the ongoing pollution of U.S. waterbodies, according to the Pew Research Center. Findings of a Pew research poll of 1,200 respondents conducted in December 1997 revealed that:
- large percentages of Americans (61 percent) worry "a great deal" about pollution of lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and
- many Americans (59 percent) worry "a great deal" about toxic waste
contamination of soil and water.
Levels of public concern are greater for water pollution issues than for more highly publicized issues such as global warming or the greenhouse effect. And although levels of concern have dropped slightly from those observed in Gallup polls taken in 1989 and 1990, water pollution and toxic waste contamination remain the top two issues of public environmental concern.
The findings underscore the importance of buying products that are certified as TCF or PCF.
"When consumers choose a product labeled TCF or PCF, they are helping protect our water and soil from dioxins and other deadly toxins for the next seven generations," said Archie Beaton, CFPA executive director. "This procurement decision is a vital way to support clean water and soil and protect our children's health."
Design Contest Highlights Benefits of Chlorine-Free
The Chlorine Free Products Association, Moore Business Forms, and the Environmental Media Association are sponsoring an art contest, called Designing for a Chlorine-Free Future, to highlight the benefits of chlorine free products and processes.
Students in design schools in the Great Lakes area will submit entries that will be judged on the merits of the artwork and also on how the art demonstrates various aspects of chlorine-free issues. Winning entries will receive cash prizes.
In addition, winning artwork will be printed as covers on future issues of CFPA Today magazine and will be published as high-quality posters to help educate the public on the benefits of chlorine-free. The original artwork posters will be available by late summer from CFPA.
The art schools participating in the first phase of the contest are The School of Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Department of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
CFPA plans to hold a public art exhibit in December 1998 to display the winning artwork and to help highlight the potential health and environmental dangers of chlorine and chlorine-containing compounds.
Design and art schools interested in participating in Designing for a Chlorine-Free Future should contact CFPA at 847-658-6104.
Studies Link Organochlorines To Increased Breast Cancer Risk
- Washington, DC -
Several recent studies have identified a positive relationship between organochlorine compounds and breast cancer. The synopsis of recent research was the topic of "The Truth About Breast Cancer," a series of articles by Peter Montague published in Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly (November 1997).
Examining a total of 11 peer-reviewed studies published on the subject of cancer, Montague concluded that six indicate a link between organochlorines and increased risk of breast cancer. In addition, recent studies have shown that several organochlorines interfere with hormones in wildlife, causing additional problems.
Although organochlorines exist in nature in trace amounts (e.g., in the poison used by some small shell fish to ward off predators), the vast majority - and the most toxic - are manmade. Organochlorines were first introduced around 1900, with a marked increase in production after World War II. Approximately 15,000 different organochlorines exist today. One source of organochlorines is the bleaching of pulp and paper with chlorine or chlorine compounds, such as chlorine dioxide. (TCF bleaching processes do not contribute to the production of organochlorines.)
Organochlorines tend to share three common characteristics. First, they are not readily broken down by nature and thus tend to persist in the environment for generations. Second, they tend to move up the food chain through bio-accumulation. Third, they tend to be toxic and, in manyinstances, carcinogenic.
Chlorinated Water May Increase Cancer Risk
A series of studies published in the January issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology has established a link between drinking water treated with chlorine and an increased risk of bladder, colon, and rectal cancers.
Chlorination by-products are found in drinking water disinfected with chlorine. Drinking water has been sterilized with chlorine since the turn of the century. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter to form trihalogenated methanes, substances linked to cancer.
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) is working with the U.S. EPA to research the issue of carcinogens in drinking water and microbial removal. Water utilities have committed $180 million to study the problem, according to AWWA.
In response to the published studies, AWWA issued a statement noting that risks to health from drinking water are small compared to risks associated with inadequate water disinfection. Untreated water can contain microbial diseases such as typhoid and cholera.
"Chlorine has had a place in protecting the public from contaminated drinking water, but technology has advanced to the point where viable alternatives are now available on the market -- water purification products that provide safe, clean, delicious drinking water without the use of chlorine," said Archie Beaton, CFPA executive director. "It's time to explore chlorine-free possibilities."
Paper Company Fined for Toxic Chlorine Dioxide Spill
- Powell River, BC -
A Canadian provincial court has levied a $100,000 fine on paper producer MacMillan Bloedel for a chlorine dioxide spill that came close to overtaking residents living near Powell River. Judge Fred Green stated that the company did not show due diligence in trying to prevent the October 1994 accident, the largest of its kind in British Columbia history.
According to a report in The Vancouver Sun, the spill was caused when an aging wooden pulp storage tank at the company's paper mill burst, showering timbers and pulp onto two storage tanks containing 600,000 litres of chlorine dioxide. Both tanks ruptured, and the toxic liquid chemical escaped, flowing into Malaspina Strait. The chemical also formed a gas cloud that drifted northwest of the Powell River, narrowly missing an Indian village. The prevailing winds that night carried the cloud off the coast.
MacMillan Bloedel was found guilty last July of permitting waste to escape into the ocean and into the air and introducing a deleterious substance in the ocean, violations of the provincial Waste Management Act and the federal Fisheries Act. MacMillan Bloedel has since spent $5 million to build new concrete pulp storage tanks away from the chlorine dioxide tanks.
"This type of accident - and the alarming risk to human life and health and the environment - would never have occurred if MacMillan Bloedel had been using totally chlorine-free technology,"said Archie Beaton, CFPA executive director.
NCR Introduces PCF Cash Register Roll
- Miamisburg, OH -
NCR Papers now offers a new line of cash register/ adding machine stock, called Enviro-100, that is made with 100 recycled fiber and is processed chlorine free (PCF). Enviro-100 was introduced in November 1997 by NCR's Systemedia Group.
The new paper product has been officially certified as PCF by the Chlorine Free Products Association and bears the PCF emblem.
Enviro-100 is noted for its smooth performance and high printability at point of sale, combining high performance with environmental conservation. During testing, the new paper surpassed the performance level of similar products in paper strength, low dust levels, and printer feeding. In addition, the paper combines high performance and quality with low cost. Enviro-100 paper rolls are available at a lower price than comparable rolls made with industry-standard bond paper.
"Our customers are using Enviro-100 because it reduces their costs and offers environmental benefits, all without sacrificing quality," said Christopher Beckerdite, product manager at NCR. "The use of recovered waste material remanufactured without chlorine bleaching agents makes Enviro-100 the most environmentally friendly paper roll available on the market today."
NCR is the world's largest producer of paper rolls used in cash registers, retail point-of-sale terminals, and printing calculators. For more information about Enviro-100, call NCR at 937-439-8221.
Manistique Certified to Display CFPA's PCF Logo
Manistique was recently commended by Michigan's governor for moving beyond compliance to protect the environment and achieve sustainable economic growth.
- Manistique, MI -
Manistique Papers, a paper manufacturer that is the largest users of recycled catalogs and magazines in North America, has undergone a successful CFPA mill audit to earn PCF certification for its products. Manistique is the first company in the United States to officially certify its products as PCF.
The company is noted for its progressive approach to environmental protection. It was recently commended by Michigan Governor John Engler for "moving beyond compliance to protect the environment and achieve sustainable economic growth."
Manistique Papers produces Manistique One HundredTM, Initiative 100TM, Internet One HundredTM, and Interface One HundredTM. All are 100 percent recycled papers that contain 40 percent postconsumer fibers and are PCF. The paper is available in truckload quantities (44,000 lbs.) in 35 lb. to 60 lb. (25 x 38) for offset web printing and 15 lb. to 24 lb. (17 x 22) for business product converting. The paper offers outstanding opacity, consistent runnability, and excellent printability.
CFPA audited the mill, using an expert consultant and standards of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI), to certify that Manistique's products and processes are processed chlorine free (PCF). With successful completion of the audit, Manistique can now display the PCF logo on its products and packages. The PCF logo informs consumers that the products they buy are manufactured using an environmentally preferred process.
"The intent of certifying a mill process as PCF or TCF is to reduce the environmental impacts associated with chlorine and chlorine compounds in the manufacture, use, and disposal of products," said CFPA executive director Archie Beaton. "Manistique is to be commended for its environmental leadership in the pulp and paper industry."
Manufacturers authorized to use CFPA's TCF or PCF logos are subject to an ongoing program of testing, inspection, and enforcement. Requirements for certification are based on the use of chlorine chemistry and an assessment of the environmental impact of product manufacture, use, and disposal. The PCF logo not only certifies chlorine-free content, but it is the only environmental certification program that also indicates the percentage of postconsumer content.
For more information about Manistique products, contact the customer service department at 800-743-2389, ext. 292. For information about certification, call CFPA at 847-658-6104.
