Feature story - August 22, 2003
Agent Orange should be a cautionary tale from the past. Containing some of the most toxic chemicals known to man it was sprayed it over huge areas - creating a toxic legacy for those people exposed. The Spolana factory in the Czech Republic produced Agent Orange before poisoned workers forced production to be shut. However the factory still produces lethal poisons - just a different type.
A view of the plant from the River Elbe.
The factory on the banks of the Elbe River is one of the most
contaminated sites in the world due to the past production of Agent
Orange. Production of chlorine and PVC at the plant has also lead
to contamination on surrounding land, food and in the bodies of
local people. Mercury pollution, regular explosions and leaks of
chemicals endanger residents of the local town.
The plant owners refuse to accept responsibility for
contamination from the plant and claim the pollution must be the
fault of those contaminated. We have been touring the chemical
plants of the Elbe River for three weeks to highlight the risks to
local people of outdated plants producing toxic chemicals.
These toxic dinosaurs have no place in a modern Czech Republic
and if the Czech Government is to soon join the European Union (EU)
that a big clean up is required to meet EU standards. We will be
there to ensure these standard are met and polluting plants like
Spolana are not allowed to get away with spreading these
poisons.
More:
Background on the Spolana Plant and Agent Orannge in English
and Czech.
Full details of the Elbe tour 2003 in
Czech.