Episode Features Mercury-free Plant - Oceana USA
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January 26, 2009

Episode Features Mercury-free Plant

BY: Beth

Via a reporter for the Augusta Chronicle, we found out that this Thursday’s episode of the Discovery Channel’s show HowStuffWorks will feature a modern, mercury-free chlorine factory owned by Olin Corp., one of our campaign targets. Olin is one of the biggest manufacturers of chlor-alkali products (chlorine and caustic soda) in the country and our Campaign to Stop Seafood Contamination has been targeting the company to switch its remaining two plants that use outdated, mercury-polluting technology to modern, mercury-free technology. Olin’s plants in Augusta, GA and Charleston TN emit over 1,000 pounds of mercury total each year, despite the fact that over 90% of American chlorine is made with mercury-free technology. In fact, the site that will be featured on the show used to hold a mercury-cell chlorine plant until Olin switched it to mercury-free technology in 1987.This quote from Jackie Savitz, one of our senior campaign directors, goes for both Augusta, where the blog is located, and Charleston, TN, the site of Olin’s other mercury-polluting plant.

“They used to use mercury in Niagara Falls and they switched to mercury free. As a result, they are running a cleaner, more efficient plant, stabilizing the jobs and their place in the community,” Ms. Savitz said. “That is what we would like to see happen in Augusta.”