PULP MANUFACTURING IN CHILE
PROPOSAL TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH PULP MANUFACTURING
BY SAVE THE WAVES COALITION

Purpose: To find a solution to the environmental problems associated with the pulp mill industry in Chile.

The intention of our mission is to establish a dialogue between leaders of the pulp industry and environmental groups that will ultimately lead to a solution that:
• is economically feasible for the pulp industry
• involves increased support and participation from the Government of Chile
• sets standards that will prevent further harm to the natural environment
• allows for public participation and comment in cases where industry may have an impact on local communities

Our belief is that a compromise can be reached between all parties involved in this issue, and that a solution can be found that is acceptable to the pulp industry, conservation organizations, and the people of Chile.

The resolution of this problem will require a spirit of cooperation throughout the negotiation process. By examining the technologies currently available to the pulp industry worldwide, the current and future state of the global market for paper pulp, and the economic feasibility of implementing improvements to Chile’s numerous pulp mills, we believe that a long-term plan can be established that will greatly benefit both the natural environment and the future economic health of Chile.


Background of Pulp Manufacturing Processes and Related Environmental Impacts:

In recent years, the pulp industry in Chile has come under attack from numerous environmental and human rights groups that are unhappy with the associated impact on the environment and on the health of populations of people living near the mills. The
challenges that the pulp industry in Chile now faces are similar to those that have existed in other locations in the world over past years. In some locations, particularly in Europe and the United States, the industry has faced costly litigation and been forced to implement expensive new technologies to reduce environmental harm. Chile’s industry could face similar future costs unless proactive efforts are begun immediately.

Pulp bleaching is the stage in pulp production that has, throughout history, produced the byproducts that pose the most significant hazards to the natural environment.1 The pulp industry originally used a process that used elemental chlorine to bleach the pulp, in order to create a product that had sufficient brightness to be used to make white paper products. The use of elemental chlorine was found to have numerous severe impacts on the environment, which led most of the world’s governments to demand that mills switch to a process known as “Elemental Chlorine Free” or ECF.

Nonetheless, the ECF bleaching process produces waste materials that still pose a significant threat to the environment, including toxic air emissions, liquid effluent, and solid waste.2

The most severe environmental consequences to date in Chile have stemmed from
the liquid effluent released by mills, which when not properly treated, have
contaminated nearby water supplies.3

To reduce the environmental impact of this waste, many mills in the US and Europe have been required to implement additional methods of treatment to remove contaminants from wastewater. Extended delignification, oxygen delignification, and other technologies have been developed to improve lignin removal in the pulping process, which reduces downstream bleaching chemical use. These technologies along with oxygen, chlorine dioxide, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide bleaching stages enable mills to reduce pollutant loads. The use of these methods, along with careful and
regular monitoring of mill effluent, has led to a significant reduction of environmental damage caused by the bleaching process.4

Most of Chile’s pulp mills, with some exceptions, currently operate to standards that are consistent with US environmental guidelines. However, what are lacking are consistent industry-wide standards provided by the Government of Chile, an effective system of monitoring mill emissions to ensure that treatment technologies are working reliably and consistently, and enforcement of penalties if certain mills fail to maintain acceptable
levels of compliance. The implementation of industry guidelines and monitoring will ensure that all mills operate with minimal impact to the environment, which will have numerous positive effects on the economy of Chile, and ensure to the future health of the pulp industry by reducing the risk of future litigation.

Some environmental groups have recommended the use of TCF (or “totally chlorine free”) technology in Chile’s mills, which is a new process that currently sees limited use worldwide, mainly in Europe. TCF accounts for approximately 5% of the world market at the present time, but its share of the market appears to be growing every year, and consumer demand for this type of non-chlorine pulp appears to be increasing as public awareness of the environmental benefits of chlorine-free paper becomes more widespread.5

In the US, there is only one pulp mill using TCF technology, the Evergreen mill in Samoa, California. The Evergreen mill was built with a cost of US $20 million, which they claim was significantly more expensive than it would have been to construct a similar ECF mill. Nonetheless, they have declared savings of nearly $1.1 million per year in material and equipment costs.6 Furthermore, the mill’s construction was aided by grants from the US Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Additional cost savings associated with the use of TCF may include (provided by the National Toxics Network, Australia):
• Enhancement of economic performance, as operating costs for low-effluent TCF mills are generally lower than ECF mills. Over standard investment cycles, it has been proven in the European market that mills can recoup initial
capital invested.
• New TCF mills can be built with less expensive materials if they will never use corrosive chlorine compounds
• Oxygen-based bleaching consumes less energy
• Oxygen based bleaching chemicals are less corrosive, requiring less frequent capital equipment replacement
• It is easier to install important air stack control devices if there are no corrosive chlorine emissions.
• Chlorine dioxide has considerable costs in risk management and emergency response systems
• TCF allows nearly full recovery of bleaching wastewater. This presents an opportunity for increased chemical, thermal energy, and process water recovery.
• Recapture of heated wastewater and increased waste fiber available for hog and recovery boilers generates energy savings.
• ECF processes consume more energy than TCF sequences.
• No monitoring and reporting of chlorinated compounds is required
• Oxygen based kraft pulps show no appreciable shortcomings in pulp quality compared to products bleached with chlorine dioxide.
• TCF effluents are easier to treat

Drawbacks of pulp produced from TCF mills may include:
• the pulp produced from this process is sometimes inferior in quality to that from ECF mills, both in fiber strength and brightness
• the world market for TCF pulp is currently small, and mostly limited to Europe
• mills currently operating using ECF technologies are often ill-equipped to be retrofitted to TCF technology, which can incur high costs to upgrade

Some experts in the industry believe that the ECF bleaching process can provide sufficient safeguards to the environment with adequate secondary treatment. Both ECF and TCF technologies require the use of toxic chemicals and the presence of treatment facilities to limit the toxicity of their effluent. Nonetheless, the elimination of chlorine use in pulp bleaching should become a priority for the pulp industry, manily because of its lower impact on the environment.

Economic Benefits of Reducing the Environmental Impact of Pulp Manufacturing

Environmental disasters have enormous economic costs that are frequently difficult to assess in monetary terms. The example of the ecological damage in Valdivia in a UNESCO biosphere reserve, which resulted in the disappearance of the areas black-necked swans, is only one of the world’s many examples of economies that have suffered from industrial accidents. Frequently these accidents have negative impacts on numerous other industries, some of which may not become apparent until many years in the future.

In Chile, the pulp mill industry has undoubtedly had a negative impact on the following industries: tourism, fishing, farming, wine-growing, and health care. A frequent argument in favor of constructing new mills is that the mills create new jobs, but the government must assess if the economic benefit from the number of jobs created outweighs the aforementioned costs.

In areas where mills operate, if the pollution is allowed to continue as it does today, tourism will never have a chance to develop. Chile’s image in the worldwide tourism market relies heavily on its image as a destination for adventure and experiencing beautiful natural
surroundings. In towns like Constitucion, for example, where numerous mills pump wastewater into the ocean and toxic emissions into the air, tourism hardly exists, for obvious reasons. The water is too toxic to swim in and the air causes respiratory problems.
Furthermore, due to oceanic currents, the effect of Constitucion’s mills spreads even farther up the coast, which can impact tourism economies many miles away.

The fishing industry also suffers. The untreated or semi-treated effluents produced by pulp mills has been proven to have detrimental effects on marine habitat, causing the reduction of nearshore plant life which in turn reduces available food sources for fish.7 Furthermore,
fish caught in waterways where mill effluent is released have been found to have toxic levels of dioxin in their flesh, which causes both a reduction in their stock and a negative effect on the health of humans who consume them. 8

In areas where mills use inland water supplies, farming and wine-growing are also impacted. These industries rely on the availability of clean water for irrigation and clean air and soil for their crops to thrive. Pulp mills constructed near existing farmland will have a detrimental effect on existing farming operations, causing the loss of jobs and a lowering of food productivity nationwide.

Lastly, the pulp industry has had a negative effect on the health of populations that live in their vicinity, leading to untold costs to the health care industry. Mill effluent pollutes water supplies, food supplies, and air quality. If the industry is allowed to expand without improved environmental standards, the costs to the health care system alone could greatly outweigh the profits generated by the sale of pulp on the global market.

The improvement of environmental standards for the entire pulp industry will have an enormous positive effect on the economy of Chile. To summarize, it will:
• increase tourism in areas currently impacted by nearby mills
• improve the health of local fisheries
• guarantee the health of local populations
• improve image of Chile as a leader in the global marketplace

Past and Present Litigation Against the Pulp Industry

From an industry standpoint, the failure to adopt improved environmental standards will carry the possibility of future litigation against the pulp industry. In many parts of the world, pulp mills that have been accused of environmental damage have been subjected to lawsuits, and if found guilty have been liable for many millions of dollars of reparations, which at
times has forced them to cease operations altogether. The following is a short list of litigation against the worldwide pulp industry over the past few years:
• North Carolina- Weyerhauser pulp mill declared health hazard by US Government, no litigation yet.
• Washington- 2004- Kimberly Clark sued and settled for an injunction on current behavior and compliance with more stringent standards for permits in the future.
• Alaska 2001- Sierra Club v. Ketchikan Pulp, still in litigation, but mill closed indefinitely.
• Eureka, CA 1989 – Surfrider Foundation wins multi-million dollar lawsuit against Simpson Paper Company, forcing closure of the mill.
• Montana 1998-CHEER v. Stone Container Corp (Settled $650, 000)
• Wisconsin, 2003- Fort James sued by the Clean Water Action Council, still in litigation.
• Mississippi- Georgia Pacific sued multiple times, class action including 9100 plaintiffs, over Dioxin in the water.
• Mississippi- Leaf River Products v. Simmons, 1996
• Mississippi- Beech v. Leaf River Forest products, 1997.
• Florida- 2002- Georgia Pacific Palatka mill sued, in litigation.
• Wisconsin- 2006 SMART mill closed; legal battle over the money required to upgrade equiptment.
• Australia- Gunns Limited sued over pulp mill in Tasmania. Lawsuit continuing.
• Uruguay 2006- conflict between Uruguay and Argentina over pulp mill in Uruguay; Argentina considering appealing issue to the Hague.
• Eastern Canada- multi million dollar settlement of lawsuit over chlorine contamination.
• Indonesia- lawsuit in 1992 over a pulp mill polluting the Siak river.
• Alberta, Canada 2000- Daishowa v. Friends of the Lubicon, against logging and pollution from pulp mill.

The pulp industry in Chile is an important part of its economy, and hence its stability and future success should be considered a priority for Chile’s future economic health. Given the examples of costly litigation in the US and Europe, the industry in Chile could reduce its liability by adopting higher environmental standards at the present time, and act preemptively to protect itself from what could become an unstable future.

Recommendations to Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Pulp Industry

The best solution for ensuring the future stability of the pulp manufacturing industry depends on increased government involvement in the monitoring and enforcement of environmental standards. A well-defined policy to manage the entire industry is essential to achieve this goal. By ensuring that all of Chile’s pulp mills adhere to the best available technologies for reducing effluent and air emissions, the economy of Chile will realize substantial economic benefits. The standards must be reached by employing the assistance of the scientific community, and partly funded by grants from the government in order to lessen the burden on the pulp manufacturing industry. The grant money should be seen as an investment in Chile’s future, and the long-term economic and environmental benefits will most certainly outweigh short-term costs.

The following steps are recommended in order to encourage increased government participation in promoting the evolution of Chile’s pulp manufacturing industry:
• set standards for all pulp manufacturing mills to upgrade to the best available technologies to treat wastewater and other toxic emissions.
• set requirements for all new mills to implement TCF and closed-circuit technologies, and to utilize improved technologies for bleaching pulp if they should become available.
• implement a program of independently-funded and daily monitoring of pollution levels, to prevent future environmental disasters and ensure the health of the natural environment and local populations.
• offer government grants and financial incentives to encourage the pulp industry to adopt improved standards of production and to reduce the costs of implementing superior clean technologies.
• enforce strict penalties to mills that do not comply to guidelines set by the Government of Chile.

Bibliography
1. United States Environmental Protection Agency Fact Sheet, The Pulp and Paper Industry: The Pulping Process and Pollutant Releases to the Environment, November 1997, Page 2.
2. ibid.
3. Universidad Austral Chile, estudio sobre origen de mortilidades y dismunición poblacion de aves acuáticas en el Santuario de la Naturaleza Carlos Anwandler, en la Providencia de Valdivia, April 2005.
4. United States Department of Energy, Energy & Environmental Profile of the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry, December 2005.
5. Dolores Broten and Jay Ritchlin, The Pulp Pollution Primer, Page 8.
6. California Energy Commission, Closed-Cycle Totally Chlorine Free Beached Kraft Pulp Production at Louisiana Pacific’s Samoa Pulp Mill, page 1.
7. University of Alberta, Sustainable Forest Management Network Project Report, September 2003.
8. United States Environmental Protection Agency Fact Sheet, The Pulp and Paper Industry: The Pulping Process and Pollutant Releases to the Environment, November 1997, Page 3.

What happens when your pristine surf break in Newport, Oregon becomes the dumping ground for a private company’s toxic waste? What happens when a surf trip to Southern Chile or Northern Tasmania goes belly up because you were chased out of the water by the overpowering scent of sulfur, dioxin and bleach?

For surfers and environmental activists in Newport, Oregon, Cobquecura, Chile and Northern Tasmania, enough is enough. They are joining forces to share knowledge and resources in their fight to protect and preserve our oceans, waves, beaches and watersheds.

It started with Peter Whish-Wilson, a Surfrider Australia activist and leader of the Northern Tasmania Branch of the organization. Tasmania is one of the world’s last true wilderness areas with pristine, unpolluted surfing beaches. Faced with a Gunns Ltd proposal for the development of the worlds biggest ECF Pulp Mill that plans to discharge its effluent through an ocean outfall at Bass Strait, right at his beloved point break “Cow Head”, Peter contacted Surfrider’s international office seeking information from the historic Humboldt case that was the second largest Clean Water Act victory in the history of the United States. Former Surfrider employee Mark Massara, who lead that effort, and now heads the Sierra Club’s Coastal Program put Peter in touch with two other pulp mill experts who have helped him with Surfrider Australia’s campaign.

Around the same time, Josh Berry, of the Chilean activist group Proplaya, was awarded a grant through Save the Waves to continue in his fight against the newly constructed Celulosa pulp mill in Nueva Aldea, in the Eighth Region of Chile. His goal is to have the pulp mill abide by all Chilean environmental laws, create an independent monitoring team with timely enforcement by authorities and ensure that the mill uses the latest in “clean” technologies, that is, an internal closed-circuit system that would help save the watershed environment.

When a pulp mill comes to town, the entire watershed is forever damaged, as locals in Eureka, California know. Sources of fresh water are polluted, acid rain is a consistent threat, river and marine fisheries die and human health issues rise. So when a pulp mills’ pollution discharge permit expires, as it did for the Georgia Pacific mill, local Newport activists jump at the opportunity to push for more stringent standards.

With these three pulp mill fights taking place around the Pacific Rim, it didn’t take too much brainstorming to tie these activist synergies together. A common desire was to have the ability to tap into a knowledge base, dialogue on current situations and figure out a way to share other resources such as technology and media contacts.

In Tasmania, Gunns Ltd. released its 7000 page environmental impact report in the middle of July, with a 60-day turnaround time. In this report Gunns Ltd attempts to outline why their new ECF Pulp Mill will be the “world’s best practice” and will have minimal impacts on the marine environment around the effluent discharge area. This marine environment has abundant sea life including fur seals, fairy penguins, “sea dragons” and other endangered species, and is close to one of the world’s richest marine “sponge” gardens. Peter needed assistance reading through the 1000’s of pages of scientific material and approached a local university to procure marine biology students to help wade through the reams of material in time to put together comments for a public submissions process scheduled for mid September. One planned submission will be for an independent coalition of stakeholders, including Surfers, to monitor the new Mill’s marine environmental impacts. With the pulp mill network, Peter and his fellow activists now have access to a group of scientists from around the world who have volunteered to help where possible.

Save The Waves in Chile needs more scientific knowledge as well as media coverage and funding to help apply pressure to Grupo Angelini, owner of the Celulosa pulp mill. Josh has already staged several mass protests in which thousands have participated; however Grupo Angelini has deep ties to the government’s environmental committees. His next tactic is a concert in the Chilean capital of Santiago in late August.

Save the Waves is now initiating its own water-testing program through the Universidad Austral in Valdivia and is also initiating an exhaustive legal review of the environmental impact report that was approved on questionable grounds before the Nueva Aldea mill was built.

In Oregon, activists are reviewing the Georgia Pacific pulp mill’s new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to determine how it differs from the existing permit and are supplying the permit’s reviewing agency – the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality – with pollution-reducing comments. The Newport Chapter’s effort is being led by Melinda McComb. She has been reviewing literature and documents for several months to educate chapter volunteers, local policy makers and to write letters to the local paper. She has assistance reviewing the NPDES permit from three dedicated attorneys volunteering their time and Surfrider field and national staff. The purpose of Surfrider Foundation taking this action is not to shut the Georgia Pacific mill down. Rather, it is to hold the state of Oregon accountable for appropriate implementation of federal and state laws that protect water quality and ensure human health for Oregon citizens.

The Surfrider Foundation continues to advocate and fight for responsible and effective coastal environmental management standards while also building a strong public awareness of how our oceans and water supplies, and therefore all of us, are affected when projects and operations do not consider their impact on our environment. Our efforts and successes in regard to the reduction of pulp mill pollution continues to raise the bar for environmental coastal protection and standards.

Surfrider Foundation in the USA got its first big exposure after winning a huge legal battle against two pulp mills on the coast in Humboldt County, California. The company was Louisiana Pacific. Ironically, the success of this victory almost killed the Surfrider Foundation. Are you ready for success?