24 July 2007
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Georgia Gulf to provide a response to the following items raising concerns about its facilities in the Lake Charles area of Louisiana:
"Industrial Sources of Dioxin Poisoning in Mossville, Louisiana: A Report Based on the
Government’s Own Data", Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, July 2007, www.ehumanrights.org/mossville-rep(web).pdf
" Health-US: Tiny Town Demands Justice in Dioxin Poisoning ", Adrianne Appel, IPS
News, 25 July 2007
" Report Links Corporate Pollution to Dioxin Found in Blood of Louisiana Residents ",
Corporate Crime Reporter, 24 July 2007
In response, Georgia Gulf sent the following statement, which it indicated had originally been provided to Adrienne Appel of IPS News on 24 July:
“We have not had an opportunity to review this paper. However, credible reports have been produced by the EPA and ATSDR specifically about the Calcasieu and Lafayette areas. We rely on these peer-reviewed reports to guide our processes. Below are a few thoughts, links and attachments that should be helpful in your report. http://www.dioxinfacts.org/sources_trends/sources.html
http://www.dioxinfacts.org/sources_trends/trends.html
www.dioxinfacts.org
· TRI is not new. Reporting of dioxin is not new. The combination of the two is new. And dioxin is being reported differently than in previous EPA dioxin inventories. The TRI report does not mean there is additional exposure to dioxin.
It reflects a different way of reporting.
· Dioxin emissions to the environment have been dramatically reduced over the last 30 years. According to information from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, dioxin levels in the environment have declined significantly since the 1970s. These reductions result from EPA regulatory controls and industry actions.
· We strongly support efforts to reduce dioxins in the environment, and we also support providing emissions data and other environmental information to citizens and regulatory agencies.
· Industry in Louisiana has reduced [total TRI] emissions by more than 80 percent since 1987. At the same time, industrial operations have become more efficient and more protective of the environment while production has increased by more than 50 percent.

· Our industry is responsible for quality products that consumers want, buy and use every day. Medical supplies, medicines and pharmaceutical products, computer keyboards, PVC pipe, automobile dashboards, toys and sporting goods and food wrap are products Louisiana plants help make, and these products in turn help Louisianians enjoy a healthy and productive lifestyle.
· We support EPA’s dioxin reassessment process. We do feel it’s important that EPA ensures that the dioxin reassessment is technically sound, as it will be used as the scientific basis for continued regulatory action.
· The most important point about dioxin, however, is that through EPA regulations and industry efforts, dioxin emissions to the environment are heading in the right direction – down. As an industry, we will continue to do our part to minimize dioxin emissions .”