A MIGRAÇÃO DE RISCOS INDUSTRIAIS

Este artigo analisa o papel peculiar das empresas multinacionais que dominam a produção e comercialização nos ramos com altos riscos para a saúde e o meio ambiente. Historicamente estas têm exercido papel central na migração dos riscos industriais, especialmente para os países com recursos mínimos destinados à proteção ambiental e à saúde do trabalhador. São abordados vários tópicos dentre os quais a importância dos interesses das grandes empresas na determinação dos padrões de exposição às substâncias tóxicas, na exportação do “pensamento perigoso” sobre os riscos e na adoção de tipos de duplo-padrão de gestão nos países de origem e nos países em desenvolvimento. O autor apresenta vários casos ilustrativos que evidenciam questões puramente econômicas, assim como de ética e moralidade na conduta das multinacionais no cenário internacional contemporâneo, cuja redefinição requer a ação dos governos, das organizações sindicais de trabalhadores e das empresas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: riscos industriais; proteção ambiental; gestão industrial; indústrias multinacionais; empresas; organizações sindicais. The Migration of industrial hazards This paper analyses the peculiar role of the multinational corporations that dominate production and marketing in areas of high hazards to health and environment. Historically they have had a central role in the migration of industrial hazards, especially to the countries with minimal resources for environmental protection and worker’s health. Several topics are approached, amongst which the great interest from the major corporations in determining the patterns of exposure to the toxic substances in the export of the “hazardous thinking” regarding risks and in the adoption of determined types of double patterns of management in the country of origin and in the developing countries. The author presents several cases to illustrate merely economical issues, such as ethics and morality in the behavior of the multinational corporations in terms international contemporary scenery, whose definition requires action from the government and from the workers’ unions. KEY WORDS: industrial hazards; environmental protection; environmental management; multinational corporations; corporations; trade unions. Publicação Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.b

Vinyl Chloride: A Case Study of Data Suppression and Misrepresentation

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its 2000 update of the toxicological effects of vinyl chloride (VC), it was concerned with two issues: the classification of VC as a carcinogen and the numerical estimate of its potency. In this commentary we describe how the U.S. EPA review of VC toxicology, which was drafted with substantial input from the chemical industry, weakened safeguards on both points. First, the assessment downplays risks from all cancer sites other than the liver. Second, the estimate of cancer potency was reduced 10-fold from values previously used for environmental decision making, a finding that reduces the cost and extent of pollution reduction and cleanup measures. We suggest that this assessment reflects discredited scientific practices and recommend that the U.S. EPA reverse its trend toward ever-increasing collaborations with the regulated industries when generating scientific reviews and risk assessments

A MIGRAÃÃO DE RISCOS INDUSTRIAIS

<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="content-type"> Castleman <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <big style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant: small-caps;"> E<span style="font-size: 9pt;">ste artigo analisa o papel peculiar das empresas multinacionais que dominam a produ&ccedil;&atilde;o e comercializa&ccedil;&atilde;o nos ramos com altos riscos para a sa&uacute;de e o meio ambiente. Historicamente estas t&ecirc;m exercido papel central na migra&ccedil;&atilde;o dos riscos industriais, especialmente para os pa&iacute;ses com recursos m&iacute;nimos destinados &agrave; prote&ccedil;&atilde;o ambiental e &agrave; sa&uacute;de do trabalhador. S&atilde;o abordados v&aacute;rios t&oacute;picos dentre os quais a import&acirc;ncia dos interesses das grandes empresas na determina&ccedil;&atilde;o dos padr&otilde;es de exposi&ccedil;&atilde;o &agrave;s subst&acirc;ncias t&oacute;xicas, na exporta&ccedil;&atilde;o do &ldquo;pensamento perigoso&rdquo; sobre os riscos e na ado&ccedil;&atilde;o de tipos de duplo-padr&atilde;o de gest&atilde;o nos pa&iacute;ses de origem e nos pa&iacute;ses em desenvolvimento. O autor apresenta v&aacute;rios casos ilustrativos que evidenciam quest&otilde;es puramente econ&ocirc;micas, assim como de &eacute;tica e moralidade na conduta das multinacionais no cen&aacute;rio internacional contempor&acirc;neo, cuja redefini&ccedil;&atilde;o requer a a&ccedil;&atilde;o dos governos, das organiza&ccedil;&otilde;es sindicais de trabalhadores e das empresas.<span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> PALAVRAS-CHAVE<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-weight: normal;">: riscos industriais; prote&ccedil;&atilde;o ambiental; gest&atilde;o industrial; ind&uacute;strias multinacionais; empresas; organiza&ccedil;&otilde;es sindicais<big style="font-weight: normal;">.<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: 8pt; text-transform: uppercase;" lang="EN-US">The Migration of industrial hazards<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;" lang="EN-US">Barri I. Castleman<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: normal; font-family: Arial;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; font-family: Arial;" lang="EN-US"> This paper analyses the peculiar role of the multinational corporations that dominate production and marketing in areas of high hazards to health and environment. Historically they have had a central role in the migration of industrial hazards, especially to the countries with minimal resources for environmental protection and worker&rsquo;s health. Several topics are approached, amongst which the great interest from the major corporations in determining the patterns of exposure to the toxic substances in the export of the &ldquo;hazardous thinking&rdquo; regarding risks and in the adoption of determined types of double patterns of management in the country of origin and in the developing countries. The author presents several cases to illustrate merely economical issues, such as ethics and morality in the behavior of the multinational corporations in terms international contemporary scenery, whose definition requires action from the government and from the workers&rsquo; unions.<br style="font-family: Arial;"> KEY WORDS: industrial hazards; environmental protection; environmental management; multinational corporations; corporations; trade unions. <br style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Publica&ccedil;&atilde;o Online do Caderno CRH: <a href="http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.br/">http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.br </html