SYNTHETIC DYESTUFFS INDUSTRY

Unfortunately only the Abstract of the following scholarly article is on line. The full 30 page report can be obtained through either university or professional contacts. The title is "Contaminated Earth and Water: A Legacy of the Synthetic Dyestuffs Industry" by Anthony S. Travis, Ambix, Vol 49, part 1, March 2002. One of the most striking aspects to me is the fact that as early as the late 1800's , scientists and doctors knew about the toxic characteristics of these synthetic or man made dyes. By the 1890's bladder cancer was being attributed to them at the Hoechst Dyeworks in Frankfurt Germany. It was recognized that lagoons and pits were not safe methods of waste disposal hence most textile and dyestuffs industries located directly on rivers for the sole purpose of flushing their toxic wastes downstream. Both Europe (England, France, Germany, Switzerland) had full knowledge of these terrible problems as did the United States when they entered into this industry. Meanwhile here in Canada it's as if we had to reinvent the wheel. We made every single mistake that other countries had made 75 to 100 years earlier.