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World Chlorine Council Newsletter | December 2020 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Global News Update
December 2020
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Contents
- Editorial
- Goodbye to dear friends at ACC CCD
- WCC Annual Meeting Overview
- GST and GAST-related updates
- WCC meetings in 2021
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Euro Chlor to manage WCC in 2021
Dear colleagues and friends, In these last few days before the holiday season, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the past few months of World Chlorine Council (WCC) activities. Following the sad news that the American Chemistry Council’s Chlorine Chemistry Division (ACC CCD) will cease to exist as of next year (as you can read below), Euro Chlor has agreed to manage the WCC Secretariat for an extra (third) year. This will enable Euro Chlor to help WCC's other US member, the Chlorine Institute, take over ACC CCD's role. As I mentioned back in September, this year has been challenging for WCC with the cancellation of our opportunities to connect face-to-face due to the COVID-19 virus. On the other hand, chlorine chemistry has been called upon by authorities in our various regions to help protect people and medical professionals around the world.
We had our virtual 2020 Annual Meeting on 20 and 22 October 2020 (instead of Wroclaw, Poland, as originally planned) with our team updates, Management Committee and regional reports. Read more about these below. We also held a successful WCC online safety seminar a few weeks ago, which many of you attended and you can also read more below. Thank you all for your help in achieving the progress we have made so far over the last two years and I look forward to continuing this journey in 2021. Have a blessed holiday season wherever you are. Warm regards, Marleen |
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Goodbye to our dear friends at ACC CCD
As ACC CCD sunsets at the end of 2020, we remember the immense contributions it made over its 25-year involvement with WCC. Beyond CCD successfully serving as the WCC Secretariat in rotation with Euro Chlor, the Division has provided the WCC family with some of its fondest memories at our meetings, such as a Tango dance performance in Argentina and multiple culinary journeys at unique restaurants across the globe. In addition to making our meetings more enjoyable, CCD has been pivotal in WCC’s involvement in identifying and addressing emerging global issues facing the chlor-alkali industry. Encouraged by CCD, the WCC sent a delegation to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (“Rio+10”) in South Africa. This kickstarted WCC’s involvement with the United Nation’s (UN) Millennium Development Goals, the current UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the UN Environment Programme’s Global Mercury Partnership. CCD has also been instrumental in promoting chlorine chemistry’s benefits to society, particularly related to safe drinking water, and achieving many of the UN’s 17 SDGs, while also protecting the industry when faced with challenges related to persistent organic pollutants, dioxins, mercury, and more. The WCC family will miss CCD’s leadership and friendship. We wish all the best in the future endeavors of the CCD staff and hope to cross paths with Judith Nordgren, Mary Ostrowski, LeaAnne Forest and Matthew Kastner in the future. Life will never be the same but you will always be in our hearts!
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Overview of a successful virtual WCC Annual Meeting
We organised the third WCC meeting this year in two parts on 20 and 22 October 2020. This followed the WCC Management Committee and Global Advocacy & Science Team (GAST) meeting on 30 January 2020 and the 2020 Spring Meeting on 30 April as the 2020 Spring Meeting,
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the WCC Secretariat has organised all the meetings via MS Teams. On 20 October, Marleen Pauwels gave a short welcome and administrative introduction. Team members then followed with updates on their specific activities. Richy Mariner first highlighted the main GAST activities, namely the Stockholm POPs Convention, UN SDGs, Disinfection By-Product (DBP) Task Force, COVID-19 and PFAS. Catherine Birkner then presented the Global Communications Team (GCT) work on the communications plan and WCC's two main communications tools - the WCC website and CL17 Sharepoint. Finally, Ton Manders summarised the last Global Safety Team (GST) teleconference on 4 September, which had covered incident sharing, the 2020 WCC Safety Seminar and the GST newsletter (read more in the article below). The Management Committee Meeting subsequently gave an overview of the budget and future activities.
On 22 October, the WCC regions reported their latest highlights on a new specially-produced template. All the presentations and minutes can be found on the CL17.
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WCC GST online Safety Seminar and fourth quarter newsletter
On 17-18 November 2020, the WCC GST held its online Safety Seminar. The seminar contained several presentations from WCC members. In total, around 80 people from all global regions attended one or both events. The seminar included topics such as Jack Rabbit II and the effect on the modelling of chlorine releases, the WCC Cardinal rules, accidental mixing, lessons learned, etc. The presentations and recordings have been sent to the participants for onward distribution to those who could not attend. For more details, contact Ton Manders or see the December 2020 GST Newsletter just published.
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New GAST issue brief just released on COVID-19
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In November 2020, the GAST released its latest issue brief. This document is in response to articles suggesting that increased chlorine-based disinfectant use during COVID-19 could be damaging aquatic environments, harming wildlife or even adversely impacting human health. It reminds people to always follow manufacturers' instructions to use these products safely and responsibly. It is available for members via the WCC website (Resources Page) or on the CL17. The issue brief was built from a similar one produced by colleagues at the Water Quality and Health Council, which worked closely with ACC CCD. Like many GAST initiatives, it owes much to the tireless and excellent work of Mary Ostrowski and Mark Gibson at ACC CCD. Their contribution over the years has been phenomenal and will be missed in the years ahead. Many thanks to them for their input in making the GAST such a vital part of WCC. Contact Richy Mariner with any feedback.
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WCC meetings planned in 2021
2021 WCC Meetings WCC Management Committee Meeting
20 January | Microsoft Teams 1.30-3.30 pm (CET)
WCC Spring Meeting
16 March | Microsoft Teams 12-3 pm (CET) WCC Annual Meeting
5-7 October | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Contact Euro Chlor Assistant, Assumpta Tabaro, with any questions about these meetings.
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