Market Share for Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF) Pulp Increases for 8th Consecutive Year

-- Environmental and Product Performance Leads to Market Dominance --

(WASHINGTON, October 8, 1998) -- For the 8th year in a row Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF) Pulp will increase its share of the world bleached chemical pulp market. The 54% market share ECF pulp will capture in 1998 is further evidence of a growing global consensus that ECF is the best available technology. The growth for ECF is documented in "Trends in World Bleached Pulp Production: 1990 - 1998," an annual report released today by the Alliance for Environmental Technology (AET).

"The continued increase in market share for ECF further confirms that ECF is a high quality, environmentally sound and cost effective bleaching process. Put simply - ECF is the best pulp production process there is on the market," said Douglas C. Pryke, Executive Director of AET.

The report documents yearly pulp production data since 1990 for ECF, TCF (Totally Chlorine-Free) and conventionally bleached pulp.

ECF pulp production will grow to 42 million tonnes world wide in 1998, a 10% increase over 1997. In contrast, the TCF market will remain stagnant at 6%, with no projected increase in production.

The environment has benefited from the growing use of ECF. Since the pulp and paper industry began it's conversion toward ECF bleaching in the late 1980s, dioxin emissions from bleached chemical pulp production have been virtually eliminated. As a direct result, 13 states have lifted a total of 20 fish consumption advisories for dioxin downstream of U.S. pulp mills.

As testimony to its superior environmental performance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chose ECF as the basis for Best Available Technology (BAT) in its Cluster Rule for the pulp and paper industry.

"As more and more mills convert to ECF processes, the international pulp and paper industry will continue down the road of eco-system recovery, and overall environmental integrity," said Pryke.

The Alliance for Environmental Technology is an international association of forest product companies and chemical manufacturers dedicated to improving the environmental performance of the pulp and paper industry. A full text version of the report is available by contacting AET at (800) 999-PULP or visiting AET's web site at www.aet.org.

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