Protecting
human health and the environment from hazardous
chemicals
October 2008, Rome/Geneva – Ministers and
officials from over 120 governments will
meet in Rome next week to decide whether
to add two pesticides – endosulfan and tributyl
tin compounds – and the industrial chemical
chrysotile asbestos to a trade watch list
that already contains 39 hazardous substances.
Those chemicals included
in the so-called PIC list are subject to
the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure
under the Rotterdam Convention, an international
treaty designed to ensure that hazardous
chemicals do not endanger human health and
the environment.
Safer trade
The inclusion of a chemical
on the PIC list is not a global recommendation
to ban it or severely restrict its use.
The PIC procedure gives developing country
Parties the power to decide which of these
chemicals they wish to receive and to exclude
those they cannot manage safely. Exporting
Parties are responsible for ensuring that
no exports leave their territory when an
importing country has made the decision
not to accept the chemicals.
"The Convention's
focus on trade reflects international concerns
regarding the impact of hazardous chemicals
and pesticides on human health and the environment
– a concern shared not only by scientists,
technical specialists and environmentalists
but by the entire human family," said
Executive Director Achim Steiner of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
which along with FAO jointly manages the
Convention secretariat.
Chemicals are proposed
for inclusion on the list based on the recommendation
of a technical panel of experts. A key requirement
is that two countries from two different
regions of the world must have banned or
severely restricted the particular chemical.
Tributyl tin (TBT)compounds are pesticides
used in antifouling paints for ship hulls
and are toxic to fish, molluscs and other
aquatic organisms. The International Maritime
Organization has moved to ban the use of
antifouling paints containing TBT compounds.
Endosulfan is a pesticide
widely used around the world, particularly
in cotton production. It is hazardous to
the environment and detrimental to human
health, particularly in those developing
countries where adequate safeguards do not
exist.
Chrysotile asbestos
is the most commonly used form of asbestos,
accounting for around 94 percent of global
asbestos production. It is widely used in
building materials, such as asbestos cement,
pipe and sheet, and in the manufacture of
friction products, gaskets and paper.
The International Labour
Organization adopted a resolution in early
2006 calling for the elimination of all
uses of chrysotile asbestos. The resolution
reflected the World Health Organization's
findings that it is associated with many
thousands of deaths worldwide from lung
cancer and mesothelomia, a rare form of
cancer directly linked to asbestos.
A number of countries,
including some that continue to mine and
export chrysotile asbestos, blocked its
addition to the PIC list when the Parties
to the Convention last met in 2006. As a
result the chemical will be reconsidered
at this meeting, and further opposition
is anticipated.
"On the 10th anniversary
of the Convention's adoption, it is crucial
that we ensure its continued relevance and
effectiveness in enabling Parties to protect
human health and the environment, while
keeping pace with the demands of human development,"
said FAO Assistant Director-General, Agriculture
and Consumer Protection Department, Modibo
T. Traoré.
Other issues on the
agenda of the Fourth Meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention
(COP 4) are synergies among the Rotterdam,
Basel and Stockholm Conventions, the three
international treaties dealing with hazardous
substances. Participants will also further
consider procedures and mechanisms for non-compliance,
and adopt a programme of technical assistance
to help Parties implement the Convention.
Some 70 000 chemicals
are available on the market today, and around
1 500 new ones are introduced every year.
This can pose a major challenge to regulators
charged with monitoring and managing these
potentially dangerous substances. Many pesticides
that have been banned or whose use has been
severely restricted in industrialized countries
are still marketed and used unsafely in
developing countries.
The conference runs
from 27 to 31 October at FAO Headquarters
in Rome.
The Convention's list
includes the following hazardous chemicals:
2,4,5-T, aldrin, binapacryl, captafol, chlordane,
chlordimeform, chlorobenzilate, DDT, DNOC
and its salts, ethylene dichloride, ethylene
oxide 1,2-dibromoethane (EDB), dieldrin,
dinoseb, fluoroacetamide, HCH, heptachlor,
hexachlorobenzene, lindane, mercury compounds,
monocrotophos, parathion, pentachlorophenol
and toxaphene, plus certain formulations
of methamidophos, methyl-parathion, and
phosphamidon, as well as dustable-powder
formulations containing a combination of
benomyl at or above 7 per cent, carbofuran
at or above 10 per cent and thiram at or
above 15 per cent. It also covers eleven
industrial chemicals: five forms of asbestos
(actinolite, anthophyllite, amosite, crocidolite
and tremolite), polybrominated biphenyls
(PBB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB),
polychlorinated terphenyls (PCT) tetraethyl
lead, tetramethyl lead and tris (2,3 dibromopropyl)
phosphate.
Further information is available at http://www.pic.int
or by emailing pic@pic.int
Please Contact Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
Asian Journalists Adopt
Declaration on Climate Change
UNEP’s Climate Neutral Network (CN Net)
was presented at the Asia Journalists Association
Forum on Climate Change, which took place
from 7-10 October 2008 in Seoul, Korea.
The Forum drew media from different regions
working in a broad spectrum of print and
media outlets. They included more than 60
journalists from 22 countries, including
media from a number of West Asian countries,
Latin America and Russia
Photos by:
Asia Journalists Association
The presentation drew
many questions from media representatives
on CN Net and climate change, many of whom
traditionally shied away from environmental
stories, thinking it was best left to specialist
environmental journalists. A number said
they felt ‘inspired’ to learn and report
more climate change, which they felt was
an important issue that needed to be brought
to the attention of policy makers and the
public.
During the meeting media
representatives unanimously adopted a Declaration
on Climate Change which included a Green
Charter to tell the ‘true’ story of climate
change in the face of spin doctors
Photos by: Asia Journalists Association
who may distort and deny the fact of global
warming, to call on lawmakers to enact laws,
policies designed to cut carbon emissions,
to provide information and ideas on environmental
that may serve as a course 101 on how to
live a green lifestyle, to call on the Asia
Journalist Association to award green planet
awards for excellence in environmental reporting
and work with organizations like UNEP to
hold more training and workshops on environmental
issues for the media.
