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Thirty years ago, many toxic and persistent chemicals were considered
to be not only resources but also pollutants adversely affecting human
health and the environment, particularly where they could be accumulated
up the food chain or transported long distances over the globe. Today,
chemicals are seen as even more essential to development, and as a resource
that needs to be managed to protect or even enhance human health and the
environment. This sound management of chemicals applies to both those
anthropogenically produced and those of natural origin, including those
generated through biological processes.
The international community has recently concluded a landmark convention
to control the use of a group of persistent toxic organic compounds (see
box). In December, 2000 representatives of 122 governments finalized the
text of a legally binding treaty for implementing international action
on certain persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The Stockholm Convention
on Persistent Organic Pollutants, signed in May 2001 and which had 111
signatories and 2 Parties as of December 2001, sets out control measures
covering 12 chemicals. The control provisions call for eliminating production
and use of intentionally produced POPs and eliminating unintentionally
produced POPs where this is feasible (UNEP 2001).
| Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants |
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The POPs treaty covers an initial list of 12 chemicals, the so-called
'dirty dozen':
- eight pesticides - aldrin, chlordane, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
(DDT), dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene;
- two industrial chemicals - polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
and hexachlorobenzene (which is also a pesticide); and
- two unwanted by-products of combustion and industrial processes
(dioxins and furans).
A health-related exemption has been granted for DDT, which is still
needed in many countries to control malarial mosquitoes until 2025.
Governments may also maintain existing equipment that contains PCBs
in a way that prevents leaks to give them time to arrange for PCB-free
replacements. PCBs have been widely used in electrical transformers
and other equipment.
The Convention also designates GEF as its primary financial mechanism,
on an interim basis, through which developed countries will channel
new and additional resources to help countries with economies in
transition and developing countries to implement their obligations.
It also provides for a science-based process, incorporating precaution,
to review other chemicals for possible addition by the Conference
of the Parties.
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| Source: UNEP 2001 |
Since the Stockholm Conference, the global chemicals industry has grown
almost ninefold and an annual growth rate of about 3 per cent is expected
to continue over the next three decades, with a considerable increase
in trade (OECD 2001). This will increase the risk of exposing an increasing
number of people and the environment to new chemicals and the potential
for the emergence of new diseases of chemical origin.
Information about the release of chemicals into the environment is now
much more widely available than used to be the case. North America has
led action in this area, in particular with the US Toxics Release Inventory
(TRI 2001) enacted through the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Act (EPCRA) in the United States in 1986. EPCRA's purpose is to inform
communities and citizens of chemical hazards in their areas. The Act requires
businesses to report the locations and quantities of chemicals stored
on-site to state and local governments. Through EPCRA, the US Congress
mandated that a Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) be made public. TRI provides
citizens with information about potentially hazardous chemicals and their
use so that communities have more power to hold companies accountable
and make informed decisions about how toxic chemicals are to be managed.
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