Talks to spotlight nine
new chemicals, alternatives to DDT and the
challenges of a POPs-free Future - Geneva,
30 April 2009 - Ministers and officials
from 150 governments are meeting this week
to advance global efforts to rid the world
of some of the most hazardous chemicals
produced by humankind.
The conference marks
a new chapter in the history of the Stockholm
Convention. For the first time, nine new
chemicals are proposed for listing many
of which are still widely used as pesticides,
flame retardants and a number of other commercial
uses.
These are Alpha hexachlorocyclohexane;
Beta hexachlorocyclohexane; Hexabromodiphenyl
ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether; Tetrabromodiphenyl
ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether; Chlordecone;
Hexabromobiphenyl; Lindane; Pentachlorobenzene;
Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts
and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride.
Until now, the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs) has targeted the so-called "dirty
dozen": 12 hazardous pesticides and
industrial chemicals that are linked with
human health impacts ranging from damage
to the nervous and immune systems, cancer
and reproductive disorders and the disruption
of infant and child development.
"The risks posed
by such chemicals are profound and these
toxic substances leave chemical footprints
around the globe. Farmers, pregnant women,
young people, the unborn and certain remote
communities such as those in the Arctic
are particularly vulnerable," said
UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive,
Achim Steiner.
"This week in Geneva
governments can make an important contribution
to the poverty-related UN Millennium Development
Goals as well as catalyzing a transition
to a healthier, more sustainable Green Economy.
I would urge them to take that opportunity
and begin lifting another health threat
from literally millions of peoples' lives,"
he added.
A key issue on the conference
agenda will be an evaluation of whether
countries that use DDT to combat mosquitoes
carrying the deadly malaria parasite need
to continue doing so.
While the Convention
targets DDT for elimination, it recognizes
that some countries must still use this
pesticide to protect their citizens' health.
Delegates will consider
the endorsement of a business plan to promote
effective alternatives to DDT. The meeting
will also focus on expanding support to
developing countries to clean up POPs worldwide
and safer alternatives for human health
and the environment.
Another issue is how
to meet the challenges of a POPs-free future
to minimize human suffering and the global
cost of responding to the human health and
environmental problems caused by POPs. This
is particularly important to vulnerable
populations which suffer the most exposure.
There are four distinct challenges:
- Challenge #1: moving
away from the production and use of POPs
towards safer alternatives and to reach
the goal of eliminating the release of unintentionally
produced POPs.
- Challenge #2: identifying
new POPs that put human health and environment
at risk.
- Challenge #3: ensuring
that technical and financial resources are
made available for all countries to meet
their obligations under the Convention.
- Challenge #4: continuing
to ensure the Convention meets its goal
of protecting human health and the environment
from POPs.
Another issue is how
to strengthen the efforts to phase out PCB
use. A vital next step will be to consider
the endorsement of a PCB elimination club
to establish key data and to evaluate whether
the use of PCBs is indeed declining.
The meeting will also
consider further steps for promoting the
use of best available techniques, best available
practices and best environmental practices
to reduce or eliminate the unintentional
releases of unintentionally produced POPs.
Notes to Editors
While the POPs risk
level varies, all of these chemicals share
four properties: they are highly toxic;
they are stable and persistent, often lasting
for decades before degrading into less dangerous
forms; they evaporate and travel long distances
through air and water; and they accumulate
in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife.
Worldwide, every person
carries traces of POPs in his or her body.
POPs circulate globally through a process
known as the "grasshopper effect".
POPs released in one part of the world can,
through a repeated process of evaporation
and deposit, be transported through the
atmosphere to regions far away from the
original source.
Fortunately, alternatives
to POPs do exist. The problem has been that
high costs, a lack of public awareness,
and the absence of appropriate infrastructure
and technology have often prevented the
adoption of alternatives. The selection
of any alternative will depend on the specific
target chemical, the properties and use
patterns of that chemical and each country's
climatic and socio-economic conditions.
The conference runs
from 4 to 8 May at the Geneva International
Conference Center or CICG, 15 rue de Varembé,
Geneva, Switzerland.
The nine new chemicals
proposed for listing under the Stockholm
Convention are:
- Alpha hexachlorocyclohexane
to Annex A
- Beta hexachlorocyclohexane
to Annex A
- Although the intentional
use of alpha- and beta-HCH as an insecticide
was phased out years ago, these chemicals
are still produced as an unintentional by-product
of lindane. Approximately 6-10 tons of other
isomers including alpha- and beta-HCH result
from each ton of lindane produced.
- Hexabromodiphenyl
ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether to Annex
A
- Tetrabromodiphenyl
ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether to Annex
A
- Bromodiphenyl ether
congeners are a group of brominated organic
substances that inhibit or suppress combustion
in organic material, which are used as additive
flame retardants. Brominated diphenyl ethers
are mainly manufactured as commercial mixtures
where several isomers, congeners and small
amounts of other substances occur.
- Chlordecone is a synthetic
chlorinated organic compound, which was
mainly used as an agricultural pesticide.
It was first produced in 1951 and introduced
commercially in 1958. Current use or production
of the chemical is not reported.
- Hexabromobiphenyl
to Annex A;
- Hexabromobiphenyl
(HBB) is an industrial chemical that was
used as a flame retardant, mainly in the
1970s. Based on existing data, HBB is no
longer produced and is not used in new or
existing products.
- Lindane to Annex A;
- Lindane was used as
a broad-spectrum insecticide for seed and
soil treatment, foliar applications, tree
and wood treatment and against ectoparasites
in both veterinary and human treatments.
Lindane production has decreased rapidly
in recent years and only a few countries
still produce it.
- Pentachlorobenzene
to Annex A and C;
- Pentachlorobenzene
(PeCB) was used in PCB products, dyestuff
carriers, as a fungicide, a flame retardant
and a chemical intermediate such as the
production of quintozene and it may still
be used for this purpose. PeCB is also produced
unintentionally during combustion in thermal
and industrial processes. It appears as
an impurity in products such as solvents
or pesticides.
- Perfluorooctane sulfonic
acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl
fluoride to Annex A or B;
- PFOS is both intentionally
produced and an unintended degradation product
of related anthropogenic chemicals. The
current intentional use of PFOS is widespread
and found in products such as in electric
and electronic parts, fire fighting foam,
photo imaging, hydraulic fluids and textiles.
PFOS are still produced in several countries
today.
The 12 initial POPs
covered by the Convention include nine pesticides
(aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin,
heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex and
toxaphene); two industrial chemicals (PCBs
as well as hexachlorobenzene, also used
as a pesticide); and the unintentional by-products,
most importantly dioxins and furans.
Further information is available at http://www.pops.int
or by emailing ssc@pops.int
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
Fatoumata Keita Ouane, Senior Scientific
Officer
Marcella Carew, Public Awareness Officer
