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Governments Give Green Light To Phase Out Of World Convention on Trade in Dangerous Chemicals and Pesticides: Final Round of Talks Started LINDANE (C6H6CI6) Lindane is an organochlorine pesticide. It is a colorless, crystalline solid with either a faint or no smell. It is composed of approximately 99% HCH. Lindane has been used as a broad-spectrum agricultural insecticide since the early 1950s and is 5-20 times more toxic to insects than DDT. It is also used in ointments to treat head and body lice, and scabies. It is poorly soluble in water and rapid bioaccumulation takes place in microorganisms, invertebrates, fish, birds and humans. However, the elimination of lindane from the body is relatively rapid when exposure is discontinued. Lindane can remain in the air for up to 17 weeks. Workplace exposure has been reported to cause blood disorders, dizziness, headaches, and changes in the levels of sex hormones. The ingestion of large amounts has caused seizures and death. Liver and kidney effects and immune suppression has been observed at moderate ingestion levels. Lindane is considered to be a carcinogen, and has been associated with liver cancer. The international trade of lindane will be addressed by the PIC Convention. http://www.grida.no/enrin/htmls/macedon/reports/postcon/eng/appendix2.htm#top http://www.grida.no/enrin/htmls/macedon/reports/postcon/eng/report.htm Similar challenges confound identifying sources of HCH, which is one of
the most widely used insecticides in the world (2, 14).
The technical mixture contains 60-70% from: Using Enantiomers To Trace Pesticide Emissions
Convention on Trade in Dangerous Chemicals and Pesticides: Final Round of Talks StartedBRUSSELS/NAIROBI, 9 March 1998- More than 100 countries are expected to conclude negotiations this week on a legally binding Convention on international trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides.
The intergovernmental meeting started today in Brussels and will finish on Saturday, 14 March, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today. The new legally binding treaty will limit the trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides such as PCBs, Lindane, Aldrin, Dieldrin and harmful pesticide formulations including substances such Monocrotophos and Parathion. The trade in extremely hazardous chemicals and pesticides is currently subject to the voluntary Prior Informed Consent procedure (PIC) in which 154 countries are participating. It is jointly administered by FAO and UNEP. Under PIC, 22 harmful pesticides and five industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted in a number of countries should not be exported unless agreed by the importing country. The Convention will replace the current voluntary system. Countries agreed during previous negotiations that the substances subject to the voluntary PIC procedure will be included in the Convention. The Convention will legally require exporters to notify recipient countries of exports of hazardous substances subject to national bans or severe restrictions. It is expected that additional industrial chemicals and pesticides will be added to the PIC procedure. In the European Union, the PIC procedure is already mandatory and violators can be fined. Many chemicals and pesticides are harmful to humans, domestic animals and ecosystems. They may cause cancer or birth defects, or enter the food chain and accumulate in the tissues of people or animals. Chemicals such as asbestos which is still exported around the world are now known to be carcinogenic. According to UNEP, the past use and trade of these chemicals has left a legacy of lasting problems. Several PIC substances whose use has been banned and phased out in industrialized countries are still widely used in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition. DDT continues to be released into the environment where it poisons wildlife. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly toxic to humans and are found in the blood and tissue samples of people thousands of kilometers from where these chemicals were released. Every day scientists discover previously unknown dangers posed by certain chemicals. A PIC treaty is thus vital for reducing the risk to the world's health and environment. FAO warned that many pesticides, such as DDT, chlordane and heptachlor, which have been banned or whose use has been severely restricted in Europe and North America, are still marketed and used in developing countries. Also, many old, often highly toxic, organophosphorus pesticide formulations continue to be used there because of their low price. The global market for pesticides continues to grow and is estimated at $30 billion for 1996. Companies based in Western European are currently the world's largest chemical producers. The fastest growing markets are in developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Asia. Africa is increasingly using pesticides on export crops. Many developing countries have reported acute poisoning because highly toxic pesticide formulations cannot be handled safely, FAO said. Protective clothing is often too expensive and, in many cases, cannot be used due to the climate in these countries. In order to reduce the risks caused by pesticides, FAO assists developing countries in reducing pesticide use through Integrated Pest Management. Studies on the application of organophosphates have demonstrated, for example, that during normal spraying, farmers are exposed to contamination by absorption of residues on clothing through the skin. In China alone, 27 provinces in 1995 reported a total of 48,377 poisoning cases, including 3,204 fatalities. More than 7,500 of these cases were mostly attributed to normal agricultural use of parathion and methamidophos. Poisoning from parathion occurs even in industrialized countries despite stringent protection. "The new Convention promises to create a first line of defense against chemicals risks by empowering governments with the information and procedures they need to monitor and control cross-border trade", said Mr. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's Executive Director. "But because trade is just one avenue for the spread of highly dangerous substances, we must build on this success through further agreements to prevent dangerous chemicals like persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from being released into the environment where they pose a threat to people and to wildlife," he said. "The legally binding PIC procedure will help protect farmers in developing countries from exposure to highly toxic pesticides. Nevertheless, at national level further measures are required to use pesticides safely and in a rational manner. The challenge for world agriculture is to produce more food with less pesticides, in a sustainable way," said Abdoulaye Sawadogo, FAO Assistant Director-General. A diplomatic conference will be held later this year in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, attended by Ministers and Government Representatives to adopt and sign the new Convention. The meeting in Brussels will be held at the building of the European Parliament; it is being financed by the European Commission. For more information, please contact: UNEP News Release 1998/10
Editor: Åke Bjørke.
http://www.grida.no/inf/news/news98/news14.htm UNEP Information Note. For use as information. Not an official record.
Ninety-five countries agree on the new international convention on dangerous chemicals and pesticidesBRUSSELS/NAIROBI, 16 March 1998After two years of negotiations 95 countries unanimously agreed on a legally binding Convention on international trade and hazardous chemicals and pesticides, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today. Through this treaty governments honoured their commitment made at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to negotiate a convention to curb the trade in certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides. "The aim of the Convention is to enable importing countries to decide what chemicals they want to receive and to keep out the ones they cannot manage safely," said Maria de Azevedo Rodrigues, Chairperson of the Conference. "It is expected that trade can be better controlled and that the risks of these dangerous chemicals can be reduced to benefit people and the environment. Countries also are expected to put national legislation into force. Until the industry can substitute hazardous chemicals with safer products, especially those exported to developing countries, a damage control system - as provided by the Convention - is needed." Each year large numbers of people are harmed or killed by toxic chemicals and pesticides. Many of these substances have caused devastating environmental problems. In the Preamble of the Convention the countries recognise that "trade and environmental policies should be mutually supportive" to achieve sustainable development. The treaty aims at protecting "human health, including the health of consumers and workers, and the environment." The Convention addresses the problem that chemicals and pesticides banned or severely restricted in industrialised countries are still exported to other countries, very often to the developing world. The Convention requires that harmful pesticides and chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted in at least two countries shall not be exported unless explicitly agreed by the importing country (this is called Prior Informed Consent Procedure, PIC). The treaty is not a worldwide ban on these chemicals. The Convention already covers 22 pesticides and five industrial chemicals(*) that have been banned or severely restricted in a number of countries. More hazardous chemicals can be added to the PIC list. Developing countries can also propose the addition of severely hazardous pesticides formulations to this list if they have the potential to damage human health and the environment under their normal conditions of use. The Convention will replace the present voluntary PIC procedure. Based on the experience of the voluntary PIC, FAO and UNEP estimate that probably more than 50 substances could enter the PIC list in future, subject to the decision of the Conference of Parties. Under the new treaty, exporting countries will also be legally bound to inform importing countries about exports of chemicals banned or severely restricted in the exporting country. This export notification shall be provided prior to the first export and be repeated for the first export every year. Countries that will ratify the treaty will be obliged to enforce the agreement at national level and to create enforcement mechanisms that will control commercial exports and exporters. Disputes between states regarding the implementation of the Convention will be settled either by arbitration or by the International Court of Justice. In developing countries and countries in transition "technical assistance for the development of the infrastructure and the capacity necessary to manage chemicals" shall be promoted. The treaty enters into force upon ratification by 50 countries. A diplomatic conference will be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in September to officially adopt and sign the new Convention. According to UNEP, the Convention will help solve several of the major human health and environmental problems. There are large stockpiles of unwanted and obsolete pesticides and other chemicals in virtually every developing country. Each year, thousands of people are poisoned by severely hazardous pesticide formulations. And there are a number of highly toxic chemicals that persist in the environment, accumulate in wildlife and people, persist for long periods of time, and when environmentally released are spread all over the world. These persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a major problem. The Convention will help to manage these serious problems, UNEP said. FAO warned that many pesticides that have been banned or whose use has been severely restricted in Europe and North America are still marketed and used in developing countries. Also, many old, often highly toxic, organophosphorus pesticide formulations continue to be used there because of their low price. Often, small farmers simply cannot handle such compounds, FAO warned. Protective clothing is often too expensive and, in many cases, cannot be used due to the climate in these countries. The Convention will be powerful tool to limit access to such compounds. It will help to promote environmentally friendly Integrated Pest Management in agriculture. The global market for pesticides continues to grow and is estimated at $30 billion for 1996. Companies based in Western Europe are currently the world's largest chemical producers. The fastest growing markets are in developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Asia. Africa is increasingly using pesticides on export crops.
(*) The PIC list includes the following pesticides: For more information, please contact: UNEP News Release 1998/11 Editor: Åke Bjørke. |
-HCH,
5-12% 
-HCH,
10-12% 
-HCH,
and other isomers (