2003
Chemicals Management Media Reports Archives:
2010;
2009;
2008;
2007;
2006;
2005;
2004;
2002
NOVEMBER 2003
ROTTERDAM
CONVENTION TO ENTER INTO FORCE IN FEBRUARY 2004
The Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for
certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade will
enter into force on 24
February 2004. On 24 November, Armenia became the 50th State to ratify the
Convention, triggering its entry into force. The Convention, adopted in
1998, is designed around information exchange on chemicals trade, and aims
to give countries that
import hazardous chemicals the tools and information they need to identify
potential hazards and exclude chemicals they cannot manage safely. If a
country agrees to import chemicals, the Convention promotes their safe use
through labeling standards, technical assistance, and other forms of
support. It also ensures that
exporters comply with these requirements. The first meeting of the
Conference of Parties to the Rotterdam Convention will be held in
September 2004 in Geneva.
Links to further
information
Rotterdam Convention website
http://www.pic.int
OCTOBER 2003
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
ADOPTS REACH PROPOSAL
On 29 October, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU
regulatory framework for chemicals. Under the proposed new system called
REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of
CHemicals), enterprises that manufacture or import more than one
tonne of a chemical substance per year would be required to register it in
a central database. In September, the proposal had been revised to address
concerns raised by industry and some member states that the program would
be too costly. The final proposal reflects these changes. The proposal
will now be forwarded to the European Parliament and the EU's Council of
Ministers for adoption.
Links to further
information
European Commission Reach Proposal
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/chempol/whitepaper/reach.htm
HEAVY METALS PROTOCOL TO ENTER INTO FORCE IN DECEMBER
The Århus protocol on heavy metals to the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air
Pollution will enter into force on 29 December, 90 days following the
deposit of the 16th instrument of ratification by Germany on 30 September.
Adopted on 29 June 1998 in Århus, Denmark, the protocol focuses on three
heavy metals: cadmium, lead, and mercury. The protocol regulates
industrial and other sources of heavy metal pollution (coal combustion in
power stations and heating plants, iron and steel industry, non-ferrous
metal industry, refuse incineration and chlorine production, as well as
heavy metals in products). It requires the application of best available
techniques (BAT) to control heavy metal pollution, and requires the
phase-out of leaded petrol.
The 16 Parties to the Protocol are: Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the
Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United
States and the European Community. The first meeting of the parties to the
heavy metals protocol will be held in December 2004 during the
Convention's Executive Body session.
Links to further information
UNECE Heavy Metals Protocol
http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/hm_h1.htm
UNECE press release, 7 October 2003
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2003/03env_p21e.htm
SEPTEMBER 2003
NEW REACH PROPOSAL RELEASED AFTER
CRITICISMS
Responding to concerns from industry as
well as some governments, the European Commission has released a revised
version of its REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of
Chemicals) proposal for a new EU chemicals policy. In late September, the
leaders of three EU states – Germany's
Gerhard Schröder, France's
Jacques Chirac and the UK's Tony Blair – had argued in a letter to
Commission President Romano Prodi that the REACH plans were too
bureaucratic and inefficient. In the new draft, REACH would no longer
apply to polymers, and some reporting requirements for industry have been
lessened, especially for substances produced in quantities of less than 10
tons. The Commission hopes to agree to a formal legislative proposal on
REACH before the end of October.
Links to further information
ENS News, 28 September 2003
http://www.ens-newswire.com/login/index.asp?q=/ens/sep2003/2003-09-24-03.asp
ENDS Daily, 24 September 2003
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=15162
European Commission REACH proposal
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/chempol/whitepaper/reach.htm
SALMON DELIVER POPS TO ALASKAN
LAKES
Sockeye salmon carry significant quantities
of PCBs from the Pacific Ocean back to their spawning grounds in Alaskan
lakes, according to a new study published in a recent issue of Nature.
The research analyzed PCB concentrations in sediment cores from eight
different lakes as well as in salmon, and found that the accumulation of
PCBs in lake sediment correlated strongly with the density of salmon
returning there. One million salmon could potentially carry more than 0.16
kg of PCBs – similar to the amount released annually from hazardous waste
incinerators. In the lakes measured, the amount of PCBs transported by
salmon is greater than the amount transported by the atmosphere.
Links to further information
"Spawning Salmon Haul Toxins to Alaska
Lakes, Experts Find," New York Times, 23 September 2003
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/science/23SALM.html
?ex=1065363811&ei=1&en=c0af73dbd62fe4b2
"Delivery of pollutants by spawning
salmon," Nature, 18 September 2003
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature
/journal/v425/n6955/full/425255a_fs.html
BUSH ADMINISTRATION CAMPAIGNS AGAINST REACH
PROPOSAL
The Bush Administration has expressed
strong opposition to the proposed EU chemical testing programme, and has
joined chemical companies and trade groups including Dow Chemical Co.,
Rohm & Haas Co., Lyondell Chemical Co., and the American Chemistry Council
in campaigning aggressively against the legislation. The Bush
Administration views the proposed EU testing programme as too costly,
burdensome, and complex for US exporters. According to information
obtained by environmental NGOs, the Administration has directed diplomats
in EU member states to lobby against the proposal, along with the State
and Commerce Departments, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the
office of the US Trade Representative.
The EU's testing proposal, called "Reach"
(Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals), would require
manufacturers to test chemicals on the market for potential health and
environmental hazards by 2012. Currently, 86% of high production volume
chemicals on the European market do not have sufficient testing available
for a basic risk assessment. The EU Commission estimates the costs of
screening to be between 1.4 billion and 7.8 billion over the next 11
years as the proposal is phased in. Benefits are estimated at 18-54
billion. US producers, who currently export more than $20 billion in
chemicals to Europe annually, would have to comply with the regulation if
they continue to export to Europe.
Links to further information
REACH legislation
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/chempol/whitepaper/reach.htm
"U.S.
Opposes EU Effort to Test Chemicals for Health Hazards,"
Wall Street Journal, 9 September 2003
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106306594450697900,00.html
(subscription required).
"Public Availability of Data on
EU High Production Volume Chemicals," European Commission, Joint Research
Centre
http://ecb.jrc.it/Data-Availability-Documents/datavail.pdf
AUGUST 2003
CALIFORNIA TO BAN BROMINATED FLAME
RETARDANTS
The U.S. State of California will ban
brominated flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDEs) beginning in 2008. California is the first U.S. state to take
action on such substances. Earlier this year, the European Union passed
legislation that will ban certain PBDEs by 2006.
Brominated flame retardants are used
extensively in electronic products such as computers and TV sets to
prevent fires. Two forms, PentaBDE and OctaBDE, have been shown to
accumulate in animal and human tissue and in mother's milk. Both the
California and European Union legislation apply to these two forms of
PBDEs, but exempt another form, deca-BDE, for which fewer data is
available. PBDEs have been shown to disrupt functioning of the human
thyroid gland and may adversely affect brain development in children. A
1998 study reported that concentrations of PBDEs in the breast milk of
Swedish women had increased 40-fold over the past 25 years. Another more
recent study identified exponential increases in concentrations of PBDEs
bioaccumulating in Canadian Arctic seals from 1981 to 2000. According to
the California Environmental Protection Agency, levels of PBDEs in the
breast milk of North American women is the highest recorded – 10- to
40-fold higher than levels in European women – and are
approaching levels found to adversely affect learning, memory and behavior
in laboratory mice.
Links to further information
California Governor's Office press release,
9 August 2003
http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_htmldisplay.jsp?BV_SessionID
=@@@@1407985054.1063224265@@@@&BV_EngineID=jadcifedllgebemgcfk
mchchi.0&iOID&sCatTitle=Press+Release&sSubCat=null&sTitle=null&sFilePath
=%2fgovsite%2fpress_release%2f2003_08%2f20030809_L03078_AB302.html
Recent European Union action on PBDEs
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2003/l_042/l_04220030215en00450046.pdf
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2003/l_037/l_03720030213en00190023.pdf
POPS PROTOCOL TO
ENTER INTO FORCE IN OCTOBER
The Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) will enter into force
on 23 October 2003, becoming the sixth protocol to take effect under the
Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of the UN Economic
Commission for Europe. France, whose ratification triggered the entry into
force, joins Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,
Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of
Moldova, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland
as a party to the Protocol, which was first adopted on
24 June 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark. The Parties plan to
meet for the first time in December 2003 in Geneva to possibly discuss and
initiate work on a review of some of the provisions of the Protocol, and
to consider the addition of other substances to the list currently covered
by the Protocol.
The Protocol,
whose objective is to eliminate any discharges, emissions and losses of
POPs, focuses on 16 substances –
eleven pesticides, two industrial chemicals and three by-products – that
have been singled out according to agreed risk criteria. The Protocol bans
the production and use of some products, schedules some products for
elimination at a later stage, and severely restricts the use of DDT, HCH,
and PCBs. It includes provisions for dealing with the wastes of products
that will be banned, and obliges Parties to reduce their emissions of
dioxins, furans, PAHs and HCB below a certain baseline level.
Links to further information
UNECE press release, 5 August 2003
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2003/03env_p19e.htm
JULY 2003
UN /WHO COMMITTEE ADVOCATES STRICTER
MERCURY LIMITS
A recent meeting of the Joint Expert
Committee for Food Additives and Contaminants (JECFA), an initiative of
the United Nations and the World Health Organization, has called for a
tougher standard for levels of mercury in food. The meeting of the
committee, which comprised 48 scientists from 17 countries, said that the
revised standard, which is nearly twice as strict as the existing world
health exposure standard, is required due to growing evidence of health
risks from mercury to pregnant women and children. The experts
re-evaluated previous JECFA risk assessments for methylmercury and
recommended that the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake be cut to 1.6
micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight - nearly half the original standard
of 3.3 micrograms per kilogram.
The recommendations for tighter mercury
standards comes a few months after the UNEP Governing Council determined
that there were sufficient adverse effects from global mercury pollution
to warrant international action.
Links to further information
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives (JECFA) website
http://www.who.int/pcs/jecfa/jecfa.htm
Summary report of the latest JECFA meeting
http://www.who.int/pcs/jecfa/Summaries.htm
US EPA REPORT IDENTIFIES DECLINES IN TOXIC RELEASES IN 2001
Data recently published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
indicates that US industries released 15 percent fewer toxic chemicals,
and generated 22 percent less toxic waste, in 2001 as compared with 2000.
The EPA says these figures, based on data that was collected under the
framework of the federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), illustrate a
continuing decline in the volume of wastes released into the atmosphere,
land and water. The data collected under the TRI programme are based on
reports from manufacturing industries, metal mines, certain coal mining
activities, electrical utilities, hazardous waste treatment and disposal
facilities, chemical wholesale distributors, petroleum bulk plants and
terminals and solvent recovery services. It does not include releases from
pollution sources like oil wells, airports and waste incinerators, or
other sources of exposure to chemicals, such as chemicals placed in
consumer products.
Despite this general decrease, mercury is one toxic substance that has
increased from 2000 to 2001. The EPA reported that 4.9 million pounds of
mercury and mercury compounds were released into the environment and 5.8
million pounds of mercury contaminated wastes were managed in 2001,
compared to 4.3 million pounds released and 4.9 million pounds managed in
2000.
Links to further information
EPA TRI database
http://www.epa.gov/tri
UK SURVEY FINDS LESS DIOXINS IN UK DIET
A recently conducted survey by the UK Food Standards Agency survey has
found that the total amount of dioxins in all food has fallen in the UK
since 1997. The study, which examined samples from each of 19 food groups,
using food bought from 24 different locations around the UK, showed that
the average intake of dioxins by adults has halved between 1997 and 2001.
The percentage of adults exceeding the new UK safety limit from their
diets fell from 35% to 1.1% in the same period, while the percentage of
children who exceeded the safety limit fell from 62% in 1997 to 10% in
2001.
Dioxins are formed
as unwanted by-products of combustion processes in a variety of industrial
processes, such as waste incineration, and household fires, bonfires and
cigarette smoke. These environmental pollutants tend to accumulate
particularly in food containing fat, such as milk, meat, fish and eggs.
The decline is seen to be as a result of strict controls on industrial
pollutants that came into effect in 1992, resulting in a 70% reduction in
the amount of dioxins and PCBs released into the environment over the past
ten years. The concentrations of dioxins found in individual food groups
in the 2001 study were all below EU regulatory limits.
Links to further information
UK Food Standards
Agency press release, 18 July 2003
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/dioxin
NGO REPORT ARGUES
THAT UK GOVERNMENT'S PESTICIDE REVIEW FAILS CONSUMERS
A new report from
Friends of the Earth and Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK released on 21
July, criticizes the UK Government for failing to grasp a golden
opportunity to find safer alternatives to chemical pesticides, leaving
farmers with little alternative to the toxic products currently in use.
The report, Breaking the Pesticide Chain, is being published to coincide
with the withdrawal from the market of 320 pesticide products across the
EU this week. In the UK 45 pesticides will be banned. While Friends of the
Earth has welcomed the ban, they argue that that the review has failed
consumers and farmers by not going far enough. The report argues that some
pesticides that have known risks to human health have been given approval
for continued use across the EU, and that some pesticides earmarked for
withdrawal for environmental or health reasons have been given "essential
use" status and thus can continue to be used until 2007. The report
suggests furthermore that not enough has been done to support farmers and
growers to find safer alternatives, and warns that UK farmers may be at a
disadvantage compared to farmers in neighboring countries as the UK
Government has not ensured that alternative means of pest management are
available. Friends of the Earth and PAN UK are calling for a "shake-up" of
the pesticides approvals process to help safer alternatives reach the
market, a significant increase in government-funded research into
alternatives, and a free independent advice service to farmers about
pesticide reduction, to be funded by a tax on pesticide products.
Links to further information
PAN press release,
21 July 2003
http://www.pan-uk.org/press/91414foe.htm
Breaking the
Pesticide Chain
http://www.pan-uk.org/briefing/Chain.pdf
JUNE 2003
UNEP LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO
COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN CHEMICALS, HAZARDOUS WASTES AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
The UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) has launched an initiative aimed at improving coordinated
intelligence gathering, information exchange and cooperation among the
various agencies that are involved in combating the multi-billion dollar
illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances, toxic chemicals, hazardous
wastes and endangered species. On 2 June 2003, UNEP and the
World Customs Organisation
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the main purpose of which
is to foster stronger ties between the two organizations on environmental
enforcement issues.
Coinciding with this
agreement, UNEP launched their new "Green Customs" website, aimed at
building the capacity of border guards to better spot and apprehend
criminals trafficking in "environmental commodities." The project, for
which no specific budget has yet been allocated, is to be run in
cooperation with the World Customs Organisation,
Interpol (the international criminal police organization),
CITES, the
Basel Convention, UNEP's
OzonAction Programme, the
Ozone Secretariat, and the
UNEP Division of Environmental Policy Implementation. Although many of
the partners are already collaborating on training and information
exchange, a key objective of the Green Customs project is to harmonize
efforts amongst the various actors, particularly the multilateral
environmental agreements, so that customs officers can receive training
that covers all relevant environmental agreements.
Links to further information
UNEP's Green Customs
website
http://www.unepie.org/ozonaction/customs/
EU SETS DEADLINE FOR
COMMENTING ON REACH CHEMICALS PROPOSALS
Stakeholders have until 10
July 2003 to comment on the draft overhaul of EU chemicals legislation
contained in the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and
of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restrictions of Chemicals (REACH).
Due to the wide-ranging nature
of the proposal, contributors have been invited to structure their
responses according to the topics that have been prepared, using the
Interactive Policy-Making Tool for brief comments. Interested parties with
more extensive comments have been requested to make use of the
downloadable response template.
The delay in posting the template was caused by disagreements between the
environment and enterprise directorates over its format, in particular the
scope it should give for correspondents to raise other grievances about
the package.
Links to further
information
The REACH Consultation Guide
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/chempol/whitepaper/consultation.htm
Questions and/or comments on
the proposal should be addressed to Reinhard Schulte-Braucks,
European Commission, Enterprise Directorate General; e-mail:
Reinhard.Schulte-Braucks@cec.eu.int
DENMARK IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS
ON EUROPE'S MOST WIDELY USED HERBICIDE
Danish Environment
Minister Hans Christian Schmidt has announced far-reaching restrictions on
glyphosate, Europe's most widely used herbicide, sparking a row with
manufacturers. The restrictions have been imposed following publication of
data that indicate the chemical's presence in groundwater, from which
Denmark obtains most of its drinking water. In terms of the restrictions,
autumn spraying of the herbicide will be banned from 15 September 2003 on
those sites "where leaching is extensive because of heavy rain." Provision
has been made for various exceptions to the restrictions, which are
subject to revision after an interim consultation period.
Three firms involved in the
manufacture of sale of glyphosate – Cheminova, Syngenta and Monsanto –
have issued a joint response condemning the proposal as "unacceptable" for
the producers and for Danish farmers. This row comes as the European
Commission begins preparations for developing proposals on sustainable
pesticides use. The Commission is due to issue firm proposals for a
strategy next year, with some European NGOs and Members of European
Parliament campaigning for a halving in pesticide usage over a ten year
period.
Links to further
information
Danish Environmental
Protection Agency
Tel: +45-32-660-100
Internet: http://www.mst.dk/
Danish Environmental
Protection Agency press release (in Danish), 4 June 2003
http://www.mim.dk/nyheder/presse/Dep/040603_glyphosat.htm
MAY
2003
EU INTRODUCES STRICTER
CHEMICAL REGIME
The European Commission has
introduced what many observers describe as "radical" new proposals to
managing chemicals. These proposals are aimed at minimising human health
and environmental impacts of the more than 30,000 chemicals that are
produced, imported or used in Europe. A central feature of this proposed
legislation, which has been under discussion since February 2001, is the
introduction of a single, integrated system for the Registration,
Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (known as "REACH"). In terms of
the REACH proposals, a duty will be placed on all companies that produce,
import and use chemicals to assess the risks arising from their use. In
certain instances new test data will need to be generated. Necessary
measures will then need to be taken to manage any risks that are
identified. Core to this system is the reversal of the burden of proof
from public authorities to industry for putting safe chemicals on the
market.
While campaigners have
supported the move as a means of addressing growing health concerns,
chemicals manufacturers have argued that the proposals are unduly
bureaucratic, and that they could threaten over 1.5 million jobs. The
impact of the legislation is not limited only to companies based in the EU,
as it will also apply to goods imported into the EU. The European
Commission estimates that the new measure will cost up to seven billion
euros ($7.94bn) and take at least 10 years to implement. The bill requires
approval by a majority of EU governments and the European Parliament.
Links to further information
The text of the proposals is
available at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/index.htm
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/chemicals/whitepaper.htm
APRIL 2003
US STUDY CALLS FOR TIGHTER
LIMITS ON LEAD
A study, published in a recent
edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, contends that even low
levels of lead exposure may have an impact on the intelligence of
children, and suggests that current guidelines on exposure levels are
probably not sufficiently tough. The report suggests that children with
far less lead in their blood than is allowed by current guidelines have
evidence of impaired intelligence, and that much of the damage appears to
occur at very low levels of exposure. Much of this lead exposure is seen
to come from deteriorating lead paint in older homes. This evidence comes
amidst recent international calls on governments to act in cooperation
with the private sector on the phase-out of leaded gasoline and lead-based
paints.
Links to further information
New England Journal of
Medicine, 17 April 2003
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/348/16/1515?
MARCH 2003
UN LAUNCHES
COMPLIANCE MECHANISM
FOR
ÅRHUS CONVENTION
The UN Economic Commission for
Europe has launched a new compliance mechanism aimed at underpinning
public participation in environmental decision-making under the Århus
Convention. The goal of the mechanism is to enable the public and
non-governmental organisations to challenge those governments that they
believe are failing to fulfil their obligations under the Convention. A
key feature of the new mechanism is a "Compliance Commission," which met
for the first time in late March. From 23 October 2003, members of the
public will be able to submit details of alleged cases of non-compliance
directly to this body. The Commission has no regulatory power. In the
first instance it is limited to making recommendations to the country
involved, while in extreme cases it may make recommendations to the
Convention's meeting of the Parties, which may decide whether to take
further action against a non-compliant state, for example by issuing a
caution or declaration.
Links to further information
UNECE press release, 20 March
2003
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2003/03env_p04e.htm
Århus Convention Compliance
Committee website
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/compliance.htm
EXPERT COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
EXPANDING
ROTTERDAM PIC LIST
A committee of government
appointed experts has recommended that the list of chemicals regulated
under the Rotterdam Convention be expanded to include all forms of
asbestos, three pesticides and two forms of lead. These recommendations,
which were made after a weeklong meeting of the committee in Rome, Italy,
in early March will be reviewed at the meeting of the Intergovernmental
Negotiating Committee of the Rotterdam Convention, to be held in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 17-21 November 2003. If approved, these chemicals will
become subject to the prior informed consent procedure of the Convention.
The proposed new pesticides to
be included in the PIC list are: DNOC, an insecticide, weedkiller and
fungicide that has been banned in Peru and the EU; the pesticide parathion
that has been banned in the EU and Australia; and a pesticide formulation
containing the fungicides benomyl and thiram, and the highly toxic
insecticiden carbofuran, that has reportedly resulted in illnesses and
deaths in Senegal. The two forms of lead that have been proposed for
inclusion in the list are tetraethyl and tetramethyl, both of which are
used as additives in petrol. The experts have called for the "rapid global
phase out" of these lead compounds by 2005, adding to similar recent
proposals on lead that were made at the recent meeting of the UNEP
Governing Council. The expert committee also recommended that all the
forms of asbestos not currently covered by the interim PIC process should
be placed on the list, including actinolite, anthophyllite, amosite,
tremolite and chrysotile.
Links to further information
Interim Secretariat for the
Rotterdam Convention, UNEP Chemicals Unit
Tel: +41-22-917-8183
Fax: +41-22-797-3460
E-mail: pic@unep.ch
Internet: http://www.pic.int/
EU REGULATION IMPLEMENTING
ROTTERDAM CONVENTION ENTERS INTO FORCE
A European Union Regulation
with the aim of implementing the Rotterdam Convention has recently entered
into force. Formally known as the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior
Informed Consent (PIC) procedure relating to certain hazardous chemicals
and pesticides in international trade, the Convention was formally
approved by the EU through a Council Decision on 19 December 2002. The new
EU Regulation will promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts
in the international movement of hazardous chemicals in order to protect
human health and the environment from potential harm. The content of the
regulation was agreed politically last year, after a decision by the
Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to switch its legal base
from the trade to the environment articles of the EU treaty.
Links to further information
EU Regulation concerning the
export and import of dangerous chemicals, 6 March 2003
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2003/l_063/l_06320030306en00010026.pdf
Council Decision concerning
approval of the Rotterdam Convention, 19 December 2002
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2003/l_063/l_06320030306en00270047.pdf
EU DELAYS DECISION TO BAN
ALDICARB PESTICIDE
The plans of the European
Union to outlaw a worm-killing pesticide used on sugar beet and root
vegetables have been shelved for several weeks, while member states
resolve their differences over the safety of the pesticide. The pesticide,
Aldicarb, rated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the most
acutely toxic pesticides still in use, had been included on the agenda of
the next meeting of EU agricultural ministers for proposed removal from EU
markets. The agenda item was removed at the last minute by Greece, the
current EU president, following concern that the proposal might not secure
sufficient support under the EU's weighted voting system. Decision on this
issue has apparently been postponed to the end of March to allow EU
diplomats greater opportunity to reach a compromise, with some member
states insisting that the dangers posed by Aldicarb may have been
exaggerated. If the ministers agree to remove Aldicarb from the EU-wide
list of authorised pesticides, it would first be withdrawn from sale,
followed by a period when it could still be used by farmers, and then a
period when it would be illegal to store it.
Links to further information
Directorate-General for the
Environment, European Commission
Fax: +32-2-299-6198
E-mail: env-pubs@cec.eu.int
Internet: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/index_en.htm
FEBRUARY 2003
NEW UN PROTOCOL ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENTS ON TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS CONCLUDED
Negotiations on a new legally binding
instrument on civil liability and compensation for damage to transboundary
waters caused by industrial accidents involving hazardous substances have
been successfully concluded. Developed under the auspices of the UN
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the protocol arose subsequently
after the accident in Baia Mare, Romania, where 100,000 tons of wastewater
containing highly toxic pollutants spilled into the Tisza and Danube
Rivers. The finalized protocol provides individuals impacted by
transboundary effects of industrial accidents a legal claim to
compensation and holds operators of industrial installations liable for
damage, with the aim of encouraging operators to minimize risk and prevent
damage that they will be liable for. Involving the UNECE member countries,
industry, the insurance sector, and intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, the inclusive negotiation process took three years to
complete. The protocol is expected to be formally adopted at the
Ministerial 'Environment for Europe' Conference in Kiev, scheduled for
21-23 May 2003.
Link to further information
UNECE press release, 28 February 2003
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2003/03env_p03e.htm
JANUARY 2003
SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHES POPS NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
The South African Government,
in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), hosted a workshop in South
Africa from 27-31 January 2003, to launch the National Implementation Plan
(NIPs) of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
and the Africa Stockpile Programme. At the opening of the workshop, South
African Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Rejoice
Mabudafhasi noted that South Africa is one of the first of the 14 African
countries that have been nominated for the first phase of the obsolete
pesticides clean up and disposal operation, to launch their National
Implementation Plan.
Links to
further information
South African Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism news, 27 January 2003
http://www.environment.gov.za/newsmedia/medstat/2003jan27/pollution_27012003.html
AGREEMENT REACHED ON UN TREATY ON POLLUTANT INFORMATION DISCLOSURE
Negotiations on a
new international treaty, regarding which industrial facilities will be
required to record and publicly disclose information on their emissions of
up to 86 different pollutants, were concluded successfully in Geneva,
Switzerland, on 30 January 2003. The treaty requires Parties to establish
a publicly accessible Pollutant Release and Transfer Register based on
annual reporting of 86 pollutants, including greenhouse gases, heavy
metals, acid rain pollutants, and certain carcinogens such as dioxins.
Industries that are required to report include, amongst others, power
stations, the chemical and mining industry, waste management facilities,
wood and paper producers, and intensive agriculture. Although the treaty
has been developed under the auspices of the United Nations Commission for
Europe (UNECE), in the form of a legally binding protocol to the Ǻarhus
Convention, it will be open to accession by any State that is a member of
the United Nations. The Protocol will be formally adopted and signed at
the Fifth Ministerial "Environment for Europe" Conference in Kiev,
Ukraine, in May 2003. More than 30 states from Europe, Central Asia and
North America took part in the negotiations, excluding the United States
who pulled out of the process last year.
Links to further information
UNECE Environment
and Human Settlements Division, Geneva
Tel:
+41-22-917-1234
E-mail:
jeremy.wates@unece.org
Internet:
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/prtr.htm
STUDY HIGHLIGHTS FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF PESTICIDES BAN
A recent trial conducted in
Denmark, by agricultural consultancy LandBoCentrum, has concluded that the
cost to Danish farmers of phasing out the use of all pesticides would be
twice as high as previously calculated. The study also identified a number
of potential environmental drawbacks.
The Danish government, which
has been considering a ban on pesticides since the late 1990s, established
a scientific panel to examine the environmental and socio-economic
consequences of eco-friendly and organic farming policies. This government
panel estimated the cost of a pesticide ban at DKr2.5bn (336m). At about
the same time that the panel commenced work, the LandBoCentrum initiated a
series of its own practical field trials using organic techniques. Their
findings have doubled the estimated costs, and have also suggested that
the ban would increase energy consumption and nitrogen releases.
Links to
further information
LandBo Centrum
Telephone: +45-5756-1700
E-mail: landbocentrum@landbocentrum.dk
Internet: http://www.landbocentrum.dk/
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