As per sources in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, India has decided to ratify Stockholm Convention conditionally as per Article 25 (4) in the backdrop of the first meeting of the conference of the parties (COP-1) to the Stockholm Convention underway from today (2-6 May 2005).
The Article 25 (4) reads: "In its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, any Party may declare that, withrespect to it, any amendment to Annex A, B or C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto."
In implementing the Convention, Governments will take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.
First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-1) of the Stockholm Convention Punta del Este, Uruguay is underway from 2 - 6 May 2005. So far at the COP-1, a proposed list of 20 chemicals has not been added to the treaty.
The list of chemicals to be included for phase out includes the pesticides chlordecone and endosulfan, several brominated flame retardants, and perfluorinated compounds known as PFOS and PFOA. Perfluorinated compounds are used in the production of textiles, food packaging and non-stick coatings, while brominated flame retardants are used in fabrics, TVs, and other products.
The reason it is sought to be included is that these chemicals are used in everyday products such as packaging and furniture and they all are contaminating our environment. The sooner they are phased out, the safer we will all be.
POPs share four characteristics: they are toxic; they are persistent, resisting normal processes that break down contaminants; they accumulate in the body fat of people and animals and are passed from mother to fetus; and they can travel great distances on wind and water currents.
The Punta del Este is full of government officials from 130 countries, who are working to rid the world of some of the most dangerous chemicals ever created. The officials represent countries that are Parties to a new international treaty that will eventually eliminate 12 named toxic chemicals that are persistent in the environment, lasting for years or decades before degrading into less dangerous forms.
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which entered into force on May 17, 2004, targets 12 hazardous pesticides and industrial chemicals that can kill people, damage the nervous and immune systems, cause cancer and reproductive disorders, and interfere with normal infant and child development.
Every human in the world carries traces of POPs in his or her body.
“The Stockholm Convention will save lives and protect the natural environment – particularly in the poorest communities and countries,” said Executive Director Klaus Toepfer of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), under whose auspices the Convention was adopted.
“Eliminating POPs," said Toepfer, "will cost billions of dollars and require countries to adopt new methods and technologies to replace these toxic substances. The hard work has only just begun."
The 12 POPs covered by the Convention include nine pesticides - aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex and toxaphene. Two industrial chemicals are covered - PCBs as well as hexachlorobenzene, also used as a pesticide. And finally, the Convention covers dioxins and furans, unintentional by-products of manufacuturing.
One of the conference’s key tasks is to establish a process for evaluating candidate chemicals that could be added to this initial list.
While the risk level varies among the targeted chemicals, they all share four properties - they are highly toxic, they are stable and persistent, they evaporate and travel long distances through the air and through water, and they accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife.
POPs circulate globally through a process known as the grasshopper effect. POPs released in one part of the world can be transported through the atmosphere to regions far away from the original source through a repeated process of evaporation and deposit.
There are alternatives to POPs, but the problem has been that high costs, a lack of public awareness, and the absence of necessary infrastructure and technology have often prevented their adoption. Solutions must be tailored to the specific properties and uses of each chemical and to each country's climatic and socio-economic conditions.
By signalling to governments and industry that these chemicals have no future while respecting their legitimate short-term concerns, said Toepfer, the Convention aims to stimulate the development of new, affordable and effective alternatives to the world’s most dangerous POPs.
The delegates to this First Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention will address four main challenges:
· Minimizing and eliminating releases of dioxins and furans. Reducing these unwanted by-products of combustion and industrial processes will require expensive and innovative new technologies and processes. It will also involve educating people not to burn garbage and other materials in open fires. In Punta del Este, officials will consider a new set of Guidelines on Best Available Techniques and Environmental Practices for preventing or reducing the formation of dioxins and furans.
· Phasing out DDT without undermining the fight against malaria. Until safe, affordable and effective alternatives are in place, governments can continue using DDT to protect their citizens from malaria. The mosquito borne disease affects some 500 million persons every year. Ninety percent of those who die are in Africa, mostly children. Malaria alone leads to a loss of $12 billion a year in Africa's gross domestic product. The conference will evaluate the continued need for DDT and consider next steps.
· Developing alternatives for combating termites. These tiny pests cause billions of dollars in economic damage and are particularly difficult to control. The meeting will consider prodecures for handling future requests by governments for exemptions enabling them to continue using three POPs termiticides. It will also evaluate initiatives to reduce and eliminate completely the need for these chemicals.
· Cleaning up old PCBs from aging and widely dispersed equipment. PCBs have been used in electrical transformers and other equipment for decades. They must be eliminated and replaced over the next 20 years. Most developing countries, however, currently lack the facilities, funds and expertise to do so.
The conference considered adopting or endorsing the guidelines on managing POPs wastes that were adopted last year by the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous and Other Wastes.
Still another task before the COP-1 sis to provide guidance to the Global Environment Facility, which serves as the financial mechanism that funds national projects and activities for implementing the Convention.
The Global Environment Facility has published a series of Fact Sheets on POPs, available online at:
http://www.gefweb.org/Projects/focal_areas/pops/pops_publications.html The first 12 POPs are:
Aldrin – A pesticide applied to soils to kill termites, grasshoppers, corn rootworm, and other insect pests.
Chlordane – Used extensively to control termites and as a broad-spectrum insecticide on a range of agricultural crops.
DDT – Perhaps the best known of the POPs, DDT was widely used during World War II to protect soldiers and civilians from malaria, typhus, and other diseases spread by insects. It continues to be applied against mosquitoes in several countries to control malaria.
Dieldrin – Used principally to control termites and textile pests, dieldrin has also been used to control insect-borne diseases and insects living in agricultural soils.
Dioxins – These chemicals are produced unintentionally due to incomplete combustion, as well as during the manufacture of certain pesticides and other chemicals. In addition, certain kinds of metal recycling and pulp and paper bleaching can release dioxins. Dioxins have also been found in automobile exhaust, tobacco smoke and wood and coal smoke.
Endrin – This insecticide is sprayed on the leaves of crops such as cotton and grains. It is also used to control mice, voles and other rodents.
Furans – These compounds are produced unintentionally from the same processes that release dioxins, and they are also found in commercial mixtures of PCBs.
Heptachlor –Primarily employed to kill soil insects and termites, heptachlor has also been used more widely to kill cotton insects, grasshoppers, other crop pests, and malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) – HCB kills fungi that affect food crops. It is also released as a byproduct during the manufacture of certain chemicals and as a result of the processes that give rise to dioxins and furans. Its use as a solvent and industrial intermediary is not targeted by the Convention.
Mirex – This insecticide is applied mainly to combat fire ants and other types of ants and termites. It has also been used as a fire retardant in plastics, rubber, and electrical goods.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) – These compounds are employed in industry as heat exchange fluids, in electric transformers and capacitors, and as additives in paint, carbonless copy paper, sealants and plastics.
Toxaphene – This insecticide, also called camphechlor, is applied to cotton, cereal grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It has also been used to control ticks and mites in livestock.
The 20 additional chemicals proposed for inclusion in the list are:
7 pesticides, insecticides, biocides and fungicides: chlordecone, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), pentachlorophenol (PCP), endosulfan, hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), dicofol, methoxychlor.
5 brominated flame retardants: hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), hexabromobiphenyl (Hexa-BB), pentabrominated diphenyl ether (penta-BDE), octabrominated diphenyl ether (octa-BDE), decabrominated diphenyl ether (deca-BDE).
2 perfluorinated compounds: perfluorooctanyl sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts (PFOA).
4 other chlorinated chemicals or groups: pentachlorobenzene (penta-CB), short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), polychlorinated naphtalenes (PCNs), tetrachlorobenzene (tetra-CB).
2 unintentionally produced chemicals: ochtachlorostyrene OCS), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
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