Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 5 • Number 21 • 25th November 2005

Five Polluting Chemicals to be Considered for Trade Ban

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On 11 November, the persistant organic pollutants review committee (POPRC) agreed to begin a process to assess whether an additional five persistent organic pollutants should be added to the Stockholm Convention’s list of chemicals to be banned from trade. The POPRC, which was created by the last Conference of the Parties to the Convention (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 13 May 2005), agreed to consider subjecting lindane, pentabromodiphenyl ether, chlordecone, hexabromobiphenyl and perfluorooctane sulfanate to the Convention’s rules in discussions that delegates described as “constructive” and “surprisingly smooth”. The flame retardant, pesticide and insecticide chemicals will now go to smaller groups that will develop risk profiles for each of them for the next year, after which the groups will consider socio-economic issues and risk management questions for a year. Once this last step is completed, the POPRC will meet and forward a recommendation to COP-4 of the Convention, which will likely decide in 2009 whether to stop production, import and export of the chemicals and any necessary exemptions.

The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment through the reduction and elimination of the production and use of a list of highly hazardous chemicals called POPs. 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 foetus; and they can travel great distances on wind and water currents.

For additional information about the meeting, see http://www.pops.int/documents/meetings/poprc/default.htm

ICTSD Reporting.