International Chemical Policy – on the right track?
Report (English and German) from ICCM2 International Conference on Chemical Management
19.05.2009 |Sonja Haider
The UN is trying no less than to solve the worldwide problem of hazardous chemicals - not only for individual substances whose dangers arising from their purpose, such as pesticides, but also for dangerous ingredients hiding in toys, furniture and many other everyday products. The management of chemicals elaborated from the production to waste disposal. Many areas are included from agriculture to economics, from health to education.
This complex task was launched in 2006 in Dubai, with the objective „to achieve the sound management of chemicals throughout their life-cycle so that, by 2020, chemicals are used and produced in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment". The name of this mammoth project is SAICM Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management. Started in 2006, several countries including the U.S. however prevented, that an office was set up and reasonable structures were created to master such a task.
Last week this problem was disposed of once and for all. A bureau including a secretariat has been installed and working within the 3-year cycle of conferences has been made possible. Besides efficient structures that process - and even more the implementation of projects related to it - needs sustainable finances. The current Quick Start Fund was derisory equipped with $ 5 million annually. It is not understandable why the chemical industry, whose products are causing those problems and whose turnover amount 3 trillion $ annually, is not financially involved. Instead, a request to GEF Global Environmental Fund was formulated to open up, and not only allocate money for chemicals projects in the field of POPs (persistent organic pollutants). Creative suggestions such as a pollution rights (emission certificate) trading, as with climate change - depending on the hazard of a chemical are urgently needed to ensure the 2020 goal.
Although 2006, a global action plan GPA including 273 activities was decided, in Geneva that played hardly any role. Four emerging issues were nightlong intensely discussed. While an information system on chemicals in products and the elimination of lead in paint were decided, the theme of E-waste (waste-problems with electronic devices) and in particular nanotechnology didn´t produce a valuable outcome. For nanotechnology only a need for information exchange has been set, which seems ridiculous when looking at the growing evidence of negative health effects of these substances in miniature.
Conclusions after a busy week: One can only hope that the newly installed bureau will find ways to secure finances for a sustainable chemicals management and than finally transfer from the work on texts to work on the root: cleansing of the worst chemical pollution sites and elimination of obsolete stockpiles, substitution of hazardous chemicals in products - to name just two examples.
Contact:
Sonja Haider, WECF Chemicals Coordinator
sonja.haider@wecf.eu
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