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UN adds new dangerous chemicals to treaty blacklist

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The UN Environment Programme, meeting in Geneva on Saturday, decided to add nine chemicals to its list of banned chemicals under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Not all the added chemicals will be banned immediately, however, as some will need to be phased out over time and others will be permitted in limited use where there are no alternatives currently available for their purpose. The Convention also reached an understanding on the use of DDT, one of the original "dirty dozen" POPs, acknowledging that some countries rely on the chemical to reduce malaria-bearing mosquitoes and other pests. The nine chemicals that have been banned are all proven to cause immune system damage or death in humans, or cause severe developmental problems in infants. Several of the newly-banned chemicals, including lindane and hexabromobiphenyl, are already no longer widely in use. The UN Environment Programme is the environmental arm of the UN established in 1972 under the original Stockholm Convention. Its goals include conserving endangered species, controlling the movement of hazardous wastes, and conserving reversing the depletion of the ozone layer. The Stockholm Convention on POPs was adopted in 2001 and ratified in 2004, and originally banned twelve chemical substances - ten pesticides (including DDT) and two industrial chemical compounds.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 09, 2009 (boomark / email).