At a UN conference on marine pollution in
October, delegates from 110 governments voted unanimously to curb ocean
pollution by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including many organochlorine
pesticides. The adoption of the Washington Declaration on Protecting the Marine
Environment from Landbased Activities, marks the first coordinated action of
this kind and arises from recommendations made at the 1992 Earth Summit in its
Agenda 21.
Most of the
12 chemicals targeted are pesticides: aldrin, dieldrin, DDT, endrin, chlordane,
hexachlorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene and heptachlor-and also dioxin which is a
contaminant of some pesticides such as 2,4,5-T.
All the
pesticides identified are in, or about to be included in, the Prior
Informed Consent Procedure (PIC) which will shortly be turned into a legally
binding instrument, and will also be considered under the activities of the
International Forum on Chemical Safety. The Washington Declaration and the PIC
procedure are both positive initiatives, but need to work together.
WWF report of conference and Agrow 17/11/95.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 30,
December 1995, page 19]