Experts call for global action on 'POPs'

Over 100 experts from more than 40 countries met in Vancouver, Canada, in early June 1995, to discuss the production, use and release into the environment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The purpose of the five day meeting, sponsored jointly by Canada and the Philippines, focused on accelerating global action on certain POPs as part of the implementation of Chapter 19 (Environmentally Sound Management of Hazardous Wastes) of the Rio Earth Summit’s Agenda 21.
    Persistent organic pollutants are chemicals that break down very slowly in the environment, and bioaccumulate in the tissues of living organisms. Examples include dioxins, PCBs, DDT, endosulfan, chlordane, toxaphene and various other pesticides and industrial products and by-products. The statement from the Vancouver meeting noted that POPs have been measured in all parts of the ecosystem, including air, rain, surface and ground water, soil, sediments and biota, and that once released into the wider environment, they cannot be retrieved. Developing foetuses and new-born babies, who can be exposed to POPs through the placenta or their mother’s milk, are particularly vulnerable since levels of exposure that are too low to affect adults may affect offspring at critical periods of development.
    At the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in May 1994, Canada offered to host the International Experts Meeting to consider how nations might work together to solve problems associated with these toxic chemicals. In order to develop a more broad-based perspective on POPs, Canada joined with the Philippines as equal co-sponsors to form a Joint Canada-Philippines Planning Committee to select participants, establish objectives and oversee production of a comprehensive background report.
    Presentations at the meeting included a case study that documented high levels of POP contamination among Inuit people in Arctic Canada, who live far from any known sources of POPs. Meeting participants agreed that current studies indicate a tendency for POPs to migrate to cooler regions, regardless of the location of the original source. This is the result of global wind patterns, combined with the tendency of POPs to volatise into the atmosphere from warmer ecosystems.
    A joint statement released at the end of the meeting emphasised the seriousness of POPs-related problems and the need for immediate decisive action. Participants concluded that POPs must be addressed internationally, rather than on a country by country basis, or even regionally, and called for development of an international protocol on persistent organic pollutants.
    However, rather than clearly calling for phaseouts, the final statement (which some participants viewed as heavily influenced by industry representatives and unrepresentative of the views of the majority of participants) was more equivocal.  It stated that while some participants want production of POPs to cease, others propose “pursuing virtual elimination from the environment through the application of a range of management options.” The meeting statement also indicates that pesticides such as DDT and HCH should still be considered acceptable for use in controlling diseases in some circumstances. Non governmental organisation (NGO) participants included representatives of PAN Asia/Pacific, Greenpeace, WWF.

PANNUPS, 21/8/95.

Zero means zero

During the POPs experts meeting, the Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC) and Georgia Strait Alliance formally introduced the Zero Toxics Alliance (ZTA) at a press conference in Vancouver. ZTA is a regional coalition of environmental, labour and native groups working together on strategies to phase out chlorinated pollutants and other persistent bioaccumulative toxics. ZTA advocates zero use, production and release of persistent and/or bioaccumulative toxic substances in the environment, workplace and home.  The ZTA Statement of Principles explains: “Zero does not mean below some arbitrary level, or even below the level of detection.  Zero means zero.” The Alliance grew out of a series of meetings convened by the Washington Toxics Coalition since 1992, and has grown steadily since then to include over 50 organisations and individuals from the US and Canada.

WTC Alternatives, Summer 1995. For information about Zero Toxics Alliance: WTC, 4516 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105, Tel. +1 (206) 632-1545, fax +1 (206) 632-8661, email wtc@igc.apc.org.