European Commission urges global ban on "nasty chemicals"

Environment Daily 1713, 16/08/04

International treaties aimed at banning the marketing and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) should be extended to include a further nine chemicals that are banned or heavily restricted in the EU, according to the European Commission.

The Commission wants all nine substances added to the "dirty dozen" list of POPs covered by the 2001 Stockholm convention. Meanwhile six of them should be added to the similar but more ambitious Unece Protocol on POPs, it says. The other three already feature in the protocol.

Substances affected would include the flame retardants octa- and penta-bromodiphenyl ether (BDE), the EU phase-out of which was scheduled for completion at the weekend, and short-chain chlorinated paraffins, which are still permitted for limited uses.

The other six are the pesticides chlordecone and hexachlorocyclohexane (including lindane) and industrial chemicals hexa-BDE, hexachlorobutadiene, pentachlorobenze and polychlorinated naphthalenes.

Michael Warhurst of green group WWF said the move was both necessary and practicable: "We do know these chemicals are subject to long range transfer and occur in wildlife across the world. The EU's experience shows us that safer alternatives exist."

But chemicals group Cefic cautioned that the Commission's announcement gave an "unbalanced view of the processes that have to be followed". They complained that the EU executive is only qualified to ask for an examination of the chemicals, and not an outright ban.

Follow-up:

European Commission http://europa.eu.int/comm

Environment Daily http://www.environmentdaily.com/docs/40816a.doc