August 21, 1995
Experts Call for Global Action on Persistent Organic
Pollutants
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 byproducts. The
statement from the Vancover 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 fetuses and newborn 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 atmospheric circulation patterns,
combined with the tendency of POPs to revolatize in warmer
ecosystems.
A joint statement released at the end of the meeting
emphasized 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
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." NGO participants including
representatives of Pesticide Action Network Asia/Pacific,
Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature and others strongly
objected to proposals to identify risk assessment-based
management options as valid approaches to addressing POPs,
particularly given that the overwhelming majority of those
present supported phaseouts unequivocally. 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.
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, labor 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 organizations and individuals from the U.S.
and Canada.
Source: WTC Alternatives, Summer 1995.
Contact: Carol Dansereau, Washington Toxics Coalition, 4516
University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105; phone (206) 632-1545;
fax (206) 632-8661; email wtc@igc.apc.org.
Contact WTC for a copy of the conference statement and
information on ordering the background report or for more
information about Zero Toxics Alliance.
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