India has prepared its
National Implementation Plan and submitted the same to the Stockholm Convention
Secretariat. As per Article 7 of the treaty development of the National
Implementation Plan (NIP) of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants (POPs) is required by all the parties. It is to demonstrate how the
obligations under the Convention would be implemented and discusses how Parties
aim to meet their obligations under the treaty. The Convention entered into force on May 17, 2004. India signed it
on May 14, 2002. It ratified it on January 13, 2006. It came into force for
India on April 13, 2006.
The treaty can ban
chemicals currently in use, not only the obsolete and redundant ones. The
chemical industry has expressed concern about the listing of its persistent organic
pollutant (POP) products.
The objective of the
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is to protect human
health and the environment from POPs. The treaty requests parties to protect
the citizens and the environment from POPs through activities stipulated in the
articles of the treaty.
Governments have agreed
to list all the chemicals recommended by the POPs Review Committee (POPRC)
because the evaluation process is comprehensive and meet convention obligations
under Article 8. The main problem with the decision-making process at
Conferences of the Parties (COPs) is not that chemicals in use are listed but
that the POPRC’s work and its recommendations limiting the scope of exemptions
are often ignored. The COP8 meeting illustrates it. Short-chain chlorinated
paraffins (SCCPs) form a class of industrial chemicals primarily used in
metalworking but also as flame retardants and softeners in plastics, including
children’s products. SCCPs adversely affect
the kidney, liver and thyroid, disrupt endocrine function and are anticipated
to be human carcinogens. The POPRC recommended listing them in the treaty
without exemptions, due to the availability of feasible alternatives.
Governments at COP8
proposed a wide-ranging series of exemptions that effectively cover all known
uses of SCCPs. The treaty listing does represent an important five-year global
phase-out of a very harmful chemical, but there was a clear disconnect between
POPRC evidence that vegetable oil is a key substitute for the substances in
metalworking and granting an exemption for this use, along with many others.
DecaBDE is a serious
example of a listing process getting sidetracked by unjustified exemptions. For
example, an exemption was granted for the use of decaBDE in polyurethane foam
for building insulation, but the POPRC had no evidence that the substance is
used for this purpose.
The exemptions for the
automotive and aviation industries shows how conventional phase-out period of
five years has been expanded to 2036.
Such extensive
exemptions will result in the continued production and use of decaBDE, a
substance that strongly resembles polychlorinated biphenyls.
The aviation industry’s
decaBDE exemption shows what happens when companies that have already phased
out POPs ignore the Stockholm Convention.
COP 8 agreed that
governments that seek exemption for decaBDE or SCCPs should justify their need
for it by December 2019.
Two countries have
withdrawn a proposal to permit the recycling of materials containing
decaBDE. Recycling plastic products
containing POPs also contaminates new products.
The treaty prohibits
POP recycling and the POPRC warned against the practice, noting continuing
human and environmental exposure and the loss of the credibility of recycling.
The current toxic recycling exemption for commercial pentaBDE and octaBDE
allows this bad practice to continue until 2030.
In countries like India
decision making on exemptions bring POPs across borders legally amidst a flood
of products, causing ongoing exposure.
It will create
difficulty in complying with the treaty’s waste provisions, since it cannot
identify which products contain POPs. Even if they could identify them, many do
not have the capacity to destroy them as per law's requirements. India remains
caught in such vicious circle of poison.
India’s NIP development
includes conducting POPs inventory preparation, establishment of required
national infrastructure and the capacities for its realization.
While
decisions on exemptions appear abstract and intangible the fact is that such
exemptions pose harm to human health through food chain.
The joint Conferences of the Parties of the Basel,
Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions took place in Geneva from 24 April to 5
May, 2017. The note below draws on information shared
on IPEN list serve. It explains a few key points that emerged from the separate
meetings of the three treaties in general and Basel Convention and Ban Amendment
to it in particular.
Triple
COP 2017 outcomes:
- Governments added short-chain chlorinated paraffins (Short-chain
chlorinated paraffins-SCCPs) to the treaty for global elimination along
with a variety of five-year exemptions. SCCPs are toxic industrial
chemicals used in metal cutting and also in PVC consumer products.
- Governments added DecaBDE to the treaty for global
elimination along with a variety of five-year exemptions and longer
exemptions for new and old vehicle parts and aircraft. A proposal for a
recycling exemption was defeated. DecaBDE is flame retardant and prominent
component of e-waste.
- Governments added hexachlorobutadiene, a chemical
formed unintentionally, including during chlorinated solvent production
and incineration, to Annex C of the treaty to reduce releases with the
goal of elimination.
- The meeting adopted weak waste limits, but kept alive
more protective limits as an option for HBCD and the commercial mixtures
of PentaBDE and OctaBDE.
- Stockholm COP8 encouraged regional centers to work on
the impact of plastic waste, marine plastic litter,
microplastic, and measures for prevention and environmentally sound
management.
- Stockholm Convention COP8 admitted that the recycling
exemption likely contaminates children’s toys and urged governments to
ensure that flame retardants are not introduced into products that would
pose a risk of human exposure such as children’s toys.
- Basel Convention COP13 established a household waste
working group which will develop a guidance document on the
environmentally sound management of household waste including best
practices; mechanical biological
treatment, energy recovery, management of sanitary landfills and
compartmentalization to deal with various waste streams.
- The Basel Convention e-waste guidelines will go to a newly formed working group led by China for further work including distinguishing waste from non-waste and the repair loophole.€
- The Basel Convention extended the mandate of the group
working on environmentally sound management of waste to develop manuals on
extended producer responsibility, financing systems, insurance
and liability; conduct five pilot projects
on the topic; and develop a guidance document on efficient strategies for the
recycling and recovery of hazardous and other wastes and how to address
the environmentally sound management of wastes in the informal sector.
- Carbofuran, trichlorfon, SCCPs, and tributyl tin were
all listed in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, making them subject
to the treaty’s prior informed consent procedure.
- Chrysotile asbestos, fenthion, paraquat, and carbosulfan were all blocked from listing in the Rotterdam Convention even though there was consensus agreement that they met all criteria for addition to the treaty. Rotterdam Convention came into force on February 24, 2004. India signed the accession on May 24, 2005. It entered into force for India on August 22, 2005.
- The
Basel Convention adopted a guidance document focusing on waste prevention,
minimization and reuse. The document includes measures such as information
on chemicals in products, green procurement, and extended producer
responsibility. The expert working group will continue and gather good
practices and examples with regard to waste prevention and minimization.
- It is noteworthy
that Ban Amendment to Basel Convention has not come into force as yet
although it was adopted on September 22, 1995. As per 17
(5) of the Convention which reads as follows: "Instruments of
ratification, approval, formal confirmation or acceptance of amendments
shall be deposited with the Depositary. Amendments adopted in accordance
with paragraphs 3 or 4 [of article 17 of the Convention] shall enter into force
between Parties having accepted them on the ninetieth day after the
receipt by the Depositary of their instrument of ratification, approval,
formal confirmation or acceptance by at least three-fourths of the Parties
who accepted them or by at least two thirds of the Parties to the protocol
concerned who accepted them, except as may otherwise be provided in such
protocol. The amendments shall enter into force for any other Party on the
ninetieth day after that Party deposits its instrument of ratification,
approval, formal confirmation or acceptance of the amendments.” In
accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 25 of the Basel Convention,
applicable mutatis mutandis to amendments of the Convention, for the
purpose of entry into force, any instrument deposited by a political
and/or economic integration organization shall not be counted as
additional to those deposited by member States of such organization.
Accordingly, as a regional economic integration organization, ratification
by the European Union does not count in addition to the ratifications by
Member States of the Union for the purposes of entry into force of this
instrument. By
decision III/1, of 22 September 1995, the Third meeting of the Conference
of the Contracting Parties to the above Convention, which took place in
Geneva from 18 to 22 September 1995, adopted an Amendment to the
Convention (including the adoption of Annex VII).
- Basel Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage
Resulting from Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their
Disposal Basel adopted on December 10, 1999 also awaits ratification for
it come into force. As
per Article 29, "1.The Protocol shall enter into force on the
ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the twentieth instrument of
ratification, acceptance, formal confirmation, approval or accession. 2.
For each State or regional economic integration organization which
ratifies, accepts, approves or formally confirms the Protocol or accedes
thereto after the date of the deposit of the twentieth instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession, it
shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit by
such State or regional economic integration organization of its instrument
of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession.
3. For the purpose of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, any instrument
deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be
counted as additional to those deposited by member States of such
organization".
- Although the parent treaty Basel Convention came into force
on May, 1992. It is being undermined by bilateral free trade agreements of the parties.
+ comments + 2 comments
nice blog.. thanks for sharing the information.. membrane bioreactors
Thanks for sharing beautiful with us. I hope you will share some more info about Implementation of Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in India & outcome of triple CoP. Please keep sharing!
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