International instruments related to hazardous substances

• Author: International Labour Organization
• Pages: 197-197

Meetings-MESHA-Final Code-2010-10-0355-1-En.doc/v2 197

Appendix V

International instruments related to hazardous

substances

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary

Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal,

1989

The Basel Convention was adopted in 1989 to set up a framework for controlling the

movement of hazardous wastes across international frontiers. One of its central goals has been to

promote environmentally sound management (ESM) in order to protect human health and the

environment. ESM comprises an integrated life-cycle ap proach that seeks to minimize hazardous

waste production whenever possible and involves strong controls from the generation of hazardous

waste to its storage, transport, treat ment, reuse, recycling, recovery and final disposal . Current

implementation efforts incl ude focusing on prevention, mi nimization, recycling, rec overy and

disposal of hazardous and other wastes; t he active promotion and use of clea ner technologies and

production methods; a nd the improvement of institutional and technological capabilities, especiall y

for developing countries and countries in transition.

Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent

Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and

Pesticides in International Trade, 1998

The Rotterdam Convention, adopted in 1998, has two key objectives: to pro mote shared

responsibility and cooperative efforts in the in ternational trade of certain hazardous chemicals in

order to protect human health and the environment; and to contribute to the environmentally sound

use of those hazardous chemicals by facilitating information exchange. The Convention covers

pesticides and industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted for health or

environmental reasons. Some 40 such chemicals are currently included in the Prior Informed

Consent (PIC) procedure, of which 25 are pesticides a nd four are severely hazardous pesticide

formulations. Many more chemicals are expected to be added in the future. The Convention

promotes the exchange of information on a broad range of chemicals. It does so through: the

requirement for a party to the Convention to i nform other parties of each national ban or severe

restriction of a chemical; the possibility for a party which is a developing country or a country in

transition to inform other parties that it is experiencing problems caused by a severely hazardous

pesticide formulation under conditions of use in its territory; the requirement for a party that plans

to export a chemical that is banned or severely restricted for use within its territory, to inform the

importing party that such exp ort will take place, before the first shipment a nd annually thereafter;

the require ment for an exporting party, when exporting chemicals that are to be used for

occupational purposes, to ensure than an up-to-date safety data sheet is sent to the importer; and

labelling requirements for exports of chemicals included in the PIC procedure, as we ll as for other

chemicals that are banned or severely restricted in the exporting country.

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic

Pollutants (POPs), 2001

The Stockholm Convention, adopted in 2001, aims to protect human health and the

environment from highly d angerous, long-lasting chemicals by restricting and ultimately

eliminating their production, use, trade, release and storage. POPs are a group of compounds that

possess toxic properties, resist degradation, and bio-accumulate. They are transported through air,

water and migratory species acr oss international boundaries and are deposited far from t heir place

of release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Health concerns associated

with POPs include the fact that they accumulate in the fatty tis sues of living orga nisms, can cause

cancer and birth defects and may disrupt immune and reproductive syste ms. The first 12 compounds

covered under the Convention are aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor,

hexachlorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT , PCDD (dioxin) and PCDF

(furans).