NEGOTIATORS
REACH AGREEMENT ON HEAVY METALS AND PERSISTENT
ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
17 February 1998
Negotiators meeting at the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) have put the final
touches to two keenly awaited protocols to the Convention on
Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution: one on heavy metals, the
other on persistent organic pollutants or POPs. Both protocols
are the culmination of a long preparatory process, which started
in 1990, when UN/ECE experts first started looking into the
problems associated with heavy metals and POPs. Now that
countries have resolved their differences and overcome the final
hurdles after intense negotiations, the protocols are ready to be
adopted and signed in Århus, Denmark, in June on the occasion of
the fourth Ministerial Conference "Environment
for Europe".
Heavy metals and persistent organic
pollutants are known to be a threat to our health and to cause
damage to our environment. Heavy metals can cause blood disorders
and affect vital organs such as the liver and the kidneys. The
ongoing accumulation of heavy metals is also a considerable
stress factor for the forest ecosystem and for tree vitality. In
addition, birds and mammals risk reproductive impairment through
increased exposure to mercury in contaminated prey, especially in
acidified habitats. Very high concentrations of POPs have long
been associated with a number of carcinogenic and other health
effects. In recent years, however, there has been growing
evidence that POPs can have much more subtle effects even at very
low concentrations. POPs are thought to cause birth defects and
reduce male sperm counts. They may also have a detrimental effect
on physical and intellectual development, and damage the immune
system. Foetuses and infants are particularly at risk. They can
be exposed through the placenta and breast milk.
Humans are responsible for these
problems. For instance, the largest emission sources of heavy
metals and of some of the POPs are the combustion of fossil
fuels, industrial processes, waste incineration and road
transport. Other POPs are industrial chemicals and pesticides.
Pollution with heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants is
a region-wide problem; as this pollution crosses national
borders, countries cannot solve it on their own.
The draft protocol on heavy metals
targets three particularly harmful substances: lead, cadmium and
mercury. According to one of its basic obligations, countries
have to reduce their emissions of these three metals below their
levels in 1990 (or an alternative year between 1985 and 1995).
The protocol aims to cut emissions from industrial sources (iron
and steel industry, non-ferrous metal industry), combustion
processes (power generation, road transport) and waste
incineration. It lays down stringent limit values for emissions
from stationary sources and suggests best available techniques
(BAT) for these sources, such as special filters or scrubbers for
combustion sources or mercury-free processes. The protocol
requires countries to phase out leaded petrol. It also introduces
measures to lower heavy metal emissions from other products, such
as mercury in batteries, and proposes the introduction of
management measures for other mercury-containing products, such
as electrical components (thermostats, switches), measuring
devices (thermometers, manometers, barometers), fluorescent
lamps, dental amalgam, pesticides and paint.
The draft protocol on persistent organic
pollutants focuses on a list of 16 substances, which have
been singled out according to certain risk criteria:
Pesticides:
aldrin, chlordane, chlordecone, DDT, dieldrin, endrin,
heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), mirex, toxaphene,
hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (incl. lindane);
Industrial chemicals:
hexabromobiphenyl, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);
By-products or
contaminants: dioxins, furans,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The ultimate objective is to eliminate
any discharges, emissions and losses of POPs. The protocol bans
the production and use of some products outright (aldrin,
chlordane, chlordecone, dieldrin, endrin, hexabromobiphenyl,
mirex and toxaphene). Others are scheduled for elimination at a
later stage (DDT, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, PCBs). Finally,
the protocol severely restricts the use of DDT, HCH (including
lindane) and PCBs. Limited uses which are thought to be essential
and for which there are no adequate substitutes, can be exempted.
For instance, the use of substances like DDT will be allowed for
public health emergencies. The protocol includes provisions for
dealing with the wastes of products that will be banned. It also
obliges countries to reduce their emissions of dioxins, furans,
PAHs and HCB below their levels in 1990 (or an alternative year
between 1985 and 1995). It puts forward best available techniques
to cut emissions of these POPs. For the incineration of
municipal, hazardous and medical waste, it lays down specific
limit values.
The two protocols have been designed to
stand the test of time: they foresee the possibility of modifying
the list of substances or the range of control and management
actions without renegotiating the entire protocol.
The two protocols will set a framework
for legislation on a large number of pollutants for countries in
Europe and North America. But both protocols will also have
repercussions beyond the UN/ECE region. It is hoped, for
instance, that they will help to protect the vulnerable Arctic
region, where heavy metals and POPs are accumulating even though
there are no sources of emissions nearby. The protocol on POPs is
also seen as a basis for work towards a worldwide agreement.
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