Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD):
CSD18: A missed opportunity on chemicals
By Joseph DiGangi, PhD
Senior Science and Technical Advisor
IPEN www.ipen.org
The Chair�s Summary (10 May 2010) of the chemicals thematic area unfortunately misses some of the most profound and urgent issues affecting sound chemicals management. This marks CSD18 as a missed opportunity to review the true state of implementation of WSSD goals despite the rapid growth of chemical production and use and the impact of toxic threats to current and future generations. The following issues were missing from the �Obstacles, constraints, and challenges� section of the Chair�s Summary:
Absent #1: �The global production, trade and use of chemicals are increasing, with growth patterns placing an increasing chemicals management burden on developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in particular the least developed among them and Small Island Developing States, and presenting them with special difficulties in meeting this challenge. As a result, fundamental changes are needed in the way that societies manage chemicals.� Ministers from more than 150 countries agreed on this text at ICCM1 in Dubai in 2006 yet the Summary completely misses this fundamental shift in chemicals production and the implications for chemicals management in developing and transition countries.
Absent #2: The growing harm from chemicals in products and lack of information about them: There is a particular risk from exposure to a variety of chemical substances contained in toys, electronics, cosmetics, and other products but there is no global system for providing information on chemicals in products to consumers and others. This topic emerged in plenary and formed the basis for a well-attended side event.
Absent #3: Chemicals in electronic and electrical products: Toxic chemicals and metals in electronic products cause harm when 20 � 50 million tons of wastes and second-hand goods are transferred each year from developed to developing countries that cannot handle them safely. In 2009, ICCM2[1] decided a special workshop needed to address the crisis. More than 160 countries at SAICM regional meetings agreed the workshop should address upstream, midstream, and downstream issues related to chemicals in electronic products.[2] One year later, the workshop is still waiting for funding. Many delegations mentioned this issue in the CSD18 plenary and action is urgently needed.
Absent #4: Highly hazardous pesticides continue to cause harm: In South and Southeast Asia, nearly half the workforce is involved in agriculture and in sub-Saharan Africa, two thirds of all employed workers engage in agricultural activities.[3] This makes workers vulnerable to highly hazardous and obsolete pesticides which continue to harm human, animal and environmental health. The FAO International Code of Conduct and the progressive ban of highly hazardous pesticides have not been fully implemented. This issue was mentioned by several delegations in CSD18 plenary, represents a massive exposure in developing countries, and is completely missing in the CSD report.
Absent #5: Asbestos continues to harm millions of people around the world: All types of asbestos cause cancer and there is no safe use of the material. Developing countries and countries with economies in transition are most vulnerable as many do not have liability and compensation systems or the proper environmental and health legislation that can protect workers and communities from the harms of asbestos. This issue affects enormous numbers of people in developed and developing countries, was mentioned in plenary, and formed a main topic for a well-attended side event.
Absent #6: Nanomaterials are on the market in products despite the lack of information: Nanoparticles are already used in a wide range of domestic, industrial and food products without adequate information regarding their safety.[4] No country has yet introduced nanotechnology-specific regulation that requires mandatory safety assessment tailored to the new risks of nanoparticles. The overwhelming majority of workers handling nanoparticles are not informed of the fact. No products are labeled. Nanotechnology was prominently featured in the CSD18 plenary presentations but the report does not include it as a challenge.
Absent #7: Internalization of costs has not been broadly implemented: When chemicals are produced or used in a country, the Government is obligated to ensure that human health and the environment are not harmed as a result of chemical exposure or chemical accidents. The costs Governments incur in fulfilling this obligation are economic externalities that arise as a result of decisions by industries to manufacture and use chemicals.[5] [6] Without internalization, these costs amount to a subsidy of the private sector which is inconsistent with Rio Principle 16. This was mentioned in plenary by delegations in context of sustainable financing for chemicals management; a truly urgent issue for sound chemicals management. The global chemical industry has an annual turnover of approximately $3.1 trillion USD per year. If a global cost recovery scheme yielded only 0.1% of the industry�s annual turnover, more than $3 billion USD would be available for sound chemicals management annually.
[1] Second International Conference on Chemicals Management of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)
[2] www.saicm.org
[3] Employment by sector, ILO 2007: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/kilm/download/kilm04.pdf
[4] Examples include food additives, fuel catalysts, sports goods, specialty building equipment, electronics, household appliances, sunscreens and other products.
[5] Externalized costs include legacy issues such as obsolete stockpiles and contaminated sites, as well as children whose development has been impaired as a result of prenatal and post-natal chemical exposure; persons whose health has been injured as a result of chemical exposure; persons providing health-care services to such people when the injured are not able to pay for the services; property owners or users whose property value or utility decreases as a result of chemical contamination; fishers, hunters, small farmers and others whose livelihoods are impaired by chemical contamination; indigenous peoples whose way of life has been undermined through contamination of their traditional foods; people whose water supply is contaminated; and others. Externalities of modern agriculture can include depletion of water, soil and biodiversity; pollution by pesticides and fertilizers; and the resulting economic and social costs to communities.
[6] Rio Principle 16
From the �Outreach� newsletter, a publication expressing Stakeholder Views at the 18th Commission on Sustainable Development. The newsletter was delivered to all CSD delegates just in time for the high-level segment. The entire newsletter can be found at this link: http://media.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Outreach_Issues/13MAY_FINAL.pdf.
IPEN at the 18th. Commission on Sustainable Development:
IPEN participated in the 18th Commission on Sustainable Development that took place in New York in May, 2010. Amongst other things, representatives from IPEN Participating Organizations took part in workshops and side events, contributed articles to the �Outreach� newsletter, a publication expressing stakeholder views, and gave interviews on UN radio.
Obsolete Pesticide Stockpiles
Interview with Olga Speranskaya (in Russian) 
about obsolete pesticide stockpiles in countries with economies in
transition, and the need to promote non-combustion technologies of waste elimination. The second part of the
interview is focused on asbestos related problems in the EECCA region.
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/russian/detail/69679.html
Human Milk Monitoring - Panel Discussion
Wednesday, 5 May 2010, from 6:15 to 7:45 pm, Room D, NLB
Mini Report as a
.pdf 3,620MB
This panel, which is sponsored by International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), Commonweal, and the
Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention, will describe the UNEP/WHO milk monitoring program and will discuss
the significance of POPs and other industrial chemicals in human milk. It will also describe how monitoring
results can be communicated in ways that ultimately lower the levels of POPs chemicals in all our bodies
while supporting breastfeeding.
Commonweal, IPEN and MaPP prepared a mini- report, "Mother Earth, Mother's Milk, Mothers'
Stories," which was released on May 5th at the CSD-18 at a panel discussion side-event about human milk
monitoring. It was presented along with the first report, "Monitoring Mother Earth by Monitoring
Mother's Milk" Report as a .pdf
1,800MB
A more comprehensive report will be released at later date and will include additional interviews with
mothers in Alaska and Mexico, as well as more information about POPs levels and about the mothers who
volunteered for the project.
CSD webpage link:
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_csd18.shtml
Version: May 2010
News/Press Release