The most well-known examples of POPs are DDT (a pesticide), PCBs (transformer fluids), and dioxins, unintentionally produced chemicals during different manufacturing processes such as waste incineration, pulp and paper mills, metallurgical facilities. Dioxins are well known as one of the most toxic man-made substances.

Pentabromodiphenyl ether Lindane Chlordecone Perfluorooctane sulfonate Hexabromobiphenyl Short chain chlorinated paraffins

It must be said that children in the EECCA like other children in the world are at risk from environmental threats. They are more vulnerable than the adults to environmental contaminants including POPs in air, food, water, soil, and in consumer products. For fetus and babies chemical exposure can result in delayed, permanent or lifelong health impacts. Some children in the EECCA are at greater risk than others from environmental threats. There is a strong and clear connection between poverty, chemical exposure and its consequences. As it was emphasized by CIEL, poor people have weaker immune system and thus they are more vulnerable to diseases caused by toxic substances; they lack knowledge and information on side effects of dangerous chemicals; poor living conditions often leave them exposed to toxic hazards indoor and outdoor.

* See the entire article at the end of the Newsletter!!

A TOXIC-FREE FUTURE: ALTERNATIVE NON-INCINERATION WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES
by Eugeniy Lobanov, Foundation of Realisation of Ideas (Belarus), Olga Speranskaya, Eco-Accord (Russia), Olga Tsygulyova, "Mama-86" All Ukranian Environmental NGO (Ukraine)

Database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies in the Russian language is developed. It incorporates technologies for neutralisation and utilisation of production and consumption waste, including obsolete pesticides, technologies for elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as well as methods of disinfection, elimination and treatment of medical waste. The database allows interested producers and consumers to get information on tested industrial-scale technologies; technologies approaching the stage of industrial application; promising laboratory-scale tested technologies with good chances of further development, as well as on underdeveloped technologies with unclear capacity, that are likely to reach an industrial application scale in the case of further research. In addition to brief description of technological processes, the database contains information on relevant economic considerations, waste treatment costs, health and environmental safety data, contact information of developers and equipment suppliers. Importance of the database is associated with the fact that it contains information about the most appropriate waste treatment and elimination technologies for East Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region from the whole array of available technologies (the technologies were selected at the base of their economic and environmental efficiency). The database is a unique collection of information materials on experiences of different countries and organisation in the sphere of safe waste management. For the first time, the database allowed a broad range of readers to get access to information on some technologies that were developed in the EECCA countries. Database can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.noburntech.info.

* See the entire article at the end of the Newsletter!!

4- OTHER NEWS

Kyodo News - Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007

PCB-like toxin in breast milk, scientists warn

A toxic substance similar to the pollutant polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB, has been found in the breast milk of Japanese women, according to a group of Japan-based scientists.

On Tuesday, the group announced at a session of the ongoing international conference Dioxin 2007 in Tokyo its discovery of polychlorinated/brominated coplanar biphenyls, or Co-PXBs, in mothers' milk. The contaminants are thought linked to the eating of fish.

The group is urging authorities to add Co-PXBs to a list of toxic substances being monitored under a law aimed at controlling dioxin. The toxicity level of Co-PXBs is apparently similar to that of PCBs.

The group warned that the adverse effects of Co-PXBs on babies have possibly been underestimated.

"It was the first discovery of the contamination of humans by these materials," said Soichi Ota, associate professor of medicine at Setsunan University in Osaka Prefecture, who led the group.

"One of the causes of the human contamination is believed to be the intake of fish, as it has been confirmed Co-PXBs contaminated fish in many regions in the world," Ota said.

"It will be an urgent task to assess the effect on human beings and determine the origin," Ota said, referring to the possibility that Co-PXBs may also originate from incinerated garbage or factory wastewater.

The group of scientists said they detected 0.42-1.41 picograms of Co-PXBs per gram of fat in the breast milk of seven women in Japan aged 21-33.

Co-PXBs were also found in meat and fish from regions around Japan as well as minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean.

(More information about the Dioxin 2007 Conference can be found here: http://www.dioxin2007.org/data/index.html)

5- FUTURE NEWSLETTERS

In future Newsletters, we will continue to have a section that will focus on a regional component within IPEN. The upcoming regions are as follows:

Francophone Africa (September)

Latin America (October)

Middle East (November)

South Asia (December)

Southeast Asia (January)

Western Europe (February)

Pacific & Island States (March)

For the next Newsletter, Francophone Africa will be the featured region for the IPEN Newsletter.
Therefore IPEN POs located in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia are invited to submit a short article (under 500 words), press release, or other news/updates from this region for the newsletter.
Please send your emails to Jennifer at the IPEN Secretariat at: jenniferfederico@ipen.org

Website
Please note that the Newsletter can now be found on the IPEN website at http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/news.html

6- IPEN CALENDAR OF EVENTS

September

1st-2nd: "The International NGO Forum on Dioxin Pollution", Tokyo, Japan. Organized by The Organizing Committee for the International NGO Forum on Dioxin Pollution and People's Association for Countermeasures on Dioxins and Endocrine Disrupters (PACDED). Contact Masami Kittaka masami-y@ta2.so-net.ne.jp for more information.

2nd-7th: Dioxin 2007 (27th International Symposium on Haloganated POPs),Tokyo, Japan. Chaired by Dr. Masatoshi Morita. Contact Masami Kittaka masami-y@ta2.so-net.ne.jp for more information.

3rd- 7th: 6th Session of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal- Geneva, Switzerland. The 6th session of the OEWG will consider, inter alia: Basel Convention regional and coordinating centers; the establishment of a regional center for South Asia in the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme; technical guidelines on environmentally sound management of used tires; persistent organic pollutants; classification and hazard characterization of wastes; harmonization and coordination; and dismantling of ships. For more information contact: tel: +41 22 917 8218; fax: +41 22 797 3454; e-mail: sbc@unep.ch; Internet: http://www.basel.int/meetings/frsetmain.php

13th-14th: IPEN Regional Coordination Workshop for the Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) Region. Hondarribia, Spain. Organized by IPEN Regional Hub, Arnika Assoication. There will be 14 participants from the following countries of the CEE region: Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, and Slovakia. For more information, contact Jindrich Petrlik at jindrich.petrlik@arnika.org.

15th-18th: 3rd GAIA Global Meeting. The Meeting will take place in Hondarribia, in the Basque province of Guipuzkoa (also spelled Gipuzkoa), Spain. The GAIA Global Meeting will address strategic issues and challenges facing the GAIA Membership regarding wastes, incinerators and alternatives. The host in Hondarribia will be the Ekologistak Martxan, a local member of the national grassroots federation Ecologists in Action. For more information, please contact Manny Calonzo (mannyc@no-burn.org) or Monica Wilson (monica@no-burn.org).

18th-27th: Joint Meeting of the FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment and the WHO Core Assessment Group on Pesticides Residues (JMPR), Geneva, Switzerland. This meeting will consider a list of substances scheduled for evaluation. The list has been prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Secretariat of the Meeting and is based on recommendations of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR), previous Expert Meetings, and direct requests from governments, other interested organizations, and producers of substances that have been evaluated previously. For more information contact: tel: +39 06 570 55757; fax: +39 06 570 56347; e-mail: gero.vaagt@fao.org; Internet: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPP/Pesticid/JMPR/DOWNLOAD/2007JMPRcallfinall.pdf

20- 22nd: 9th International HCH and Pesticides Forum for Central and Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asia Countries, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. Theme: "Obsolete Pesticides in Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Countries- Start of Clean-Up". For more information, including call for papers, inquire at jenniferfederico@ipen.org.

October

16-19: Beijing, China. The Global Village of Beijing is hosting an NGO Skillshare. For more information, contact xiongkun@gvbchina.org.cn

26-29: The 12th International Conference of the Pacific Basin Consortium (PBC) for Environment and Health Sciences: Environment & Health in the 21st Century, Peking University, Beijing, China. Technical Session 2 Saturday October 27, 2007- Environmental and Health Impacts of POPs - Challenges and Solutions. For more information, including on submission of abstracts, contact Dr. Mahmood A. Khwaja (kwaja@sdpi.org).

If there is an upcoming event that you would like to have listed here, please let me know! Jenniferfederico@ipen.org

7- FULL ARTICLES:

POPS in Eastern Europe and children's exposure
by Olga Speranskaya, head of Program on Chemical Safety, Eco-Accord

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), environmental factors account for about 25-30% of "contributions" into human health problems. In view of complicated problems of environmental contamination by extremely hazardous and toxic chemicals in the region of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), as well as intentions of governmental facilities and members of the general public to improve the situation, many environmental NGOs of the EECCA countries started to participate actively in addressing problems, associated with environmental contamination with persistent organic pollutants. In the course of their activities, many NGOs have managed to focus on addressing priority problems and attracting attention of governmental agencies, international organisations and local residents. Since May 2004, 70 projects have been implemented in the EECCA with a particular focus on persistent organic pollutants.

Persistent organic pollutants or POPs in short are long-lived chemicals that build up in the food chain poisoning animals and people, causing irreversible damage to immune, endocrine and nervous systems. Even in very small doses POPs are very toxic and pose high risk to humans and animals. POPs act as hormone-imitators, they suppress production of natural hormones and disrupt hormone-regulated processes such as spermatogenesis, ovulation and sexual development. Due to its solubility in fat, POPS easily crosses the planetary barrier and intensely accumulates in a foetus or in an infant's body.

POPs travel thousands of miles and enter the soil, oceans, rivers, plants, and animals far from where they are produced or used. POPs are found in such remote areas as Arctic and Antarctica where they have never been produced or used. Indigenous peoples can be heavily exposed to POPs from their traditional food.

12 POPs are regulated by the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutant. The Dirty Dozen is the minimal set of toxic substances that endanger security of all countries. According to the Stockholm Convention, these substances should be prohibited for application, their production should be banned and all stockpiles should be eliminated - moreover these substances are prohibited for transfrontier movement between Parties of the Convention. The list of chemicals is open for incorporation of other chemicals, however, the new candidates, similarly to the initial listed chemicals, should be categorised as "persistent organic pollutants", i.e. they should be:

The most well-known examples of POPs are DDT (a pesticide), PCBs (transformer fluids), and dioxins, unintentionally produced chemicals during different manufacturing processes such as waste incineration, pulp and paper mills, metallurgical facilities. Dioxins are well known as one of the most toxic man-made substances.

Pentabromodiphenyl ether Lindane Chlordecone Perfluorooctane sulfonate Hexabromobiphenyl Short chain chlorinated paraffins

It must be said that children in the EECCA like other children in the world are at risk from environmental threats. They are more vulnerable than the adults to environmental contaminants including POPs in air, food, water, soil, and in consumer products. For fetus and babies chemical exposure can result in delayed, permanent or lifelong health impacts. Some children in the EECCA are at greater risk than others from environmental threats. There is a strong and clear connection between poverty, chemical exposure and its consequences. As it was emphasized by CIEL, poor people have weaker immune system and thus they are more vulnerable to diseases caused by toxic substances; they lack knowledge and information on side effects of dangerous chemicals; poor living conditions often leave them exposed to toxic hazards indoor and outdoor.

Children have greater vulnerability to some substances such as DDT and PCBs. Many health impacts of concern can result from low-level exposures to toxicants. Increased risks for a variety of different health outcomes such as asthma and other respiratory conditions, neurodevelopmental delays, cancer, immune system effects and reproductive and developmental effects have been associated with POPs exposure. Data on many of these diseases and conditions among children in the EECCA are notably limited. At the same time POPs such as dioxins, PCBs, DDT have all been found in the bodies of children and adults in places in the EECCA where biological testing has been carried out.

In the Russian Arctic research studies revealed substantial levels of DDT in blood of pregnant women - representatives of indigenous peoples. In many cases, levels of DDT substantially exceeded recommended WHO limits.
In Russian industrialised cities such as Marnetogorsk, Karabash, Cheliabinsk DDT and dioxins in breast milk have been identified.
In Azerbaijan official documents confirm application of DDT in 1989. DDT traces were found in groundwater aquifers even at depth of 80 m., while DDT level in irrigation channels sometimes exceeded applicable standards in more than 10 times. There are some available statistical data on a high incidence of children diseases in the country (respiratory diseases, nervous, gastric-intestine, immune disorders, etc.), associated with DDT contamination of breast milk, groundwater sources of drinking water, air, soil and some food products. POPs circulation in the country is almost out of control. Being inadequately aware of associated risks, local residents take pesticides from abandoned storage facilities, use pesticide packaging for household needs and apply obsolete POPs in their subsistence agriculture. Available research findings suggest that pesticide-contaminated soils in Azerbaijan represent man-made geochemical anomalies of permanent adverse health impacts on local residents. These areas demonstrate higher levels of general population morbidity, higher incidence of birth defects, physical and intellectual development retardation.

These and other examples of POPs adverse effect on human health were collected by NGOs in the frame of the International POPs Elimination Project or IPEP in short (May 2004 - May, 2006) implemented in the EECCA region. IPEP was initiated by the International POPs Elimination Network which is a broad NGO network of more than 400 organisations all over the world. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) provided core funding for the project.

What can we do to reduce risk of POPs exposure?

POPs are already everywhere. They pollute our food, water and soil. They cause harm to our bodies and the bodies of our children. They seriously undermine the healthy future of the coming generations. But it does not mean that we have already lost the battle against POPs. Here are some tips suggested by NGOs including the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), EECCA POPs Network, World Wild Fund (WWF), Pesticide Action Network (PAN), Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), The Collaborative on Health and the Environment, Health and Environment Alliance, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, individual public organizations and experts to reduce human exposure to POPs.

They are the following:

A TOXIC-FREE FUTURE: ALTERNATIVE NON-INCINERATION WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES
by Eugeniy Lobanov, Foundation of Realisation of Ideas (Belarus), Olga Speranskaya, Eco-Accord (Russia), Olga Tsygulyova, "Mama-86" All Ukranian Environmental NGO (Ukraine)

Database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies in the Russian language is developed. It incorporates technologies for neutralisation and utilisation of production and consumption waste, including obsolete pesticides, technologies for elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as well as methods of disinfection, elimination and treatment of medical waste. The database allows interested producers and consumers to get information on tested industrial-scale technologies; technologies approaching the stage of industrial application; promising laboratory-scale tested technologies with good chances of further development, as well as on underdeveloped technologies with unclear capacity, that are likely to reach an industrial application scale in the case of further research. In addition to brief description of technological processes, the database contains information on relevant economic considerations, waste treatment costs, health and environmental safety data, contact information of developers and equipment suppliers. Importance of the database is associated with the fact that it contains information about the most appropriate waste treatment and elimination technologies for East Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region from the whole array of available technologies (the technologies were selected at the base of their economic and environmental efficiency). The database is a unique collection of information materials on experiences of different countries and organisation in the sphere of safe waste management. For the first time, the database allowed a broad range of readers to get access to information on some technologies that were developed in the EECCA countries. Database can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.noburntech.info

Key-words: toxic, non-incineration, waste management, POPs, database

In the article a database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies is presented. The database incorporates technologies for neutralisation and utilisation of production and consumption waste, technologies for elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as well as methods of disinfection, elimination and treatment of medical waste.

Such a database in the Russian language is being developed for the first time. The database developers have managed to collect information on more than 70 modern waste management technologies. The database information would allow interested producers and consumers to get information on all tested industrial-scale technologies; technologies approaching the stage of industrial application; promising laboratory-scale tested technologies with good chances of further development, as well as on underdeveloped technologies with unclear capacity, that are likely to reach an industrial application scale in the case of further research. In addition to brief description of technological processes, the database contains information on relevant economic considerations, waste treatment costs, health and environmental safety data, contact information of developers and equipment suppliers.

Technologies for incorporation into the database were selected at the base of the following key criteria:
Health and environmental safety of technological processes.
The level of destruction of hazardous components.
Waste treatment costs.

Skilled experts from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus provided their comments on specific technologies and formulated their common position on the database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies, assessed its importance for addressing problems of adequate and safe waste management; for training of environmental specialists; for public awareness raising and for professional support of decision-making in the sphere of environment.

Besides that, importance of the database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies is associated with the fact that its developers sought to select the most appropriate waste treatment and elimination technologies for East Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region from the whole array of available technologies (the technologies were selected at the base of their economic and environmental efficiency).
Information on alternative non-incineration waste management technologies was collected from different sources, including information materials of the Global Environmental Facility, the World Bank, UNEP, US EPA, as well as publications of theoretical conferences and specialised seminars. Besides that, information on technologies was provided by R&D institutes and laboratories operating in the sphere of waste treatment, as well as by NGOs.
Therefore, the database is a unique collection of information materials on experiences of different countries and organisation in the sphere of safe waste management. For the first time, the database allowed a broad range of readers to get access to information in some technologies that were developed in EECCA countries.
Now, EE?CA countries actively fulfil their commitments under international environmental conventions. Some of these conventions are of direct relevance to waste treatment and elimination issues, namely the Stockholm Convention on POPs and the Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Besides that, EECCA countries actively participate in implementation of the Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management (SAICM), approved in February 2006 by the International Conference on Chemical Management. The Global Action Plan of specific activities for SAICM implementation incorporates a special section on waste management matters. It is clear, that the above international conventions (as well as some others) would require EECCA countries to apply an adequate approach to addressing waste management problems.

The proposed database would allow representatives of different social sectors - from governmental authorities, industrial facilities and NGOs to members of local communities - to make sound decisions in the sphere of waste management, using information from the proposed database as a decision-support tool.
It is worth to note that the database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies is posted at the specially developed web-site. Therefore, the database will be accessible to a broad range of organisations. The database will be permanently updated by descriptions of new technologies.

Organisations, interested in posting information on their R&D works and technologies in the proposed database may do it by completing a relevant questionnaire. However, prior to incorporation of information on newly submitted technologies into the database, the information should undergo expert assessments. Proposed waste management technologies will be incorporated into the database only in the case of a positive conclusion of experts. In such a way, we will be able to control adequacy of submitted information on new prospective technologies.
We hope, that the proposed database of alternative non-incineration waste management technologies will become a reliable and useful source of information, that will promote fulfilment of EECCA countries' commitments under many international environmental conventions, allowing to reduce industrial load on the environment.

* Please contact the Secretariat (jenniferfederico@ipen.org) for references for this article

Version: 2.0 (July, 2007)