Brief background information on nanotechnology and nanomaterials from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
January 2010
This document, with background information on nanotechnology and nanomaterials, was distributed at the African regional workshop on nanomaterials held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, January 25th and 26th, 2010. The workshop, organized by UNITAR and the OECD, was part of the Strategic Approach for International Chemical Management (SAICM) intersessional activities.
In 2008 IPEN partnered with the Indian organization Toxics Link , to conduct global sampling of lead in paint with organisations in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Ten countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were involved. The study showed that, with a few exceptions, all plastic paint samples had low lead concentrations, and the majority of enamel paint samples had lead concentrations higher than regulatory levels of 90ppm (US, China) or 600ppm (Singapore). Lead concentrations in paints ranged from 0.6 ppm to 505,716 ppm.
The second session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM2) was held in Geneva, Swtizerland from 11 - 15 May, 2009. Numerous representatives from IPEN Participating Organizations actively participated. Please see IPEN information and documents related to the meeting below. For more details about the meeting (background documents, agenda, etc.), please see the SAICM website.
During the negotiations, the international community understood that there were likely to be more POPs than the twelve substances originally covered by the treaty. Therefore, the Convention established a science-based process for evaluating candidate POPs which recognizes that lack of full scientific certainty should not prevent a candidate substance from proceeding in the evaluation or listing. For COP4, an expert committee of the Convention, the POPs Review Committee (POPRC), has recommended nine new substances for listing.
The use of lindane as a pest control method to reduce damage to economic crops, specifically the wheat midge and locust, is unnecessary given a wide variety of non-insecticidal methods. Integrative pest management methods, including biological controls that can be synthesized and massed produced are an adequate alternative to lindane, an insecticide with known persistence, bioaccumulation, and long-range transport properties, as well as known adverse human and ecological health effects.
Citizen's Report - Global Outreach Campaign on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)
IPEN, Health Care Without Harm, International Society of Doctors for the Environment, Pesticide Action Network International, Women in Europe for a Common Future, World Federation of Public Health Associations
