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122 NATIONS AGREE TO CUT USE OF TOXINS By Kurt Shillinger, Globe Correspondent, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 11 December 2000 -- Representatives of 122 nations reached a landmark agreement yesterday to ban or greatly reduce use of the world's most toxic pollutants, in what was termed a ''declaration of war'' against substances that endanger human and animal life. The treaty, negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program, provides a global strategy for eliminating the ''dirty dozen,'' 12 particularly dangerous pollutants pesticides, chemicals used in manufacturing, and industrial byproducts. Known as persistent organic pollutants, they spread quickly, break down slowly, and pose serious health hazards across the globe. ''The treaty is a declaration of war on ... persistent organic pollutants'' that ''threaten the health and well-being of humans and wildlife in every region of the world,'' said John Buccini of Canada, chairman of the talks. It was the fifth and final round of negotiations in a search for a ban that started more than five years ago. The document is due to be signed formally in Stockholm in May. Persistent organic pollutants are among the most dangerous man-made substances released into the environment each year. Because they are easily stored in living organisms, they accumulate at higher levels of the food chain, in fish, predatory birds, mammals, and humans, and can travel through various natural and migratory means. Thousands of miles from where they are used, for example, these pollutants are found in concentrated levels among people and animals in the Arctic. The treaty regulates the production, import, export, disposal and use of the initial 12 substances, which include pesticides like aldrin and chlordane; the industrial chemicals polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and hexachlorobenzene; and toxic byproducts called dioxins and furans. Nine are to be banned immediately. The ban, which is legally binding, may require entire industries to find new ways to produce even basic commodities like steel and to dispose of waste without emitting the newly banned byproducts. Health strategies will also be affected. The document allows for the continued use of the pesticide DDT, which about 25 developing nations still use to combat malaria, but urges increased research into DDT alternatives. Governments also were given time to deal with PCBs, which, though no longer produced, were widely used in electrical transformers and other equipment. Provided those devices do not leak the toxic substance, the treaty allows a phase-in of PCB-free replacements by 2025. The G-77 group of developing nations sought assurances that their wealthier counterparts would help fund their efforts to comply with the ban. While there are already alternatives to most of the listed substances, they are more expensive to use. One of the stickiest issues in the talks, the question of funding, was resolved late last night when industrialized nations agreed to pay about $150 million a year to help developing countries adapt. The treaty also resolved a difficult dispute between the European Union and a handful of other countries, notably the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, over how to identify and ban new substances that fall under the same category as the initial dozen. A review panel established by the treaty will consider new chemicals according to an agreed-upon scientific standard. The 600 delegates, aware that efforts to gain a treaty on global warming failed in The Hague a few weeks ago, pushed hard for a treaty over seven days of talks in Johannesburg. Emerging bleary-eyed yesterday morning after a final all-night session, they announced a deal that pleased environmental critics. ''We went in fighting for a treaty, and got more,'' said Jack Weinberg of the Boston-based Environmental Health Fund. ''The treaty will be a major impetus in mobilizing a potent antitoxins movement. It is full of effective tools.'' FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.  More News