The need for better management and control of POPs stockpiles
Environmental Science and Pollution Research ,
Sep 2015
Roland Weber , Margret Schlumpf , Takeshi Nakano , John Vijgen
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The need for better management and control of POPs stockpiles
The need for better management and control of POPs stockpiles
Roland Weber 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Margret Schlumpf 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Takeshi Nakano 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
John Vijgen
[email protected] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 Roland Weber
1 Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
2 Hyogo Environmental Advancement Association , Kobe-shi , Japan
3 Research Center for Environmental Preservation, Osaka University , Osaka , Japan
4 GREEN Tox GmbH , Langackerstrasse 49, CH-8057 Zürich , Switzerland
5 POPs Environmental Consulting , Lindenfirststr. 23, D-73527 Schwäbisch Gmünd , Germany
6 International HCH and Pesticides Association , Elmevej 14, DK-2840 Holte , Denmark
This special issue of ESPR includes selected papers from the 12th Forum of the International HCH and Pesticides Association (IHPA) (Vijgen et al. 2015) as well as selected contemporary case studies on persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Core IHPA themes (www.ihpa.info) addressed in this issue include the management of pesticide/POPs stockpiles (Van Thuong et al. 2014; Pieterse et al. 2015; Vijgen et al. 2011); pollution by HCH and other POPs at former production site (Amirova and Weber 2015; Torres et al. 2013; Wimmerová et al. 2015; Wycisk et al. 2013); and actions and proposals for moving towards solutions for legacy POPs contamination (Vijgen et al. 2013). A special session at the 12th Forum addressed the health consequences of pesticides and related POPs further contributing to recent review on the estimated external cost of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the EU (157 Billion Euro/year) with the largest effect estimated from pesticides (Trasande et al. 2015). The papers published in this special issue demonstrate that low levels of pesticides can significantly alter
-
concentrations of hormones in children and influence sexual
maturation (Croes et al. 2014); result in a developmental
disorder (Sisto et al. 2015) induce liver diseases (Carvalho et al.
2014); and cancer (Porta 2014). Another study shows the
influence of Dioxin on sperm quality (Galimova et al. 2014).
Key conclusions from the 12th Forum were compiled in a
consensus statement called the Kiev Declaration (IHPA 2013;
Vijgen et al. 2015).
In this editorial, we particularly want to highlight the scale
of the contemporary challenge for the safe management and
effective destruction of POPs and associated contamination in
industrial countries; the slow progress in addressing PCB
stockpiles and contamination in developing countries; and, as
new POPs are added to the Stockholm Convention, the
increasing stockpiles of POPs now including brominated flame
retardants (PBDEs, HBCD and HBB) and PFOS and related
precursors as first perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs)
which must be addressed. Progress in dealing with the POPs
originally listed in the convention has been painfully slow, and
it is vital that together we should find a better way forward.
Three recent examples with some widespread
contamination highlighted in the selected case-studies show how even
industrial countries with adequate destruction capacity of
modern technology and a well-established regulatory
framework—including clear lines of responsibility for the
competent authorities—can still struggle to manage POPs in an
environmentally sound, manner. The first case, described by
Lysychenko et al. (2015)), details how the government of
Ukraine excavated approximately 20,000 t of BHCB waste^
from a large, poorly engineered, landfill in which it had been
dumped during 30 years of organochlorine solvent
production. The waste followed the common route of being exported
for destruction by hazardous waste incineration in Europe and
much of it was accepted by a Polish operator. The Polish
incineration facility, however, was not appropriate for dealing
with this quantity of POPs waste as can be seen in a film made
by Polish journalists which clearly shows how the incineration
facility was unable to handle and store the POPs waste safely
(http://uwaga.tvn.pl/reportaze,2671,n/the-carcinogenic-hcbby-the-baltic-sea,135689.html). Thousands of tonnes of POPs
waste, some in partly torn Bbig bags^ were just piled outside
and only approximately 100 m from the Baltic Sea. Some of
the toxic ash from the incinerator was dumped in a local gravel
pit with a high water table but without any engineering or
environmental protection measures. The capacity of the
incinerator was limited, and the HCB waste is still processed
more than 3 years after the waste was received. The case is
currently being investigated by a state prosecutor and the
company, which is owned by a German investor, needed to
build an appropriate storage facility. Ironically the official
responsible for issuing the permit for the import of this POPs
waste was the current president of the Basel Convention
responsible for the safe transboundary movement of
hazardous waste and its environmentally sound management1.
A second contemporary case of HCB waste excavated
from an organochlorine product (...truncated)
This is a preview of a remote PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11356-015-5162-7.pdf
Roland Weber, Margret Schlumpf, Takeshi Nakano, John Vijgen.
The need for better management and control of POPs stockpiles ,
Environmental Science and Pollution Research,
2015, pp. 14385-14390, Volume 22, Issue 19, DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5162-7