WASHINGTON - April 30 - Hundreds of government officials, industry groups, and public interest observers will gather next week in Geneva to assess global progress on phasing out a set of dangerous chemicals. Many are looking to the new U.S. Administration to demonstrate renewed leadership in international efforts to address these priority pollutants.

“For toxic chemicals, this is the Obama Administration’s debut on the international stage,” says Daryl Ditz of the Center for International Environmental Law. “The world will be watching for signals that the U.S. will emerge as a strong leader, committed to protecting children and future generations from chemical contamination.”

Governments that are party to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) will convene May 4-8 for the fourth Conference of the Parties, or COP-4. The treaty sets global phase out schedules for a targeted list of toxic chemicals that build up in the food supply, accumulate in the tissue of humans and other animals, persist in the environment for years and travel the globe on wind and water currents.

Under President Bush, the United States signed but never ratified the treaty, yet participated in meetings as an active and influential observer.

A key focus of the Geneva meeting will be adding other pollutants to the original list of 12 POPs, which includes dioxins, PCBs, DDT, and others. An international scientific review panel has recommended adding nine new chemicals to the treaty – each warranting global action because of the danger they pose to human health and the environment. Governments will now decide whether use of these chemicals will be banned worldwide. Some of the chemicals being considered for addition include pentabromodiphenyl ether, pentachlorobenzene, chlordecone and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (see below for link to full list).

The organochlorine pesticide lindane, nominated for addition to the treaty by Mexico, provides one test for the Obama Administration. Lindane’s agricultural uses were withdrawn in the U.S. in 2006, with its only remaining uses now being pharmaceutical shampoos and lotions to control lice and scabies. Under the Bush Administration, the U.S. government pressed for an exemption to allow continued pharmaceutical use of lindane, while most other countries supported a full phaseout of the pesticide.

“We’ve heard the U.S. position on lindane is shifting under the new Administration to support phaseout of all uses,” says Kristin Schafer of Pesticide Action Network. “This is very good news – lindane production is extremely dirty, lindane-based products are unnecessary and can be dangerous, and other countries have been using safer alternatives for years.”

California phased out pharmaceutical uses of lindane in 2001, and Michigan is considering similar restrictions. While the United States is expected to support listing of lindane in the POPs Convention with no exemptions, the Food and Drug Administration still allows pharmaceutical use here.

“Persistent chemicals like lindane are contaminating the Arctic environment and poisoning the traditional foods of indigenous communities,” says Shawna Larson- Carmen of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, who will be coordinating a delegation of indigenous leaders at the Geneva meeting. “The United States must act now to phase out use of these chemicals here at home and support a global ban as well. POPs chemicals pose a serious threat to the health of families and communities that don’t even use them – addressing this injustice has been a core purpose of the Stockholm Convention from the beginning.”

Governments will also report in Geneva on progress toward phasing out the use of DDT for malaria control. The iconic pesticide has been targeted for phaseout under the treaty, with a limited exemption for malaria control under WHO guidelines for those countries that demonstrate a need for its continued use. The international community is encouraged to help those countries battling malaria to reduce their reliance on DDT spraying by adopting more sustainable, effective solutions.

The Stockholm Convention meeting in Geneva will be immediately followed by another important international chemical policy meeting, the International Conference on Chemicals Management. Observers will closely watch positions of the United States in this forum as well.

Available for interviews from the Geneva meeting (email to arrange phone interviews):

Karl Tupper, Staff Scientist, Pesticide Action Network North America, karl@panna.org
Pam Miller, Executive Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, pkmiller@akaction.net
Shawna Larson-Carmen, Environmental Justice Director at Alaska Community Action on Toxics and staff member of Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands, shawna@akaction.org
Daryl Ditz, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor, Center for International Environmental Law, dditz@ciel.org
Joseph DiGangi, Ph.D., Director, Global Chemical Safety Program, Environmental Health Fund, digangi@environmentalhealthfund.org

Resources:

Stockholm Convention documents re: recommended new chemicals: http://chm.pops.int/Convention/POPsReviewCommittee/RecommendationsofthePOPRC /tabid/440/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Pesticide Action Network information on lindane: www.panna.org/lindane

CIEL information on persistent organic pollutants and Stockholm Convention: http://www.ciel.org/Chemicals/chem_POPs.html

New report: Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Arctic: http://www.akaction.org

Pesticide Action Network information on DDT use for malaria control, including Pesticide Action Network Germany report on DDT and the Stockholm Convention: www.panna.org/ddt