*EPF508 03/17/00
Fact Sheet: Fourth Round of Talks on Toxic Chemicals Begins in Bonn
(Negotiators work on global agreement to address problem) (890)

Representatives from over 100 countries meet March 20 to 25 in Bonn to continue negotiations on a global agreement to help protect human health and the environment from a group of toxic chemicals that can persist in the land and water for decades.

According to a fact sheet released March 15 by the U.S. Department of State, these toxic chemicals, known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), can be transported thousands of kilometers through the air and water, and move up the food chain in remote environments to reach toxic levels in humans and wildlife.

The negotiators in Bonn, meeting for the fourth of five scheduled negotiating sessions, will work on an international, legally-binding agreement to address the worst POPs, including PCBs, DDT and dioxins -- the latter a by-product of combustion. The United States supports a ban on most of the commercially produced POPs, and severe restrictions on the use of others, such as DDT, which presents a special case because of its continuing necessity in some countries in the fight against malaria.

Following is the text of the fact sheet:

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Fourth Round of Global Negotiations on Toxic Chemicals

Fact sheet released by the Office of the Spokesman, U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC
March 15, 2000

Over 100 countries will meet in Bonn, March 20-25, 2000, for the fourth of five negotiations to conclude a global agreement that will help protect human health and the environment from a variety of toxic substances known as persistent organic pollutants.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is the term used to describe a group of toxic chemicals possessing a combination of characteristics that make them of particular concern to the global community. POPs persist in the environment for months and sometimes even decades. POPs are also capable of being transported thousands of miles through the air and water. Finally, POPs bioaccumulate in fatty tissue at high rates. Therefore, even relatively small amounts transported to remote environments can bioconcentrate up the food chain to reach toxic levels in humans and wildlife.

The United States has banned or heavily controlled most significant POPs, including PCBs, DDT and dioxins, for many years. However, many of these pollutants continue to be used or emitted in other parts of the world, and their effects are felt far from their point of release. In the Arctic, once considered pristine, levels of POPs such as PCBs and DDT are often found in animal life at levels dramatically greater than in the surrounding environment. Levels of concern have been measured in marine wildlife and native American populations that eat traditional diets.

The global nature of POPs environmental transport means that coordinated action is necessary to fully address them. Since the early 1990s, the United States has been working with other countries to address transboundary harms associated with POPs. In June of 1998, the U.S., Canada and over 30 countries in Eastern and Western Europe signed an accord to address POPs releases. The U.S. has also worked with its NAFTA partners to address POPs. Last year, Mexico committed to phase out DDT use as a result of this work.

In Bonn, the United States and delegations from around the world, with involvement from non-governmental organizations and industry representatives, will work on an international legally-binding agreement to address the worst persistent organic pollutants. The current negotiations address twelve substances, including PCBs, DDT, two by-products of combustion (dioxins and furans), and eight other toxic organochlorine pesticides (aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, chlordane, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex and toxaphene).

The United States supports a ban on most of the commercially produced POPs, and severe restrictions on use of the others, such as DDT, which presents a special case because of its continuing necessity in some countries in the critical fight against malaria. While the U.S. has taken strong domestic action in the last decades on all twelve of the listed POPs, we continue to experience their adverse impact on public health and the environment in the Great Lakes, the Arctic and elsewhere.

The current negotiating text envisions bans or near-bans on production and use of most of the commercially produced substances, and measures to reduce releases of industrial by-products such as dioxins. The text will also contain a procedure and criteria for use by the Parties in considering additional chemicals once the agreement is in place. Finally, the agreement will contain measures to help developing countries to meet their commitments in an effective and timely manner.

Negotiations are expected to conclude by the end of this year, according to the mandate from the UN Environment Program (UNEP) Governing Council. The meeting in Bonn is formally called the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants. Prior sessions were held 1998 in Montreal (INC-1) and in 1999 in Nairobi (INC-2) and Geneva (INC-3). The Fifth Session (INC-5) is scheduled to take place in South Africa in December 2000.

Information on the UNEP POPs negotiations is available on the world wide web at: http://irptc.unep.ch/pops/

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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