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More news from the conference
NOV
4: GOVERNMENTS TO FINALISE BAN ON WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS CHEMICALS: Polluted
communities press for environmental justice
Johannesburg: Greenpeace volunteers highlighted the human cost of polluting industries to over 100 governments as they arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa today for the final negotiations on an international treaty to ban some of the world's most toxic chemicals.
Greenpeace volunteers, dressed in chemical protection suits, shamed the handful of governments, led by the US, that are trying to undermine the treaty by holding images of people around the world whose health and environment is affected by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), routinely released into the environment by industries.
"Most of these chemicals didn't exist fifty years ago. Now they're building up in the bodies of every living being on earth. They're contaminating the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink," said Greenpeace campaigner, Wytze van der Naald. "This week, governments are deciding on the fundamental human rights of people to live in a world free of toxic chemical pollution. If governments don't take this historic opportunity to eliminate all sources of these dangerous poisons, it'll be a gross dereliction of duty," he added.
As the negotiations began, people living in polluted communities around the world (1) also sent email messages to the meeting urging governments to agree on an effective treaty to protect their health and the health of future generations. Exposure to Pops has been linked to a wide range of effects on the health and development in both wildlife and humans including cancers, endometriosis, learning disorders and the disruption of the hormone system. Of particular concern are the toxic effects of persistent organic pollutants on young children and the developing foetus.
If the negotiations succeed, the treaty will put an end to the production and use of persistent organic pollutants world-wide starting with a list of twelve, known as the "Dirty Dozen", identified by the United Nation's Environment Programme (UNEP) as in need of urgent action (2). High on the agenda are dioxins, one of the most toxic chemicals known and can cause cancers in humans. Dioxins are released when waste is incinerated and by industries that use chlorine in their production processes, such as paper bleaching or the manufacture of PVC plastics.
Greenpeace released further evidence today that dioxins and other persistent pollutants are spreading around the planet with the growth of polluting industries. A series of butter samples from 24 countries around the world revealed that the highest levels of dioxin were found in butter from industrialised countries, with Spain, the Netherlands and Italy showing particularly high levels of contamination. Significant levels of dioxin were also found, however, in butter from countries that have experienced industrial growth more recently such as India, Mexico, China, Brazil and Argentina. (3)
"These results indicate that dioxins are moving with polluting industries into industrialising countries and contaminating their environments," said van der Naald. "It's clear that the spread of dioxin sources should be stopped immediately and existing sources must be eliminated globally," he added.
A majority of countries agree that all of the 12 POPs listed by the UNEP should be eliminated. However, the US, one of the world's main dioxin emitters, is leading a small but powerful group of industrialised countries that have been unwilling to accept dioxin elimination.
Two residents of Mossville, U.S., are attending the meeting this week to urge their government to reconsider its position. They live near factories that emit persistent pollutants, including dioxins. One of the residents, David Prince, said: "My entire family is suffering from pollution. My wife has developed cancer and all of my children are sick. One of my daughters has endometriosis and the other has bleeding kidneys. We urge our government not to undermine this vital treaty and to join the rest of the world that wants to protect its citizens by banning these toxic chemicals, which are ruining the lives of many people around the globe." (4)
"Last month we saw the U.S. putting narrow economic interests before the state of the world's climate. It is imperative that, this week, it acts as the democracy it claims to be by representing the interests of its citizens rather than the vested interests of its polluting industries. It is also vital that it acts on its responsibilities as a world leader and does not hold the health of the planet to ransom again," added van der Naald.