Day 3 – Good News from Rome!

Good news from Rome! The POPs Review Committee determined the pesticide dicofol “as a result of its long-range environmental transport is likely to lead to significant adverse environmental effects and may lead to significant adverse human health effects, such that global action is warranted.”

Pam Miller, ACAT’s executive director and Co-Chair of IPEN, applauded the determination, noting dicofol’s harmful properties including persistence, tendency for long-range environmental transport to remote regions such as the Arctic, and toxicity to wildlife and humans. The evidence of harm to the health of animals and humans is compelling, including impairment of reproduction, endocrine effects,immune- and neurotoxicity. Miller concluded by saying, “We welcome the opportunity in the next stage of evaluation to offer information on safe, ecological, non-chemical alternatives for agriculture.”

Dr. Meriel Watts, representing the global Pesticide Action Network also welcomed the decision and stated: “We are one step closer now to a global ban of this antiquated organochlorine, first cousin to and contaminated with DDT. An important next step is to identify alternatives to dicofol particularly non-chemical alternatives  that can be used safely in sustainable agriculture.”

Decisions are still pending on SCCPs, Deca-BDE, and PFOA.

More to come  . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Above: IPEN technical team in action — (Left to Right) Meriel Watts (Pesticide Action Network); Pam Miller (ACAT and IPEN Co-Chair), Eva Kruemmel (Inuit Circumpolar Council); and Mariann Lloyd Smith (National Toxics Network Australia and IPEN)

Photo by  John Wickens of Australia’s National Toxics Network