MMAALLTTAA National Chemicals Management Profile November 2009 The 2009 project “National Chemicals Management Profile Development and National Priority Setting in Malta” was supported by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), with the financial assistance of the Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production. National Chemicals Management Profile – Malta 2 Executive Summary of the National Profile More than hundred countries all over the world have embarked on the preparation of the National Chemicals Management Profiles with the involvement of a wide range of national stakeholders, following the recommendations issued by the IFCS and based on the IFCS-endorsed (UNITAR/IOMC) National Profile Guidance Document which was published in 1996. At last it was Malta’s turn to prepare its own National Profile. The National Chemical Profile explains the current situation of the chemical industry and gives an overview of the legal instruments that are being used by different authorities to control chemicals. Furthermore, data communication and sharing of information among authorities and NGOs are also described. In the first chapter there is a statistical description of Malta. The preparation of the National Profile has contributed to the continuation of the accomplishment of important targets for the improvement of chemical safety. The communication skills among the entities concerned with the management of chemicals were greatly enhanced as a result of the preparation of the National profile. The necessity to invest in educating the public to promote awareness on the responsibility of chemical use was also recognized. The profile has contributed to a better understanding of the existing/potential problems or weaknesses present in the chemical management system. The profile has also determined key priority areas for action, including the importance of environmental permitting, the need to establish a poisons centre, the major concerns related to potential groundwater pollutants, the lack of hazardous waste treatment facilities, and the issue on chemical data collection as part of a new notification mechanism. One of the limitations observed in the operational needs for the management and control of chemicals is the lack of both human and financial resources. Keywords: Legal instruments, poisons centre, groundwater pollution, waste, environmental permitting, chemical data National Chemicals Management Profile – Malta 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables 7 List of Figures 9 Abbreviations/Acronyms 10 Introduction to the National Profile 15 Chapter 1 1. National Background Information 18 1.1. Physical and Demographic Context 18 1.2. Political/Geographic Structure of the Country 20 1.3. Industrial, Agricultural, and Other Key Economic Sectors 24 1.4. Industrial Employment by Major Economic Sectors 28 1.5. Releases of Concern by Major Economic Sectors 30 Chapter 2 2. Chemical Production, Import, Export, Storage, Transport, Use and Disposal 32 2.1. Chemical Production, Import and Export 34 2.2. Chemical Use By Categories 38 2.3. Storage of Chemicals and Related Issues 39 2.4. Transport of Chemicals and Related Issues 39 2.5. Chemical Waste 40 2.6. Overview of Technical Facilities for Recycling of Chemicals 41 2.7. Overview of Capacity for Disposal of Chemicals 43 2.8. Chemical Specific Data Requirement 44 2.9. Unintentionally Generated Chemicals 46 Chapter 3 3. Priority Concerns Related to Chemicals at All Stages in Their Life Cycle 48 3.1. Priority Concerns Related to Chemicals at all Stages of Their Life Cycle 48 3.2. Assessment and Comments 50 3.2.1. Groundwater Pollution 50 3.2.2. Groundwater Pollution of Cytotoxic Drugs 51 Chapter 4 4. Legal Instruments and Non-Regulatory Mechanisms for Life Cycle Management of 52 Chemicals 4.1. Overview of National Legal Instruments Which Address the Life Cycle 52 Management of Chemicals 4.2. Existing Legislation by Use Category Addressing Various Stages of Chemicals from 70 Production/Import through Disposal 4.3. Summary Description of Key Approaches and Procedures for Control of Chemicals 70 and Related Waste 4.3.1. Pesticides 70 4.3.2. Fertilisers 72 4.3.3. Chemical Substances & Mixtures Regulated under REACH and CLP 73 4.3.4. Cosmetic Products 76 4.3.5. Detergent Products 77 4.3.6. Petroleum Products 77 4.4. Regulatory Instruments for Related Activities which Impact on Chemicals 78 Management 4.5. Assessment and Comments 79 National Chemicals Management Profile – Malta 4 Chapter 5 5. Ministries, Agencies and Other Institutions Managing Chemicals and Waste 80 5.1. Responsibilities of Different Government Ministries, Agencies and Other 80 Institutions 5.2. Description of Ministerial Authorities and Mandates 82 5.2.1. Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) 82 5.2.2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 85 5.2.3. Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (MITC) 85 5.2.4. Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs (MRRA) 87 5.2.5. Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (MEDC) 89 5.2.6. Ministry for Social Policy (MSOC) 91 5.2.7. Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment (MFEI) 92 5.2.8. Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs (MJHA) 94 Chapter 6 6. Relevant Activities of Industry, Public Interest Groups and the Research Sector 95 6.1. Description of Organizations/Programmes 95 6.1.1. Friends of the Earth (Malta) 95 6.1.2. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group 95 6.2. Assessment and Comments 96 Chapter 7 7. Inter-ministerial Commissions and Coordinating Mechanisms 97 7.1. Overview Inter-ministerial Commissions and Co-ordinating Mechanisms 97 7.2. Description of Inter-ministerial Commissions and Co-ordinating Mechanisms 99 7.2.1. E-REACH Committee 99 7.2.2. Pesticides Control Board 99 7.2.3. Civil Protection Scientific Committee 100 7.2.4. Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Committee (IPPC) 100 7.2.5. Biosafety Co-ordinating Committee (BCC) 100 7.2.6. Radiation Protection Board 101 7.2.7. COMAH Competent Authority (CCA) 101 7.2.8. Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC) 102 Chapter 8 8. Information Management Capacity, Data Access, and Use 103 8.1. Overall Availability of Data for National Chemicals and Related Waste 103 Management 8.2. Sources of National Data and their Access and Format 107 8.3. Procedures for Collecting and Disseminating National Data 108 8.3.1. Chemical Data Type 108 8.3.2. Aarhus Convention – the Right to obtain Environmental Information 108 8.4. Availability of International Literature and Databases 109 8.5. Government Information Systems, Informatics Technology Capacity, and the 112 Exchange of Information 8.6. Assessment and Comments 113 Chapter 9 9. Technical Infrastructure 114 9.1. Overview of Laboratory Capacity 114 9.1.1. Public Health Laboratory (PHL) 122 9.1.2. The Water Services Corporation Laboratory 124 National Chemicals Management Profile – Malta 5 9.1.3. Rural Affairs Laboratories 125 9.1.4. Department of Chemistry 126 9.1.5. Department of Metallurgy and Materials 126 9.1.6. Saybolt Malta Limited 127 9.2. Assessment and Comments 127 Chapter 10 10. Chemical Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Follow-up 128 10.1. Chemical Emergency Planning 128 10.1.1. Responsibilities of the various agencies involved 128 10.1.2. Decontamination 129 10.1.3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 129 10.1.4. Antidotes 130 10.1.5. Medicines and Poisons Information Service 131 10.2. Chemical Incident Response 132 10.3. Chemical Incident Follow-up and Evaluation 133 10.4. Assessment and Comments 134 Chapter 11 11. Awareness/Understanding of Workers and the Public; and Training and Education of 135 Target Groups and Professionals 11.1. Awareness and Understanding of Chemical Safety Issues 135 11.1.1. Health and Safety Awareness-building for Workers 135 11.1.2. Health Promotion and Environmental Awareness among the Public 136 11.2. Education and Training for Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste 137 11.2.1. Educating Children on Health and Safety 137 11.2.2. Educating Children on Waste Management 137 11.2.3. Human Health and Environmental Studies 138 11.2.4. Training Initiatives 138 Chapter 12 12. International Linkages 140 12.1. Co-operation and Involvement with International Organizations, Bodies and 140 Agreements 12.2. Participation in Relevant Technical Assistance Projects 143 Chapter 13 13. Resources Available and Needed for Chemicals Management 144 13.1. Resources Available in Government Ministries/Institutions for Chemicals and 144 Related Waste Management 13.2. Resources Needed by Government Institutions to Fulfil Responsibilities related 147 to Chemicals Management 13.3. Resources Available in Nongovernment Institutions for Chemicals and Related 150 Waste Management 13.4. Assessment and Comments 150 Chapter 14 14. Conclusions and Recommendations 151 Annexes Annex 1 - Glossary 154 Annex 2 – Additional Tables 156 Annex 3 – Available National Reports and Papers Addressing Various Aspects of 200 Chemical Management Annex 4 – Names and Addresses of Key Individuals and Organisations 201 National Chemicals Management Profile – Malta 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.A.1: Demographic Events 18 Table 1.A.2: Land under Cultivation 19 Table 1.A.3: Labour Status 20 Table 1.B.1: Analysis of Gross Value Added by Industry (A31) in Euros (€ '000) for 2008 24 Table 1.B.2: Output Growth rate over three years (%) (2006-2008) 26 Table 1.C: Structure of the Agricultural Sector by size according to the number of employees per 27 facility Table 1.D: Breakdown of Agricultural Production by Year 27 Table 1.E: Industrial Employment by Major Economic Sector