GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues in Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition

GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues in Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues in Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition A STAP Advisory document June 2012 GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues in Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition A STAP Advisory Document Prepared on behalf of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) by Hindrik (Henk) Bouwman NorthWest University (Potchefstroom Campus), School of Environmental Sciences and Development, P Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa. E-mail: henk.bouwman@nwu.ac.za Acknowledgements The author is grateful to co-authors Ming Hung Wong, Ricardo Barra and Lev Neretin, with further authorship support from Christine Wellington-Moore, Margarita Dyubanova, Bruce Vignon, Gregory Schiefer, Michael Mozur, Barbara Albrecht. Bo Walstrom, Anna Leung, Ho Ye Fung, Paul Booysen made contributions on the direction this document should take, while the wider network of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) provided core inputs via survey participation. Additional comments were provided by the participants of the STAP side event on Emerging Chemicals, held in the margins of the SAICM Open-ended Working Group, Belgrade 18 November 2011, which all went to improve the quality of this document. This advisory document was reviewed by three external reviewers and STAP Secretariat staff. Design and Layout: Critical Stages, LLC Disclaimer This document attempts to define, identify, evaluate and prioritize emerging chemicals management issues (ECMI) for Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition, as a first step in helping the GEF plan its allocation of resources to help anticipate, prevent, reduce and/or minimize adverse impacts of chemicals on human health and the environment. It is based on the 2011 survey results of members of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and does not seek to suggest that the ranked chemicals priorities will remain static over time. Instead, it should be viewed as a current snapshot of expert opinion on the issue, with results having perhaps a five year life span of relevance.The views contained herein do not necessarily reﬂect the views of the Global Environment Facility, or its Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel. This work is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works License. Citation STAP (The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility). 2012. GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues in Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition. A STAP Advisory Document. Global Environment Facility, Washington DC. About STAP The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel comprises six expert advisers supported by a Secretariat, which are together responsible for connecting the Global Environment Facility to the most up to date, authoritative, and globally representative science. http://www.unep.org/stap Foreword This report was predicated by GEF programmatic mandate on the promotion of sound chemicals management, as well as observations on the global chemicals landscape that alert us to the enormity of the challenge of sounds chemical management. The Chemicals Abstracts Service (CAS) (http://www.cas.org/) states that there are 60 million registered organic and inorganic substances in the world. Of that, only a fraction have been tested and inventoried by chemicals oversight bodies. For example, the USEPA maintains an inventory of approximately 84,000 commercially important chemicals; and of those, a smaller fraction still have been tested for their toxicity, including the vast majority of those categorized as “high volume”. In the face of rapid globalization and demand for products, increased trade, expansion of manufacturing into Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition (CEIT), new chemicals, uses, or products, along with an increased awareness of real or potential negative impacts of chemicals, the last two decades has also seen the rapid implementation of a number of regional and international agreements regarding chemicals management, which have focused concerns on the need for a globally effective and sustainable chemicals management process. One particular chemicals management response of note, is the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), which pays particular attention to chemicals, products, uses, releases, or wastes that are currently not under consideration or taken up by existing Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Apart from the potential of human health and environmental effects from chemicals, other aspects such as increased transboundary movement of chemicals through trade or environmental release have also come to the fore. As various MEAs wade in to manage and regulate some discreet categories of chemical, there are increased concerns and awareness about those that are not covered, or only partially covered or recognized by regulation. These are commonly and collectively termed Emerging Chemical Management Issues (ECMIs). This document seeks to attempt definition of the ECMI, and to identify, evaluate and prioritize ECMIs in relation to the likely chemical management needs of Developing Countries and CEIT. In doing so, it is hoped that it will help with the allocation of additional resources and support from the GEF within its mandate to anticipate, prevent, reduce and/or minimize adverse impacts of chemicals on human health and the environment. Thomas E. Lovejoy Hindrik (Henk) Bouwman Chair, Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel Panel Member for Chemicals GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues iii Contents Foreword . iii Chapter 5: Current Emerging Chemical Management Issues . 25 Contents . iv COMPOUND/CLASS BASED 25 List of Abbreviations . vi Polycyclic Aromatic 25 Executive Summary. 2 Hydrocarbons (PAHs) 25 Results and Conclusions 4 Arsenic 29 Considerations 7 Bisphenol A 32 Recommendations 8 Alkylphenols 35 Specific Guidance to The GEF 10 Phthalates 37 Organotins 39 Chapter 1: Introduction . 11 Heavy metals 41 Chapter 2: Scoping the Emerging PRODUCT BASED ECMIs 44 Chemicals Management Issues . .13 Nanoparticles and nanomaterials 44 Scope 13 Lead in Paints 47 Background 13 Inorganic fertilizers 50 Emerging chemicals and emerging concerns 14 Cadmium in Fertilizers 52 Pharmaceuticals and 55 Characteristics of the Emerging Chemicals Management Issues 16 personal care products 55 Illicit Drugs 58 Chapter 3: Policy and financial Food additives – Melamine mechanisms dealing with Emerging in milk as example 60 Chemical Management Issues . 17 EFFECTS-BASED ECMIs 62 Background 17 Endocrine disruption 62 Recent developments 18 Chemical mixtures 65 Gaps observed 19 PROCESS BASED ECMIs 67 Chapter 4: Identification of and criteria for Electronic-waste 67 categorization and prioritization of Emerging Marine debris 70 Chemical Management Issues . 20 Ammunition, propellants, military equipment, Development of ECMI criteria 20 and the environmental chemical legacy The ECMI Concern Criteria 22 of war and conflict 72 The ECMI Descriptive Criteria 22 Mine wastes and drainage 75 Prioritization of ECMIs 23 Sewage 78 Ranking process 24 Open Burning - with emphasis on open burning of biomass 81 Emerging Chemical Management Issues “on the horizon” 84 iv GEF Guidance on Emerging Chemicals Management Issues Chapter 6: ECMI priorities in developing countries Summary of regional rankings 102 and countries with economies in transition. .86 A closer look at scientific confidence 103 Introduction 86 Assessment of the survey 104 Assessment of ECMIs 86 Potential bias from the respondents 104 Survey results: Comments from respondents 105 Prioritization of ECMIs 89 Additional questions 105 Overall ranking 89 Success of survey 106 A closer look at Intervention priorities 91 Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations . 107 Descriptive criteria 91 Scientific confidence 108 Regional breakdown of results 92 Considerations 109 Central and South America 92 Africa 94 Recommendations 109 Asia 96 Specific guidance to The GEF 110 Eastern Europe 98 References . 112 Oceania 100 RESULTS TABLES TABLE 6.1. Summarized concern profiles for the ECMIs, as assigned by the authors in Chapter 5 87 TABLE 6.2. Assessment of the interactions between the different ECMIs 88 TABLE 6.3. Ranked concern and descriptive criteria for Developing Countries and CEIT for the 22 ECMIs as rated by the surveyed respondents from the four larger regions (Central & South America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe) Two aggregate ranks are shown; one without and one with Oceania included The highest ranked ECMI is 1, and the lowest 22 A separate ranking for Oceania is provided in Table 6 8 90 TABLE 6.4. Ranked concern criteria for 22 ECMIs in Central and South America, rated by 41 respondents 92 TABLE 6.5. Ranked concern criteria for 22 ECMIs in Africa as rated by 44 respondents 94 TABLE 6.6. Ranked concern criteria for Asia for the 22 ECMIs as rated by 27 respondents 96 TABLE 6.7. Ranked concern criteria for Eastern Europe for 22 ECMIs rated by 18 respondents 98 TABLE 6.8. Ranked concern criteria for Oceania for the 22 ECMIs as rated by four respondents 100 TABLE 6.9. Regional and all-regional ECMIs summarized on Aggregate concerns 102 TABLE 6.10. Summarized knowledge and research profile 103 GEF

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