IFCS/FSC/WG Lead and Cadmium/09 22 February 2008 Lead and Cadmium: Need for International Action? Compiled input received on initial draft paper (by 21 February 2008): - C. Flavo (ISDE), O. Speranskaya (ECO-ACCORD), IFCS secretariat - P. Bakken (UNEP Chemicals) - A Kumar (Toxic Links) - S. Pavitranon, Thailand - International Cadmium Association - International Lead Association - M. Khwaja, SDPI - M Musenga, Zambia - M. Conti, SPES, Italy - WG Teleconference (18Feb08) Draft Summary Note IIIFFFCCCSSS///FFFSSSCCC///WWWGGG LLLeeeaaaddd aaannnddd CCCaaadddmmmiiiuuummm///000444 DDDrrraaafffttt 222222---FFFeeebbb---000888111999---FFFeeebbb---000888222444---JJJaaannn---000888 CCCooonnnsssooollliiidddaaattteeeddd iiinnnpppuuuttt CONSOLIDATED COMMENTS: INPUT RECEIVED FROM C. FALVA (ISDE), O. SPERANSKAYA (ECO- ACCORD) AND IFCS SECRETARIAT (AS OF 22 FEB 2008) LEAD AND CADMIUM: NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION? C. Flavo: - Why do we want a question mark in the title? It seems to me that the case for concern is very clear and the title should reflect this. IFCS secretariat: Title - The scope and focus of the session has evolved since the FSC meeting last June. I think revisiting the title is important - the suggested new title or including something along the following lines as a subtitle ("arising from international transport via trade" ) will clearly convey to the reader the topic scope of the Forum VI plenary session and help everyone stay focused and on track (which will be a challenge I fear with such a hot topic as lead and cadmium.). The agenda for Forum VI can be revised (I anticipate a revision to be issued anyway following the FSC meeting in Bangkok as several other WGs will ask the FSC to consider the most appropriate - accurate - title for their session/paper .) Prepared by The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) On behalf of the Government of Germany/Lead Sponsor [date] General comments: C. Flavo: - The reference list is not in the format of the text references. This made it difficult to find the information needed. The format for reference list and text references needs to be brought into agreement or two lists--references for the paper and a bibliography, need to be genereated. IIIFFFCCCSSS///FFFSSSCCC///WWWGGG LLLeeeaaaddd aaannnddd CCCaaadddmmmiiiuuummm///000444 DDDrrraaafffttt 222222---FFFeeebbb---000888111999---FFFeeebbb---000888222444---JJJaaannn---000888 CCCooonnnsssooollliiidddaaattteeeddd iiinnnpppuuuttt This IFCS reference paper was prepared by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) on behalf of the Government of Germany/Lead Sponsor. [contact info, if any] DDDrrraaafffttt 222222---FFFeeebbb---000888111999---FFFeeebbb---000888222444---JJJaaannn---000888 Lead and Cadmium: Need for International Action? Prepared by The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) On behalf of the Government of Germany/Lead Sponsor [authors] [Date] Table of Contents 1. Introduction.............................................................................................................. 11 1.1. Background and Purpose of Reference Document ........................................... 11 1.2. Scope and Structure of Reference Document ..................................................... 3 2. Framing the Issue..................................................................................................... 44 2.1. Toxicity and Eco-toxicity................................................................................. 44 2.1.1. Lead........................................................................................................... 44 2.1.2. Cadmium................................................................................................... 55 2.2. International Trade Flows................................................................................. 66 2.2.1. Lead........................................................................................................... 66 2.2.2. Cadmium................................................................................................... 77 2.3. Exposures to Lead and Cadmium Resulting from International Trade ............ 88 2.3.1. Primary production and exports................................................................ 88 2.3.2. Imported products..................................................................................... 99 2.3.3. Wastes................................................................................................... 1010 2.4. International Agreements that Apply to Trade in Lead and Cadmium......... 1111 2.4.1. Rotterdam Convention.......................................................................... 1111 2.4.2. Basel Convention.................................................................................. 1212 2.4.3. Other agreements .................................................................................. 1313 3. Considerations for Whether Trade in a Hazardous Substance May Present an International Concern .......................................................................................... 1413 3.1. Certain Substances or Activities Present an Unacceptable Risk to Human Health or the Environment ........................................................................... 1414 3.2. An Act or Omission by One or More Countries May Increase the Risk of Harm to Others ....................................................................................................... 1515 3.3. Countries Find It Difficult or Impossible to Protect Themselves Unilaterally from Increased Risk...................................................................................... 1616 4. Discussion of Whether Trade in Lead and Cadmium May Present an International Concern................................................................................................................ 1818 IIIFFFCCCSSS///FFFSSSCCC///WWWGGG LLLeeeaaaddd aaannnddd CCCaaadddmmmiiiuuummm///000444 DDDrrraaafffttt 222222---FFFeeebbb---000888111999---FFFeeebbb---000888222444---JJJaaannn---000888 CCCooonnnsssooollliiidddaaattteeeddd iiinnnpppuuuttt 4.1. Do Lead and Cadmium Present an Unacceptable Risk to Human Health or the Environment? ............................................................................................... 1818 4.2. Do Trade-Related Actions Increase the Risk of Harm from Lead and Cadmium? .................................................................................................... 2020 4.3. Do Countries Have Difficulty Protecting Themselves Unilaterally? ........... 2121 [References] .................................................................................................................. 2525 DDDrrraaafffttt 222222---FFFeeebbb---000888111999---FFFeeebbb---000888222444---JJJaaannn---000888 Lead and Cadmium: Need for International Action? Prepared by The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) On behalf of the Government of Germany/Lead Sponsor [authors] [date] 1. Introduction 1.1. Background and Purpose of Reference Document 1. At the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) held in Budapest 25-29 September 2006, Forum V adopted a statement on mercury, lead, and cadmium urging IFCS participants and the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) to “consider actions at the local, national, regional and global levels for mercury, lead and cadmium, as appropriate, with particular emphasis on the needs of developing countries and countries with economies in transition.”1 This reference document and the Forum VI session on lead and cadmium respond to this request by examining whether the dispersal of lead and cadmium through international trade of these metals as commodities and in products and wastes may warrant coordinated international action to protect human health and the environment. The reference document analyzes whether such trade may lead to problems that cannot be addressed by countries acting alone, whether those problems may rise to the level of an international concern, and thus whether they call for a coordinated international approach to addressing them. The reference document and Forum session are intended to complement other ongoing United Nations work on lead and cadmium, by providing input to discussions on the subject that may take place in 2009 at the second International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM-2) and the Twenty-Fifth Session of the UNEP Governing Council. 2. This important issue is not new. The IFCS and Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) addressed it during the 1990s, each exploring criteria for when a chemical might warrant international action. During that time, the UNEP Governing Council requested IFCS to develop recommendations on international 1 IFCS Forum V, The Budapest Statement on Mercury, Lead and Cadmium, para. 10 (2006) (IFCS/FORUM-V/05w, Executive Summary , para. 10 (2006) http://www.who.int/ifcs/documents/forums/forum5/report/en/index.html ) 1 DDDrrraaafffttt 222222---FFFeeebbb---000888111999---FFFeeebbb---000888222444---JJJaaannn---000888 action for an initial list of 12 persistent organic pollutants (POPs).2 In recommending to the Governing Council that negotiation of a legally binding instrument should commence, IFCS suggested that the “process should incorporate criteria pertaining to persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity and exposure in different regions.”3 These criteria eventually evolved into the POPs criteria adopted in the Stockholm Convention, including