Support for International Action to Eliminate Persistent Organic Pollutants

[摘要]

THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION,

Recognizing that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are transported globally;¹ persist in the environment, bioaccumulate and biomagnify in food chains, and build up in the body fat of humans and animals; and

Noting, as did APHA Policy Statement #9304 (Recognizing and Addressing the Environmental and Occupational Health Problems Posed by Chlorinated Organic Chemicals) that many POPs are known to adversely affect human and animal reproduction;² growth and development;³ immune function;⁴ and neurological function;⁵ and are known or suspected to cause various cancers;⁶ and

Noting as well that the WFPHA has recognized this problem by resolution in May 1998 and established an educational project to provide its member associations with information on this topic; and

Understanding further that these effects may be seen at levels similar to those already present in the environment,⁷ and developing fetuses and young children are especially vulnerable;⁸ and

Recognizing that protecting human health and the environment from POPs cannot be accomplished by national regulatory actions alone, but rather requires a global commitment to reduce and ultimately eliminate them; and

Observing that international negotiations toward a global POPs Convention are underway, and negotiators expect to conclude a legally binding agreement by the end of the year 2000;⁹ and

Recognizing that sufficient evidence of human and eco-toxicity exists for 12 POPs—aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, dioxins, endrin, furans, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, PCBs, and toxaphene—(that) the

Intergovernmental Forum for Chemical Safety has targeted these for immediate action under the global Convention;¹⁰ and

Understanding that a number of additional POPs may pose similar but less well-documented threats to the environment and human health;¹¹ and

Appreciating that scientific certainty about the toxicity of some POPs may be impossible to achieve, particularly of those POPs beyond the initial list of ¹², but that additional study is nonetheless needed; and

Noting, as did APHA Policy Statement #9606 (The Precautionary Principle and Chemical Exposure Standards for the Workplace), that the precautionary principle, as outlined in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) states that “where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation;¹² and

Acknowledging that the successful elimination of POPs will require the development and implementation of safer, more sustainable alternative products, processes, and materials, many of which already exist; and

Recognizing, as did APHA Policy Statement #9607 (Prevention of Dioxin Generation from PVC Plastic Use by Health Care Facilities), that pollution prevention is the most effective means of reducing and eliminating the formation and

release of POPs, such as dioxins and furans, that are by-products of human industry; and

Understanding that the disposal of stockpiled POPs and POP-contaminated soils by some methods, including high-temperature incineration, may itself lead to the formation and release of POPs;¹³ and

Recognizing that developing countries and economies in transition are in many cases severely contaminated, yet these same countries are without the necessary infrastructure to effectively implement commitments made under a POP elimination Convention, including the environmentally sound disposal of POP stockpiles and the replacement of POPs and POP-producing technologies with safer alternatives; therefore,

1. Urges the international community to conclude a legally binding POPs Convention by the end of the year 2000;
2. Urges the United States government to support the principles outlined above in global POPs negotiations;
3. Urges the United States to sign the POPs Convention in Stockholm, May 2001; 
4. Asserts that POPs are inherently unmanageable substances and that the ultimate goal for the global Convention is the elimination of POPs and their significant anthropogenic sources, where feasible and as soon as possible; 
5. Supports immediate global action under the Convention to eliminate the use and production of aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, and toxaphene;
6. Supports an immediate end to the production and use of new PCBs, and a phase-out of existing PCBs in use within a reasonable time frame;
7. Urges reductions in the production and use of DDT as much as possible without compromise to human health, with the ultimate aim of a complete phase-out, and that the Convention work closely with the World Health Organization to develop and implement safer, cost-effective alternatives for malaria control;
8. Strongly encourages a pollution prevention approach to dioxins, furans, and other by-product POPs, emphasizing the use of alternative products, processes, and materials as source elimination strategies, with the ultimate aim of eliminating all significant anthropogenic sources and releases of POPs by-products; 
9. Supports the destruction of POP stockpiles by means that do not themselves generate POPs, and mandate measures to address POP-contaminated soils, sediments and other environmental reservoirs, 
10. Urges that POPs, once their production and use are banned, should not be traded, except perhaps for the purpose of their environmentally sound destruction, and that the POPs Convention must not be subordinated to international trade rules;
11. Recommends that all POPs, once identified for action under the Convention, be slated for eventual elimination, that the Convention employ country-specific and use-specific exemptions to address countries’ special needs during phase-out periods;
12. Urges that additional chemicals be identified for elimination using science-based criteria, including their capacity for long-range transport, persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity, and that the thresholds set for numeric criteria should allow for the capture of significant POPs of concern;
13. Recommends aggressive programs of toxicity testing directed to the many chemicals whose toxic effects remain unknown, evaluating these chemicals both individually and in combination, and addressing the broad range of relevant health outcomes, including carcinogenicity and mutagenicity; endocrine activity; and developmental, immune, neurological, and reproductive toxicity; 
14. Urges that developed nations provide technical assistance and funding to less developed nations directly, through multilateral agreements, and through existing financial assistance mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility, to support the elimination of POPs, including support for the implementation of alternative means of malaria vector and disease control; 
15. Supports the principles of just transition, protecting the livelihoods of workers and communities affected by the elimination of POPs;
16. Pays careful attention to the occupational health of workers engaged in the elimination of POPs; and
17. Strongly encourages the U.S. to support the development and use of alternatives to DDT including, but not limited to, integrated vector management for malaria control in developing countries, through direct development assistance, the World Health Organization, and other international efforts.

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References

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13. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Disposal of bulk quantities of obsolete pesticides in developing countries. 1996.

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[发布日期] 2000-01-01

[学科分类] 医学（综合）