The Hindu Business Line : `Data on organic pollutants needed'

THE one-day awareness workshop on the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), organised by CII-Kerala, emphasised the need for good data collection on the dirty dozen chemicals.

In his inaugural address, Mr K.V. Indulal, Member Secretary, Kerala State Pollution Control Board stressed the importance of government bodies in educating the industry and providing feedback for the national implementation plan on POPs. Treatment of biomedical waste is an area of concern, and alternatives beyond incinerators have to be looked into.

The Stockholm Convention on POPs is an internationally binding multilateral treaty to ban the dirty dozen chemicals. The convention envisages total eradication of chemicals such as DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, chloradane, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by 2007.

The primary sources of POPs are pesticides, insecticides, hospital waste, municipal and hazardous waste, ship repairing and ship breaking. Although India is a party to the Stockholm Convention, it is awaiting ratification.

The CII, along with Associated Environment Engineers Pvt Ltd (AEEPL) Vadodara, is the project partner in the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on POPs.

Dr Smita Pradhan, Director, AEEPL stressed the need for a national implementation plan to eradicate POPs by 2007. R&D facilities in Kerala to tackle POPs need focus, she said. There was a need for a system to combat dioxins and furans to eradicate PCBs.

In the open session that followed the presentation on POPs, unintentional production of waste was identified as the main reason for POPs.

Mr K.K. Gangadharan, Additional Director of Agriculture, State Government, highlighted the steps taken by the agricultural department such as promoting biological methods and banning majority of pesticides among POPs.

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