Alternatives-----
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 09:10:23 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
Senior Research
Scientist
State of California,
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Integrated Pest
Management
Dear Lyndon, I thought you might like to read an e-mail I received today that shows people all over the world are trying to eliminate some of your "registered" POISONS and to find safe(r) alternatives.
Bonn, Germany - WWF, the conservation organization, today urged governments to eliminate 12 of the most deadly toxic chemicals, and provide financial and technical assistance to help the developing world move toward safer alternatives.
As delegates from more than 100 countries meet next week in Bonn, Germany, on a global treaty related to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), WWF wanted the elimination of the chemicals, instead of regulation, as the central focus. (Some other people realize "regulation" actually seems to be a synonym for CONTAMINATION!)
Other key questions at the United Nations treaty's fourth negotiation session beginning Monday, March 20, include the elimination of dioxin releases, and funding.
WWF feels it will be crucial to determine who will fund developing countries to help them move toward alternatives to POPs. If these - and many more - issues are not resolved in Bonn, the final treaty could be significantly weaker than expected.
"POPs are the super-hurricanes of the chemical world," said Clifton Curtis, Director of WWF's Global Toxic Chemicals Initiative. "They cannot be controlled, are completely unpredictable and wreak untold havoc on the environment. It is essential for delegates to ensure that elimination is the central goal and that funds and technical assistance are made available for the developing world to move away from these dangerous substances."
POPs are linked to health problems in humans and wildlife. They can travel thousands of kilometres in the air and break down in the environment extremely slowly. Studies associate them with birth defects, cancer and developmental problems. There is no way to escape POPs - they are detected in the bodies of every man, woman, child and animal on the planet.
For more information, contact:
Clifton Curtis, tel.: +1 202-861 8379
(available on March 16 until 15:30 Washington DC time)
Lee Poston or Olivier Van Bogaert,
tel.: +41-76 338 05 10 (mobile)
From Friday 17 March, at Hotel Insel, Bonn,
tel.: +49-2-28-350-00
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The twelve chemicals targeted under the POPs process are hexachlorobenzene (listed in two forms: as a fungicide and as an industrial chemical), endrin, mirex, toxaphene, chlordane, heptachlor, DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, furans.
2. WWF will have a team of experts in Bonn available to discuss the scientific and policy implications of the negotiations. WWF also has clear, concise issue papers and back ground data on POPs, available at: www.worldwildlife.org/toxics/pubres/pubsvideos.htm. In addition, WWF will participate in a joint press briefing in Bonn on Monday, March 20 immediately following the UNEP press briefing, and will then hold a colorful photo opportunity.
Well Lyndon, while many of your previously "registered" POISONS are no longer legally for sale in our country - they are in fact still "legally" contaminating us and/or illegally being misused! When will you begin to look for safe alternatives rather than more "registered" POISON use/misuse?
Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten
Please!
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