Chemicals and Waste for Sustainable Development - UNDP work on Persistent Organic Pollutants

7/27/2019 Chemicals and Waste for Sustainable Development - UNDP work on Persistent Organic Pollutants

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Contents

Copy goes here

ChemiCals

and Waste

management

for sustainable

development

Rsuts from UNDPwor to protct

humn hth ndnironmnt fromPrsistnt Orgnic

Poutnts


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Foreword 2

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) 4

UNDP and the Stockholm Convention 4

Cumulative results from UNDP supported projects towards the implementation 7

of the Stockholm Convention

Activity areas and country stories 8

Sound management and disposal of POPs pesticides 8

Chinese Farmers Plant a Seed for a Chemical-Free Future 9

Sustainable management of POPs in Mauritius 11

Sound Management and Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) 13

Mexico - Environmentally Sound Management and Destruction of PCBs 13

Avoiding the release of unintentionally produced POPs (UPOPs) 17

Reducing unintentional releases of POPs from healthcare waste management 18

Knowledge products developed in implementing the Stockholm 20

Convention provisions

Table of Contents


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Foreword

The use o chemicals permeates modern lie. Chemicals play animportant role in development, including through the production

and use o lie-saving medicines, purication agents or treating

drinking water supplies, and agricultural chemicals that boost on-

arm productivity. However, in the absence o proper management

practices the use o chemicals can pose signicant risks to human

health and the environment, particularly to the poorest and most

vulnerable population groups.

At the United Nations Conerence on Sustainable Development

(Rio+20) countries rearmed the aim to achieve, by 2020, the sound

management o chemicals and hazardous waste throughout their

lie cycle and in ways that lead to minimization o signicant adverse

eects on human health and the environment.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) thus promotes the sound management and disposal

o chemicals as an important aspect o our work to reduce global poverty and promote human health under

the ramework o the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that adversely aect human health and environmental

quality when released into the air, water or soil. Even in small quantities, POPs can wreak havoc in human and

animal tissue, causing nervous system damage, immune system diseases, reproductive or developmental

disorders, and cancers. These pollutants have been given special regulatory attention because they persist in

ecosystems or extended periods o time, are capable o travelling long distances on wind and water currents,

and increase in concentration within ood chains.


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The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty designed to protect human

health and the environment rom chemicals that do not degrade in the environment or long periods o time,

are widely distributed geographically, and accumulate in the atty tissues o humans and wildlie. Exposureto POPs can lead to serious health eects, including certain types o cancer, birth deects, developmental

problems, dysunctional immune and reproductive systems, and generally greater susceptibility to disease.

Given the long-range dispersion o POPs on wind and water currents, no single government acting alone can

protect its citizens or environment rom exposure to POPs. The Stockholm Convention, which was adopted

in 2001 and entered into orce in 2004, requires countries that are parties to it to take measures to eliminate

or restrict the production and use o all POPs that are intentionally produced. The Convention also encourages

countries to undertake continuous reductions in the amounts o POPs that are unintentionally produced,

and to adopt the use o environmentally sound alternative processes and chemicals while promoting sound

management o wastes and contaminated products.

UNDP and the Stockholm Convention

UNDP has actively been supporting developing countries, and countries with economies in transition, in

their eorts to reduce and eliminate POPs and meet the objectives o the Stockholm Convention.

UNDP activities in chemicals and waste management are undertaken under the ramework o the Strategic

Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). Wherever possible and appropriate, UNDP POPs

activities are undertaken within a countrys ramework or sound management o chemicals, to ensure national

coordination among chemicals-related activities in support o regional or global conventions and agreements on

chemicals. UNDPs key approaches to helping countries advance the sound management o chemicals include:

Campaigning and mobilization - Advocacy and awareness building among stakeholders about POPsmanagement and sound management o chemicals.

Analysis and capacity building - Identication o innovative practices, policies and institutional reormsto help countries put in place eective POPs and chemicals management structures that are inormed by

strategic needs assessments and nancial evaluations.

Technical Assistance - Specic impact-driven technical assistance or addressing national challenges andconstraints aecting the management o POPs and other chemicals.

Monitoring and integration - Assistance to countries in tracking progress on mainstreaming o POPs prioritiesand sound chemicals management into broader national development strategies.

The Stockholm

Convention onPersistent OrganicPollutants (POPs)


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Many o the challenges and priorities relating to the reduction and elimination o POPs require enhancement

o national capacities with respect to human resources development and institutional strengthening, as well

as increased availability o technical knowledge and training opportunities. As the United Nations global

development network, with an on-the-ground presence in 166 countries, UNDP is well placed to assist

countries in gaining the knowledge, experience and resources required to tackle POPs management and

elimination issues.

UNDP assists countries in meeting their commitments under the Stockholm Convention, including:

Meeting reporting obligations, sharing lessons learned and adopting global best practices.

Building necessary capacity to implement POPs risk reduction measures, including the disposal o POPsand POPs waste.

Reducing the exposure and release o POPs to protect human health and the environment.

Demonstrating eective alternative technologies and practices that avoid POPs releases.

During the early years o the Conventions implementation, much o the ocus was on national planning aswell as building necessary national capacity, meeting countries reporting obligations, and compiling the rst

National Implementation Plans (NIPs).

This initial national POPs planning phase covering the original 12 POPs has now been completed. Hence

UNDPs country level action has shited towards implementing the activities to address POPs priorities that

were included in the NIPs.

The map above shows countries where UNDP has been present rom October 2005 till February 2013, as a

GEF-Implementing Agency or Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) projects.


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UNDP is supporting 44 countries (as o February 2013) to implement POPs related projects , as well as

implementing three global and one regional programme with a combined portolio o projects amounting

to US $100 million o grants (programmed through the GEF) and co-nancing o US $163 million. Figure 1

depicts the total project unding by region.

UNDP-supported country projects and global programmes address a variety o national and Stockholm

Convention priorities, as well as GEF Strategic Objectives. Through the implementation o projects, UNDP

supports the reduction and elimination o all types o POPs contaminants included under the Stockholm

Convention (see Figure 2), covering a multitude o sectors and activities. A project may address the management

o multiple POPs contaminants. This approach is particularly eective in smaller countries while bigger countries

tend to benet more rom sector-wide approaches.

These sectors and activities range rom POPs-ree agricultural practices to reduction o unintentional POPs

releases related to medical waste disposal, and rom sound management o PCBs contained in equipment to

minimization o the exposure levels o communities living close to contaminated areas.

Total UNDP Project Funding

Projectfunding,

US$

millions

Project co-nancing

GEF grant nancing

2.9

0.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

GlobalLatinAmerica

& CAR

Europe& CIS

Asia &Pacic

ArabStates

Africa

12

17

4

7

30

63

19

31

22

33

13

12

UNDP portfolio by categories of POPs, %

Unintentionllal POPs (furans dioxins)

Multi POPs Contaminants

PCBs

Pesticide POPs43

15

25

18

Figur 1: Gogrphic distriution of UNDP impmntd procts on POPs.

Figur 2: Distriution of UNDPs procts y ctgoris of POPs ddrssd.


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Cumulative results from UNDP supported projects towards the implementation

of the Stockholm Convention

Because UNDP POPs projects encompass a wide variety o POPs substances and approaches, reporting

on the portolio requires aggregating the results across groups o contaminants. In order to demonstrate

the results achieved by the POPs portolio, our indicators have been selected in the ollowing three areas:

strengthening o national regulations, capacity building at the national level, and global and local health and

environmental impact.

The selected four indicators include: i) number o national overarching POPs or sector regulations adopted;

ii) number o people receiving training in POPs management or POPs alternatives (more than 3 days o

training); iii) POPs chemicals disposed; and iv) POPs chemicals saeguarded.

As most projects are still under implementation, the results shown below do not refect the aggregated

nal results rom the ongoing programs. Thereore, the compilation o the aggregated results on the

POPs projects implemented by UNDP was done in a way to refect the numerous successes made on the

national level to address POPs issues, as well as the emphasis on regulatory strengthening and capacity

building in the projects under implementation. Important and valuable experiences have been gained in the

sae guarding and disposing o POPs and how to eectively eliminate them rom the environment. The

cumulative amounts o POPs disposed have been accelerating in recent years as the ocus is shiting romcapacity building to direct POPs handling and release-avoiding activities.

T 1: Cumuti rsuts sd on sctd indictors of UNDP POPs portfoio

INDICaTOR CUMUlaTIve ReSUlT

Number o national POPs regulative instruments adopted 23

Number o people trained in POPs management/alternatives 193, 103

POPs disposed (metric tonnes) 3,014

POPs saeguarded (metric tonnes) 1,948


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Activity areas and

country storiesSound management and disposal of POPs pesticides

UNDP assists countries in the implementation o POPs pesticides projects, building countries capacity

to soundly manage and dispose o POPs pesticides. UNDP is currently assisting our countries with the

implementation o ve POPs pesticide projects. There are also POPs multi-contaminant projects implemented

by UNDP that include important POPs pesticide components.

With respect to the sound management and disposal o POPs pesticides, UNDP supports countries in:

Developing national capacity to saely manage and dispose o obsolete POPs pesticide stockpiles.This involvestraining in how to identiy, label, remove and transport obsolete POPs pesticides, improvement o national

storage acilities and inrastructure to allow or the temporary sae storage o obsolete POPs pesticides, and

identication o environmentally sound solutions or nal disposal.

Promoting sustainable alternatives to POPs pesticides.This involves testing o POPs-ree alternatives, awarenessbuilding about POPs-ree alternatives, support or the conversion o POPs production technologies into

POPs-ree production opportunities, and application o Integrated Pest Management practices where

possible.

In China, UNDP supports the implementation o two POPs pesticide management projects. The rst project

supports testing o alternatives to promote production o POPs-ree pesticides instead o DDT-based ones.

The project also promotes Integrated Pest Management practices as an alternative to POPs and to reduce

the countrys reliance on pesticides (see box or details). The second project supports the phase-out o

DDT used as an anti-ouling ingredient in marine paints.


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Chinese Farmers Plant a Seed for a Chemical-Free Future1

Seventy year-old Dang Jiuru dreamed o sending his grandson to university, but until recently his lielongambition seemed destined to remain unullled. His apple orchard in Luochuan County, Shaanxi Province,

simple did not make enough money. But just two years since he took the bold step o abandoning toxic

dicool pesticides produced rom DDT, his grandsons university und is now growing almost as ast as his

apples.

This part o Chinas Loess Plateau eatures average altitudes o 1,100 meters and deep mineral-r ich soil thus

making the area perect or growing nutritious ruit. Like most armers he knew however, Dang elt he had

to rely on chemicals to protect his ruit rom the lea mites that thrive in the regions semi-arid monsoon

climate.

I you had asked me to stop using chemicals a ew years ago, I would have just smiled and carried on

spraying my trees, explains Dang. I thought I couldnt aord to stop using pesticides and that they were

the only way to saeguard my income, but it turns out they were actually limiting it.

With the ability to destroy entire mite colonies, DDT-based dicool pesticides oered armers a cheap,

eective and quick solution to the problem. What Dang didnt know, was that those same pesticides that

he thought were protecting his amilys income were the very reason his apples had never sold or more

than 2 yuan (US$0.30) per ki logram.

1 The story o the project was written by Adam Pitt and was among the winners o UNDP annual storytelling competition and was eatured inVolume 2 o The Development Advocate published in 28 January 2013

Dang Jiuru smiles as he collects an apple rom his orchard in Luochuan County, Shaanxi Province.


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International treaties like the Stockholm Convention that aim to control the use o DDT and its production

or use as chemical ingredients, and strict health and saety standards in other countries, meant more

protable overseas markets were not an option or Dang as long as he continued using DDT-based

pesticides.

Training in Farming Techniques

Now, with the establishment o three demonstration projects and regular training provided by local and

international experts, Dang is one o 100,000 armers in three provinces being trained each year to adapt

their arming techniques to international conventions and trading standards. This joint our-year project

was initiated by UNDP and Chinas Ministry o Environmental Protection, and with US$6 million unding

rom the Global Environment Facility, it is also helping armers to remove their dependence on so-called

persistent organic pollutants altogether. These pollutants include DDT-based pesticides and have been

linked to serious health complications in people who come into contact with them.

Many o the new pest management techniques are simple, such as cultivating grass around the base o

trees to provide a habitat or natural mite predators. Others involve more complex scientic technologies,

with UNDP project experts providing scientic and biological guidance on the sae introduction o new

predatory mite species into local ecosystems. And despite the larger investment in time and management

that is required, interest has spread quickly and many armers have already graduated and become trainers

themselves in Luochuan County, where Dang has his arm.

Similar success in Hubei and Shandong provinces has seen thousands o citrus and cotton producers turn

their backs on dicool-based pesticides in avor o healthier, more sustainable arming practices.

Monitoring Progress

Over time armers have learnt to record the eectiveness o their new cultivation methods in personal

log-books, allowing communities to monitor the quality o their produce and take measures to avoid

potential problems beore they emerge. These eorts have been urther enhanced by pest monitoring and

orecasting centers, and a pesticide residue testing station set up under the project has provided regular

guidance in compliance with international agricultural production standards.

In line with Chinas compliance with the Stockholm Convention, the project has helped minimize the

amount o DDT released at a actory in Jiangsu Province and shut down production lines at two other

actories in Hubei and Shandong. Annual reductions o 180 metric tonnes in DDT emissions and 350 metric

tonnes o DDT contaminated waste released during production have also been achieved.

Together with the new skills being used on most o Luochuans 300 square kilometers o apple orchards,

reduced pesticide use has seen annual apple production reach 700,000 tonnes equivalent to an average

o 3.5 tonnes or each o the 200,000 people living in the county. Better quality apples now sell or 6 yuan

($0.90) per kilogram and plans are underway to diversiy their use.

As or Dang, now a trainer himsel, he is busy making preparations to join the growing number o armers

who are selling their apples to markets in Europe. And with a good harvest oering his amily the chance

to pocket 12 percent more per hectare than they did last year and invest in his grandsons education, who

could blame him? One thing he is sure about though is that he wont be going back chemicals, even i it at

one point he did consider them to be an easier option.


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Sustainable management of POPs in Mauritius

The use o POPs in the Republic o Mauritius has largely been restricted to PCBs in transormers and DDT

as a malaria vector control agent. Small amounts o other pesticides have been used in the past, but were

never applied in signicant amounts. Imports, exports and use o all POPs except DDT are already orbidden

in Mauritius. The inventory o POPs, undertaken during the preparation o the National Implementation

Plan, identied that there are 116 tonnes o DDT, 5 tonnes o PCB containing oil, and 0.1 tonnes o other

pesticides. The application o PCBs in transormers was halted in the 1980s; however there were still some

transormers in use that contained PCBs. DDT was still being applied or vector control until end 2011,

albeit in moderate amounts (around 600 kg/yr.). As can be seen, the DDT inventory was large and in norelation to modest annual use.

The owners o remaining obsolete POPs inventories have handed these over or nal disposal. However,

as oten is the case in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), there are no disposal acilities or liquid and

very limited capacity or solid hazardous waste available in country. Thereore, owners have not been able

to dispose o these quantities in a responsible way. Continued storage, as well as incorrect disposal, will

increase the potential or release to the environment; it is or this reason that a one-time POPs disposal

program was essential.

The use o DDT has already led to soil contamination around past and current storage sites. The improper

handling during the transer o DDT into spraying equipment as well as deteriorated packaging keeps

adding to this contamination. Remediation o these storage sites is possible, but better management will

be mandatory to avoid uture contamination. This would entail repackaging, a loss-ree transer system

and, to reduce the extent o the problem, disposal o the surplus DDT inventory.

Thereore, UNDP has been assisting the Government o Mauritius in developing and implementing a project

co-unded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The overall objective o the project is to address the

rst two national priorities related to the reduction and elimination o POPs as identied by the Republic

o Mauritius in its 2005 National Implementation Plan (NIP): i) disposal o obsolete POPs chemicals and

clean-up o POPs-contaminated areas; and ii) development o alternative strategies or malaria vector

management with reduced or eliminated reliance on DDT.

UNDP-GEF project at SSR National hospital, Mauritius, repacking stored DDT or transportation to fnal disposal.


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Sae disposal and saeguarding o POPs

The project has, so ar, assisted to re-package and ship abroad 138 tonnes o DDT and 5 tonnes o PCBs

and PCB contaminated transormers. It means that virtually all POPs waste in Mauritius are saely disposed

o and only 5 tonnes o DDT will be saeguarded in Pamplemousses storage site, as a precautionary

measure in case o Malaria outbreak. Soil remediation o three sites (Mahebourg hospital, Fort George, and

Pamplemousses) has been carried out. Disposal and remediation at such level demonstrate the increased

awareness and will o the governmental and all interested stakeholders to address the issue o hazardous

waste management. This work wouldnt have been possible without increased co-nancing rom the

Government o the Mauritius.

Development o alternatives without use o POPs

The project acilitated identication, testing and selection, o eective and sae alternatives to DDT such as

pyrethroids. All DDT spraying in sea and airport areas have been discontinued since the end o 2011 (600

kg used annually beore the project start) and replaced with tested alternatives.

As part o eorts to reduce the dependence on DDT or controlling the spread o malaria, the project is

helping Mauritius to develop an Integrated Vector Management (IVM) strategy. IVM is being piloted at

village level to cross-check the eectiveness o the implementation o IVM strategy and ecacy o the

identied IVM elements, such as the local surveillance o mosquito breeding places, sae use o chosen

pyrethroids alternative. The work on piloting the new IVM strategy is being properly documented with

evidence and recommendations on decentralization approaches, and will be submitted to the Government.

A Central Database Management System is being developed by the project team to establish a progress

monitoring system to cross-check the eectiveness o the implementation o IVM strategy and ecacy

o the identiied IVM elements, such as the local surveillance o mosquito breeding places, sae use o

pyrethroids instead o DDT (which will be more suitable or in-door spraying), and protection with

bed nets.

Capacity building

Several project activities and the development o guidance documents have been important contributing

actors in urther developing the capacity o project stakeholders in saeguarding the existing obsolete

stockpiles. First and oremost, the backstopping o project activities by a Project Steering Committee

involving several line Ministries, private and non-governmental stakeholders provides or a continuous

platorm or inter-disciplinary discussion, inormation exchange and project improvement. In addition,

the development o guidance documents on the sae management o POPs stockpiles Saeguarding o

the POPs wastes, Identication o POPs chemicals and certied containers, Legal Review o regulations

and laws governing the storage, handling, and disposal o POPs, and the potential remediation o highly

contaminated POPs sites on Mauritius have led towards adoption o good practices.


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Sound Management and Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

The largest part o UNDPs POPs project portolio ocuses on the sound management and nal disposal

o PCBs. To date, GEF unding has been approved or UNDP-supported PCB management activities in

the ollowing 16 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Jordan, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Slovak Republic and Uruguay.

With respect to the management and disposal o PCBs, UNDP supports these countries in:

Strengthening legal rameworks and improving enorcement capacity pertaining to PCB management byaddressing gaps in national PCB management regulations and creating an enabling environment or the

environmentally sound management and destruction o PCBs.

Undertaking additional PCB inventories to identiy remaining geographically dispersed PCBs and sensitive sites,or example by identiying small and medium-sized enterprises possessing a portion o the remaining

inventory.

Improving PCB management practices (such as handling, storage, transport, and destruction) by providingtechnical guidance on management and sae disposal o PCBs and training or government ocials, handlers

o PCB-containing equipment, and other private sector entities, to ensure the sound management o PCBs

throughout their lie cycle.

Ensuring sae disposal o PCBs in collaboration with PCB-containing equipment holders, by developing saedomestic disposal acilities, acilitating export o PCB waste to sae disposal acilities abroad, and improving

coordination among PCB holders to lower the cost o transport and destruction o PCBs.

Implementing public awareness campaigns and communication strategies to support all o the above activities.

Mexico - Environmentally Sound Management and Destruction of PCBs2

Mexico signed the Stockholm Convention on 23 May 2001 and ratied it on 10 February 2003, becoming the

rst Latin American nation to ratiy the Stockholm Convention. Environmentally sound management o PCBs

and their sae phase out are national priorities as outlined in Mexicos National Implementation Plan (NIP) or

the Stockholm Convention, which was submitted on 12 February 2008.

2 The case study was published in Success Stories o Stockholm Convention 2001-2011


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The Federal Ministry o Environment o Mexico (SEMARNAT), with support rom GEF, UNDP and the Ministry

o Energy (SENER), is working towards eliminating the threat rom PCBs to human health by instituting a

necessary legal ramework, building capacity, raising awareness and piloting innovative schemes to cost-

eectively manage and destroy PCBs. These eorts aim to implement activities to ensure Mexicos compliance

with Stockholm Convention requirements or PCB management and destruction through the ollow-up to

the NIP, thereby minimizing risks o exposure rom PCBs to Mexicans, including vulnerable populations, andto the environment.

In Mexico, the national inventory originally estimated about 31,000 tonnes o PCB-containing materials

above the norms, indicating that the whole country is aected by PCBs. As some o the sources o PCBs are

located in populated areas and sensitive sites such as hospitals, water supply wells, education establishments,

etc., the PCBs have a potential to adversely aect society, especially children and workers, i let unchecked

and unmanaged. Considering the extent o the PCB issue and the potential risks to human health and the

environment, the Government o Mexico and UNDP initiated in 2009 a project, co-unded by GEF, to address

the situation.

The project, executed in partnership with SEMARNAT, aims at strengthening the capacity or a sound

management o PCBs, materials and equipment which may contain or may be contaminated by PCBs. To

achieve these goals, the project is implementing various activities, ranging rom a legal review and an

inventory o PCBs to piloting innovative schemes or PCB management and destruction as well as raising

awareness on the health and environmental consequences o poor PCB management. The project is also

expected to destroy 3,215 tonnes o PCBs, which constitute about 10.6% o the total estimated remaining

national inventory.

UNDP-GEF project removing recycled PCB-containing materials used as building material in a community in San Felipe NuevoMercurio, Mexico.


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PCB inventory verication

The national PCB inventory verication undertaken by the project has ound PCB containing oils (over 50

ppm and most o it under 600 ppm) in approximately 6.3% o the transormers when sampling and analyzing

oils in 1,998 transormers in 713 sites located in 19 (out o the 32) states in the country. Inventory verication

shows that there are more than 37,000 tonnes o PCB containing materials over the 50 ppm limit in the

country. Moreover, hal o the samples with PCBs come rom sensitive sites: hospitals, water supply wells or

agriculture and cities, ood processing acilities and education centers. Out o 105 transormers sampled in

39 hospitals, PCBs have been determined in 9; 8 out o 109 transormers sampled in water wells had traces

o PCBs. Additionally, transormers at airports and railroad installations were sampled. Transormers in water

wells and hospitals in rural communities have yet to be sampled in detail.

Policy strengthening or PCB management

Based on the analysis o the current management practices and a regulatory gap assessment, the project has

proposed a revised technical Standard or PCB management. The proposed Standard, as a ederal regulation,

will emphasize the control o electrical maintenance workshops at municipal and provincial levels, in orderto assure proper management o PCBs-containing oils by avoiding poor management practices resulting in

urther PCB cross-contamination o transormers in Mexico. This revised Standard is already in the process o

review or adoption.

Project activities in pilot areas allowed determining that the cross-contamination caused by bad practices o

electrical maintenance workshops is the main source o PCB-containing materials. The project has developed

a general recommendations document or small and medium-size enterprises (SME) on how to manage their

electrical transormers, particularly urging them to select or servicing those maintenance workshops which

assume responsibility and undertake necessary correction measures in case PCB contamination is detected.

Since concentration o PCBs in oils is mostly below 600 ppm and 14% o samples in the inventory contain

PCB between 5 and 50 ppm, which indicate cross-contamination related to electrical maintenance

workshops, the project analyzed the hazardous waste management practices at 7 maintenance acilities.

Based on the ndings, the project put orward recommendations to lower exposure risks or employees

handling PCB-containing materials and to ensure overall environmentally sound management o PCBs and

other hazardous waste at these acilities. These recommendations were urther rened on the basis o the

experience during the training o over 40 workers o these acilities and a Best practices technical guide

or electrical maintenance workshops has been developed. In anticipation o the eventual approval o

standards o best practices, the project is undertaking a crusade to work with electrical maintenance

workshops rom the identication o the workshops in the whole country through training and up to a good

practices certication o at least 50 workshops.

Capacity-building and awareness-raising

The project is supporting the strengthening o government and private entities capacities regarding

inspection and chemical analytical techniques. For example, targeted two-day training sessions or over 350

participants rom authorities at ederal, state and municipal levels, SMEs, chemical laboratories and even re

and civil protection services have been organized; a Guide on best practices or PCBs inspection or local level

authorities has been prepared. In order to stimulate the responsible PCB waste management and increase

awareness among SMEs, the project has handed the acknowledgements o non-existence o PCBs to about

900 enterprises and sensitive sites operators during public events with representation o local authorities

and press coverage or awareness-raising.


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Community-level benets

SEMARNATs earlier study in the community o San Felipe Nuevo Mercurio (300 inhabitants) in the state

o Zacatecas ound above-limits PCBs content in the blood level o the population. As a particular case,

during the inventory o PCBs in the country, the project conrmed SEMARNATs inormation that people in

a poor community used barrels, which ormerly stored illegally imported PCB contaminated oils, as building

materials and water containers. As part o the awareness and outreach eorts, the project has disposed and

replaced 252 tonnes o PCB-contaminated materials in this small community.

Integrated Services Management System (ISMS) or PCB disposal

The high cost o destroying small quantities o PCBs is a barrier or small and medium-sized enterprises and

operators o sensitive sites, since they cannot take advantage o the economies o scale with respect to costs

o transport, interim storage and decontamination and/or destruction. Thereore, the project has devised a

PCB management system that envisages dierent actions, rom identication o PCBs, their sae storage and

transport through to their destruction and appropriate reporting to government. The Integrated Services

Management System also includes capacity-building o inspection authorities and analytical laboratories aswell as an awareness-raising and communication strategy.

Among the benets, this will allow a large number o PCB possessors to pool their waste and achieve

environmentally sound disposal o PCBs at a reasonable cost. The ISMS was developed and tested as a

pilot in a State o Guanajuato (5.5 million inhabitants) and in Cuautitln Izcalli (a municipality with 600,000

inhabitants). The ISMS is being urther tested and rened in 3 other states o the country: Nuevo Leon,

Chiapas and Distrito Federal (Mexico City). The ISMS will be later expanded to the whole country. Through

the ISMS, 81 tonnes o contaminated transormers and oils have been destroyed with project unds and 45

tonnes were destroyed by enterprises; 252 tonnes o contaminated materials in the small community and

337 tonnes were incorporated at the ocial register or eventual destruction. Results so ar demonstrate

that the unit cost o destruction or pooled PCB waste (where companies can bring as little as one piece

o equipment) is already 25% lower than beore the project and starting to approach the cost or large

possessors o PCB-containing equipment like Mexicos Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). In 2012, CFE has

destroyed 4,200 tonnes o contaminated material. In 2012, CFE has destroyed 4,200 tonnes o contaminated

material. These results demonstrate the achievement o project objectives with regard to the destruction o

contaminated materials and also the project co-nancing rom the Government o Mexico.


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Avoiding the release of unintentionally produced POPs (UPOPs)

Certain POPs, such as dioxins, urans, HCBs and PCBs, are unintentionally ormed and released during

industrial processes, and rom combustion, including uncontrolled waste burning, power plants, and waste

incinerators.

UNDP supports countries in their eorts to reduce and eliminate such unintentional releases by:

Gradual implementation o best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) or existingsources.

Use o best available techniques and best environmental practices or new sources.

UNDP is currently working on reduction o UPOPs releases through the implementation o projects at global,

regional and country levels. Individual country projects are being implemented in Kazakhstan, Nigeria and

Viet Nam. A global project is being implemented in seven countries (Argentina, India, Latvia, Lebanon,

Philippines, Senegal and Viet Nam) and a regional project is being implemented in Arica (Ghana,

Madagascar, Tanzania and Zambia).

In Viet Nam, the UPOPs activities ocus on minimizing human exposure rom highly dioxin-contaminated

areas. The project is designed to remediate these contaminated areas, which are threatening the health o

large communities by causing birth deects, and also diminishing livelihoods and economic development

prospects.

In Nigeria, the project aims to reduce UPOPs releases caused by uncontrolled burning o wastes through the

introduction o sustainable waste management practices at community level. UNDP will also support Nigeria

in taking UPOPs reducing approaches in designing waste management strategies, and reducing emissions o

UPOPs emitted by open burning agricultural practices.

The global project is a partnership between UNDP, the World Health Organization (WHO), the international

NGO Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and other major donors and partners. The project aims to minimize

emissions o dioxins and mercury rom medical waste by demonstrating and promoting best techniques and

practices or reducing healthcare waste in seven countries.

UNDP-GEF project installed autoclave technology at a biomedical waste treatment plant in Chennai,India GJ Multiclave plant, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; 2012


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Reducing unintentional releases of POPs from healthcare waste management

The health sector is a major source o dioxin and mercury releases to the global environment, primarily as

a result o low technology medical waste incineration and the breakage and improper disposal o mercury-

containing devices such as thermometers and blood-pressure meters.

The Stockholm Convention gives priority to the promotion o waste treatment technologies and practices

that are as eective as medical waste incineration and avoid the unintentional ormation and release o POPs.

However, healthcare sectors in many countries lack essential equipment and knowledge or proper waste

treatment, as well as resources or training, technical assistance and policy development.

A partnership between UNDP, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international NGO Health Care

Without Harm, as well as the private sector and other stakeholders, is assisting seven countries Argentina,

India, Latvia, Lebanon, Philippines, Senegal and Viet Nam in developing and sustaining best healthcare

waste management practices in ways that are both locally appropriate and globally replicable.

Demonstration o best practices

In each participating country, the project has developed model hospitals to demonstrate best practices in

healthcare waste management (HCWM). The project promotes the use o commercially available non-burn

waste treatment technologies, waste minimization and segregation as well as sae mercury storage and

alternatives to mercury-containing devices. Some hospitals have seen as much as an 80% reduction in the

amounts on inectious waste as a result o proper classication, segregation and waste minimization. Model

hospitals in Argentina, India and Lebanon have demonstrated the re-melting and recycling o sterilized

plastic and glass materials, thereby reducing the quantities o waste discarded in landlls. Most o the model

hospitals are now mercury ree.

Non-incineration technologies have been demonstrated in India, Latvia, Senegal, Tanzania and Viet Nam.

Procurement o non-incineration technologies is ongoing or two hospitals in the Philippines and a region in

Argentina, while nal testing o a large 5 tonnes per day autoclave to treat all health-care waste in Hanoi is

being completed at a central treatment acility in Viet Nam. The project has supported acilities in Latvia and

Lebanon to improve operations o already existing non-incineration technologies, while at the same time

improving storage acilities and waste fows. Through the project, a range o non-incineration technologies

are being demonstrated, including waste treatment autoclaves, rotating autoclaves, hybrid autoclaves,

microwave units, and alkaline digestion specically designed to replace incineration o body parts.

Development o afordable and appropriate technologies

An additional project in Tanzania with the University o Dar es Salaam has developed aordable and locally

made healthcare waste treatment technologies appropriate to conditions in much o sub-Saharan Arica.The new non-incineration technologies do not produce any dioxins and/or urans and have low operating

and maintenance costs. Test o prototypes have shown a very ecient sterilization process. The system

consists o pedal-operated autoclavable containers, an autoclave-based treatment system, compactors or

optional shredders, and sharps waste destroyers. The system eliminates the need or plastic bags and has the

potential to recycle a considerable amount o the materials ater sterilization. The autoclave can make use

o dierent electricity sources, depending on the energy source available at the medical acility. The process

o demonstrating the abrication o these new technologies has started at our manuacturing acilities (3 in

Tanzania and 1 in Senegal). The technologies continue to be eld tested at healthcare acilities in Tanzania.


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The project in Argentina has also developed a new technology. Designed by the National Technical University

o Argentina and the Global Project Team, the technology treats a dicult waste stream that until now could

only be incinerated. The novel reactor uses the Fenton reaction to destroy chemotherapy waste rom hospitalsin an environmentally riendly manner.

Policy development and capacity building

The project supported the strengthening o national policies and regulations pertaining to HCWM and

the management and phase-out o mercury containing devices in Argentina, India, Latvia, Lebanon,

Philippines and Viet Nam. The Global project team, in close collaboration with the University o Illinois in

Chicago - School o Public Health, has completed about a dozen training modules and a trainers guide to

provide comprehensive Health Care Waste Management training that can be adapted to local circumstances

in project and non-project countries. The modules are being translated in dierent languages. Another

important outcome o this project is a set o guidance documents and tools that were used by health-care

acilities to assess their health-care waste management (HCWM) situation, identiy problems, and subsequently

adopt best practices and techniques with respect to HCWM and phase-out mercury-containing devices. The

project also compiled inormation about non-incineration technologies commercially available around the

world. All these documents are ound on a project website www.gemedwaste.org.

The projects ultimate goal is protection o public health and the global environment rom the impacts

o dioxins/urans and mercury releases. Preliminary estimates indicate that best practices and techniques

initiated during the project are expected to substantially reduce annual releases o dioxins (by 187 g I-TEQ)

and mercury (by 2,910 kg) to the environment rom the participating countries healthcare sectors.


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Most UNDP implemented projects are introducing new approaches and practices that oten result in various

technical guidelines with varying regulative status at national level. These guidelines typically draw upon

international guidelines developed under the Stockholm and Basel Conventions, while adapting to local

conditions and languages.

In addition to national technical guidelines and awareness materials, general knowledge products have also

been developed in areas where traditionally, less attention has been given to POPs and other hazardous

substances o global concern. UNDP implemented projects have been particularly active in developing

innovative guidance materials on POPs and mercury releases rom health care waste acilities and operations.

The table below contains links to selected technical guidelines and inormation materials developed by

UNDP supported projects.

The map above shows countries where UNDP has been present rom October 2005 till February 2013, as a

GEF-Implementing Agency or Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) projects.

T 2: Wsit lins to Tchnic Guidins nd Informtion Mtris

Knowledge products

developed inimplementing theStockholm Conventionprovisions

PROjeCT TITle WebSITe lINk

Demonstrating and Promoting

Best Techniques and Practices or

Reducing Health-Care Waste to Avoid

Environmental Releases o Dioxins

and Mercury

http://www.gemedwaste.org/article.php?list=type&type=80

Design and Execution o a

Comprehensive PCB Management

Plan or Kazakhstan

http://www.undp.kz/projects/start.html?type=internet&lang=1

Environmentally sound disposal o

PCBs containing equipment and

waste in Latvia

http://www.lvi.gov.lv/?object_id=18776

Sae PCB Management Programme

in Morocco

http://www.popmaroc.gov.ma/index.php?option=com_content&view=

article&id=103&Itemid=18

Environmental Remediation o Dioxin

Contaminated Hotspots in Vietnam

http://www.undp.org.vn/detail/what-we-do/project-details/?contentId=

3610&languageId=1


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editor: Suely Machado Carvalho

Txt nd production coordintion: Klaus Tyrkko and Ajiniyaz Reimov

Contriutors: Jorge Emmanuel, Monica Gaba, Etienne Gonin, Adam Pitt, Satyajeet Ramchurn, GuillermoRoman, Maksim Surkov

Photo crdits: Page 9: Photo by Luo Yi; Pages 11 Photo provided by UNDP-GEF project Sustainablemanagement o POPs in Mauritius, Polyeco/EPE, Greece; Pages 14, 15: Photo provided by UNDP-GEF projectEnvironmentally sound management and destruction o PCBs in Mexico; Page 17: Photo provided byUNDP-GEF project Demonstrating and Promoting Best Techniques and Practices or Reducing Health-CareWaste to Avoid Environmental Releases o Dioxins and Mercury.

Dsignr: Camilo J. Salomon, www.cjsalomon.com

Printr: Graphics Service Bureau, Inc.

This document is printed on paper made rom 100% post-consumer ber using chlorine-ree bleachingprocess and biogas energy. The paper is EcoLogo and FSC certied.

Discimr: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily refect those o the United NationsDevelopment Programme. The designation and terminology employed and the presentation o the materialdo not imply any expression or opinion whatsoever on the part o UNDP concerning the legal status o anycountry, territory, city, or o its authorities, or o its rontiers or boundaries.

This puiction is i onin t:http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/environment-energy/chemicals_management/UNDP-work-on-POPs-2013/

For furthr informtion, ps contct:UNDP-GEF UnitEnvironment and Energy GroupBureau or Development PolicyUnited Nations Development Programme304 East 45th Street, 9th FloorNew York, NY 10017 USAwww.undp.org/chemicalswww.undp.org

Copyright United Nations Development Programme, April 2013. All rights reserved.


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United Nations Development ProgrammeBureau or Development PolicyEnvironment and Energy Group304 East 45th Street, 9th FloorNew York, NY 10017 USA

www.undp.org

Documents

Chemicals and Waste for Sustainable Development - UNDP work on Persistent Organic Pollutants