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The establishment of EVISA is funded by the EU through the Fifth Framework Programme (G7RT- CT- 2002- 05112).


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Tributyltin added to U.N. trade watch list

(05.11.2008)


Background:
The Rotterdam Convention forbids the export of any product that is not on the list annexed to the Convention without the importing country having been informed in advance of the potential dangers associated with the product in question and having given its consent in full knowledge of these dangers (so-called "prior informed consent" or PIC).

Decisions at the Rotterdam Convention meeting:
The pesticide, used on the outside of ships, is the 40th chemical to be placed on the "prior informed consent" list, which requires exporters to get permission from importing countries before shipping the items.

Products already on the list include mercury compounds, tetraethyllead (TEL) and tetramethyllead and the insecticides DDT and lindane. TBT is used in “antifouling paints” to keep molluscs off ship hulls. But it is also highly polluting and deadly to other marine life.

At a meeting of the Rotterdam Convention in Rome last week (October 31, 2008) , which governs the PIC list, delegates failed to agree on adding two other chemicals: endosulfan, a pesticide used in cotton production, and chrysotile, or white, asbestos, a cancer-causing mineral used in building materials.

Chemicals can only be added to the PIC list if signatories to the 1998 convention reach consensus. Environmental campaigners say business interests can often successfully lobby against products being added even if scientific evidence shows they are dangerous to human health and the environment.



Related Information

Rotterdam Convention (official web site)
PIC list of restricted chemicals


Related EVISA Resources



Related EVISA News (newest first)

April 30, 2008: Human exposure to organotin compounds via consumption of fish
September 20, 2007: TBT-ban convention ratified
October 11, 2006: TBT from antifouling paint is still endangering marine life, says WWF
News, January 23, 2004: Tuna is attuned to tin
December 15, 2003: Artifacts during the extraction of butyltin compounds from solid samples !
December 11, 2003: No degradation of TBT in seafood during cooking



last time modified: May 25, 2024



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