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Contents
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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