|
Bush to sign treaty to ban ‘dirty dozen’ chemicals worldwide Presence of POPs to be studied in food chain in Alaska’s Arctic at request of Sen. Ted Stevens by The Associated Press
President Bush announced April 19 that he will sign and ask the Senate to ratify a Clinton-era treaty calling for the worldwide phaseout of a dozen highly toxic chemicals known as POPs.
The chemicals, widely dubbed “the dirty dozen,” include PCBs, dioxins and furans, plus DDT and other pesticides shown to contribute to developmental defects, cancer and other problems in human and animals.
“The risks are great and the need for action is clear,” Bush said in a Rose Garden ceremony which included Secretary of State Colin Powell and Christie Whitman, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Whitman will represent the United States at a formal treaty-signing ceremony planned in Stockholm, Sweden, in May.
Most of the “persistent organic pollutants” no longer are used in industrial countries such as the United States. But they remain popular in developing countries.
POPs to be studied in Alaska Traces of many of the chemicals have been found in pristine areas of the Arctic after having been transported by air currents from hundreds of miles away.
Powell said POPS from other countries are accumulating in parts of the United States and must be controlled.
“They have been found, for example, in Alaska and the Great Lakes, at great distance from the industrial and agricultural regions where they were released,” Powell said.
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said he was glad Powell mentioned Alaska. At Stevens’ behest, Congress added $900,000 to study the presence of POPs in the human food chain in Alaska.
“These were important budget add-ons because our Arctic climate makes Alaska a final resting place for POPs that originate in other countries,” he said.
Under the treaty, production and use of nine of the 12 chemicals would be banned as soon as the treaty takes effect, probably in four to five years.
Releases of dioxins and furans — toxic byproducts of waste burning and industrial production — would be reduced and eventually eliminated where feasible, according to the treaty.
The treaty must be ratified by 50 countries to take effect.
| 