Indian NGO Toxics Link released a new report on 20 September" Dirty Trail: Detergent to Water Bodies." The study found alarming levels of the toxic chemical “Nonylphenol” in detergents as well as in river water in India. The detergent samples were taken from the local markets of Delhi and water from six rivers, i.e. Garh Ganga and Hindon in Uttar Pradesh, Krishnan in Andhra Pradesh, Tapti in Gujarat, Bandi in Rajasthan, Mahanadi in Odisha and Ambazari lake in Nagpur.
The Center for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) reports that, responding to the research-based campaign led by CEPHED, and in close coordination with all other concerned organizations and stakeholders, the Honorable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population, Upendra Yadav of Nepal, has taken the very progressive decision to ban the use of mercury dental amalgam and mercury-based equipment in Nepal on 21 August, effectively moving Nepal towards Mercury-Free Dentistry and Health Care Services.
Bangkok, Thailand - IPEN Participating Organizations (POs) from Jordan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam actively participated in a regional workshop for Asia-Pacific promoting regulatory and voluntary actions by government and industry to phase out lead in paint. Completing the 10-member civil society delegation were the IPEN regional coordinators for South Asia (SA) and Southeast and East Asia (SEA) and the IPEN Global Lead Paint Elimination Campaign team.
IPEN’s regional meeting for the South Asia Region was conducted from 17-19 April, 2019 in New Delhi, India. The three-day meeting with regional participating organizations (POs) was organized by Toxics Link, IPEN’s hub for South Asia Region. A total of 26 POs from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the event.
This was the first of its kind meeting and was very crucial in bringing the POs together to have a better understanding of each other’s work.
The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Regional Meeting for Asia Pacific was held from March 4th-8th, 2019 in Suzhou, China.
IPENers from four different countries participated in the meeting representing the Asia Pacific region of IPEN.
Prior to the regional meeting, an IPEN preparatory meeting was held, along with an experience-sharing session with students from Duke University and fellow NGOs from China. This was organized by Shenzhen Zero Waste at Duke University, Kunshan, and took place on March 3rd.
In 2018, Toxics Link prepared a Country Situation Report to examine into the following aspects, overall current management scenario of POPs, gaps in the regulations, major achievements and challenges of POPs management in the country, with an aim to provide a better road map for its management.