IPEN

An editorial published today in the World Health Organization (WHO) Bulletin co-authored by IPEN with leading health experts underscores threats to human health from chemicals in plastics, including PFAS ‘forever chemicals,’ bisphenols, phthalates, and many other hazardous substances. Exposure to these endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastics can interfere with our bodies’ natural hormone systems and increase the risk of numerous chronic diseases, including cancer, neurodevelopmental harm, and infertility, all of which are increasing.

The experts’ editorial also notes the growing evidence showing that microplastics may increase the risk of respiratory, reproductive, and gastrointestinal harm and calls on delegates to the Plastics Treaty negotiations, which resume in Geneva this August, to center protections for human health and the environment in the international agreement.  They also warn that projections suggest that plastic production could grow 300 percent by 2060.

“The litmus test for the Plastics Treaty is whether it will protect human health and the environment from toxic plastic chemicals, like phthalates, which are called “the everywhere and everyone chemicals” because they contaminate our bodies and the environment so pervasively,” said Bjorn Beeler, IPEN International Coordinator and a co-author of the editorial. “More plastic production means more pollution. That’s why the Treaty also needs to include provisions to cap and reduce plastic production, and not rely on false promises about failed solutions, like plastic recycling.”

“Safeguarding the human rights of present and future generations, particularly the rights of Indigenous Peoples who are most directly harmed by the plastics crisis, demands that the international community take strong, meaningful action. We need a human rights and human health focused Plastics Treaty to end the threats plastics pose to the Arctic and to healthy environments around the world,” said Pamela Miller, IPEN Co-chair and Executive Director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). “Decades of experience show that very little plastic is ever recycled, and plastic recycling simply spreads toxic chemicals. We need real solutions that put our health first.”

Goteborg, Sweden-Today, IPEN welcomed the notification from the Swiss government calling on the Rotterdam Convention to address the toxic trade in lead chromates, chemicals used as the main pigments used in making lead-based paints. Chemicals listed under the Convention are subject to a Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, whereby exporting countries must notify recipient countries and receive explicit consent before the substance can be exported. Last year, Cameroon became the first country to call for such controls and was soon followed by Morocco. With countries from two regions now calling for the listing, the proposal is on the path to be on the agenda at the next Conference of Parties (COP-13) in 2027.  

An IPEN study released last year during International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week documented the ongoing trade in lead chromates, noting the double standards of countries that have banned lead paint domestically but continue to produce and sell lead chromates for export. For example, the report notes that though the EU has essentially banned the use of lead chromates for paint, it continues to export lead chromates to as many as 48 countries, putting the recipient countries’ children and families at risk.

The initial call for regulations under the Rotterdam Convention by Cameroon followed a report by the IPEN member group Centre de Recherche et d’Education pour le Développement (CREPD) in Yaoundé, Cameroon following a regulation compliance check study in 2023, which found lead paints are still widely sold in markets in the country despite lead paint being banned in Cameroon since 2017. “Our experience shows that we need global controls on the trade in lead chromates to protect our children and families,” said Gilbert Kuepouo, Executive Director of CREPD. “Information on imports of lead chromates is vital for Cameroon to enforce our country’s lead paint ban. We encourage all Parties to the Convention to support this proposal at the next COP.”

“Hazardous chemicals like lead chromates should never be sent across borders without the knowledge of the recipients. The Rotterdam Convention provides a common-sense tool that gives countries the information they need to decide about imports of this toxic chemical, which poses significant hazards to children and adults, in particular to paint industry workers in their countries,” said Sara Brosché, PhD, IPEN’s Science Advisor and author of the 2024 report on the trade in lead chromates. “We welcome the call by Cameroon, Morocco, and Switzerland and look forward to advancing this urgent proposal to protect children’s health around the world.”

Kathmandu, Nepal - The Center for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) welcome the decision by the government of Nepal last week to ban three highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) long linked to serious health and environmental concerns. The production, sale, use, and trade of three farm chemicals, chlorpyrifos, phorate, and paraquat is banned immediately, according to the decision by the country’s Pesticide Management Committee.

The Nepali decision follows the September 2023 founding of the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC), which initiated a collaborative Global Alliance on HHPs, with a goal of phasing out all HHPs by 2035. The health risks of the three pesticides banned by Nepal are indicative of the risks from HHPs:

• Chlorpyrifos and Phorate are two toxic organophosphate insecticides, a group of pesticides linked to harms to fetal and children’s brain development and certain cancers. This fall, the Stockholm Convention’s science review committee recommended a global ban on chlorpyrifos, a decision that the COP will consider in spring 2025.
• Paraquat is a toxic herbicide linked to Parkinson’s disease in studies going back more than thirty years and to other serious health concerns.

“We have long worked to document the health and environmental threats from these harmful farm chemicals, so we fully support and applaud the decision to protect public health and the environment with this strong regulation,” said Ram Charitra Sah, Executive Director and Environmental Scientist at CEPHED. “By banning these chemicals, Nepal is leading the global community and fulfilling our national obligation toward the realization of the new GFC policy on HHPs and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). We expect prompt and assertive implementation of this ban throughout Nepal.”