IPEN

The sixth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC6) for the Mercury Treaty is currently underway in Bangkok, Thailand. Numerous IPEN representatives are participating in the meeting, and IPEN Co-Chair Manny Calonzo delivered an opening statement on 3 November.

Press release:(Rome) The U.S. government is opposing international efforts to halt the global use of a toxic chemical, pentachlorophenol (PCP), used in the U.S. on wood utility poles, at the same time as a bipartisan group of New York state lawmakers are seeking a state ban, and a lawsuit, filed by a group of Long Island residents, charges that hundreds of new PCP-treated utility poles are causing serious injury to health and property values. This month, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services added PCP to its carcinogen list, saying that PCP is “reasonably anticipated to cause cancer”.