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Youth Round Table Society (YRT) organized a multi-pronged campaign to raise awareness about mercury uses in health care and promote alternative uses in the Uttar Pradesh province of India.
The Chapaevsk Medical Association tested 21 food samples from three Russian cities for levels of BPA, determining that 81% of the samples were contaminated. Canned infant food was found to have some of the highest levels of contamination. Results were shared at several seminars and workshops with physicians, chemists, government officials, industry leaders, and other NGOs.
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Philippines, in collaboration with Community Based Health Services (CBHS) Mindanao, conducted several capacity-building activities with peasant groups, farmers and residents of Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur, agricultural areas heavily impacted by the use of hazardous pesticides. These included focus groups, key informant interviews, and information dissemination about the dangers of pesticides and alternatives to pesticide use (such as IPM) available to them.
In an effort to improve participation and collaboration among organizations and individuals concerning the SAICM Global Plan of Action, Associação de Proteção ao Meio Ambiente de Cianorte (APROMAC) pushed an explicit chemical implementation agenda at three consecutive meetings of Brazil's National Committee on Chemical Safety (CONSAQ). Additionally, they created a special webpage on their website focused solely on SAICM, which also provides monthly bulletins on SAICM issues.
The Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), through its secretariat Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE), conducted a regional workshop for 40 participants representing NGOs, media, scientific experts, and government officials from eight countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon) to enhance the international efforts towards reducing mercury usage and pave the way towards complete elimination.
In order to promote SAICM’s provisions of green growth and sustainable development, the Kazakh NGO Greenwomen (in colloboration with Eco-Accord) organized several sessions, made key presentations, and actively participated and led discussion group forums at the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific (MCED-6). Specifically, their presentations centered on describing their experiences on what actions NGOs should be practicing to address the SAICM provisions.
Volgograd-Ecopress hosted a workshop on the use of non-combustion technologies for the elimination of obsolete pesticide stockpiles responsible for widespread environmental and human health impacts in Russia. With the participation of local authorities, academia, NGOs, and managers of industrial facilities, modern waste management technologies were presented and regional plans of action were discussed. A special case study of a successful pesticide elimination project using a non-combustion technology of biodegradation based on bioglauconite use was presented.
Samples of fish and human hair were collected and tested for mercury in Colorado, Costa Rica, an area located close to the Abangares Gold Mine. Residents from this area are primarily fishermen and their families, and they subsist primarily on fish from the local fishery. Previous analyses in the area have revealed high levels of mercury, a strong indicator that residents also have high levels of mercury in their bodies.
Associação de Combate aos Poluentes (ACPO) organized a meeting of eight representatives of chemical safety and environmental health NGOS from six Brazilian states in order to provide updates on the Stockholm Convention, SAICM and the Mercury Treaty process, as well as to increase the awareness of toxic chemicals in Brazil. During this meeting, a national network, REBLIT, was created to provide a central focus on the chemical agenda, to raise public awareness and to share experiences and information.
Volgograd Ecopress conducted a campaign to promote a regional management system designed to address a growing threat of mercury containing waste (light bulbs, medical equipment, etc.) contaminating the Volga River and Caspian coastal area. Consultations were first held with environmental authorities in the region to assess the existing challenges in handling the mercury containing waste.
Responding to the lack of regulation on E-waste in Thailand, Ecological Alert and Recovery, Thailand (EARTH) researched the the amount of used cell phone batteries in Thailand and how they have been managed by surveying and interviewing cell phone sellers in selected markets (as well as mobile phone distributors, battery distributors, network service providers, and companies specializing in recycling). Following this, EARTH compiled a report outlining their findings, which was used to raise awareness about the problem among national and local authorities as well as general consumers.
In collaboration with medical officials, Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) organized medical clinics to pre-screen agricultural workers at risk for kidney disease resulting from exposure to arsenic in pesticides. In several of these clinics (as well as outside of the clinics), CEJ conducted small discussion groups at which farmers were given brochures highlighting the dangers of illegal and highly dangerous pesticides and notifying them of their rights.
Using waste management best practices modelled after those in the EU, Zelena akcija developed and implemented a pilot waste management program with a variety of activities involving local community organizations, government officials, and public citizens.
Red Latinoamericana de Nanotecnología y Sociedad (ReLANS) produced a booklet on the societal and environmental implications of nanotechnology development in Latin America. Apart from a detailed discussion on the path of investment and development in the region, the booklet highlights the importance that nanotechnology development be guided by transparency, precautionary approaches, and the overall health of the worker and environment. This booklet is now available in Spanish, Portuguese and English.
In an effort to promote sustainable waste management, Taller Ecologista produced two videos dealing with issues of waste management. While one of the videos focusses on the city of Rosario and its Zero Waste ordinance, the other is a more general orientation targeted to organizations and citizen groups that seek to promote zero waste garbage plans. The objective of the videos was to promote awareness and influence changes in waste managment that are oriented toward the Zero Waste concept.
Using analyses of paint samples from manufacturing and importing companies servicing the Amman marketplace, Land and Human to Advocate Progress (LHAP) was able to create awareness about high levels of lead in paints found in everyday paints. Along with educational materials produced specifically with the results of the analyses, community discussion groups (3 public hearings) were conducted to further communicate the impact of lead in paint. Social media was also used to achieve widespread media and public notice.
Recognizing the lack of legislation or policy related to waste management in Lebanon, AMWAJ led an on-the-ground and media campaign to create awareness and engage the general public, local and national government officials, and the tourism industry about the environmental and human health issues stemming from uncontrolled dumping. Using the Saida Waste Dump as a focal point for their continuous campaigning, AMWAJ brokered a meeting with local and national government officials to discuss how to eliminate the dump and replace it with a community garden.
In an effort to promote alternative methods to the use of highly toxic pesticides, Ecological Restorations collaborated with officials from the Ghanan Environmental Protection Agency to develop a summarized and illustrated version of the Pesticides Control Management Act.
To determine whether toys sold in Tunisia contain high levels of dangerous heavy metals, Association pour la Protection de l'Environnement et Developpement Durable de Bizerte (APEDDUB) had samples of 24 toys commonly found in schools and markets in the city of Bizarte analyzed. Results showed that most toys contained heavy metals. In addition, although both non-Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) and PVC made toys contained high levels of lead and cadmium, toys made with PVC have significantly higher levels of these heavy metals and therefore are far more toxic.
RAPAL Uruguay conducted research on how a chlorine making plant (EFICE) located close to Montevideo is likely responsible for mercury contamination of the surrounding towns and ecosystem. According to their research, there is strong evidence that mercury used during the chlorine making process has been contaminating the ecosystem and poisoning local residents. Unfortunately, due to a lack of transparency and government support, residents have not been able to address this issue.
