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Célébration de la semaine d’action internationale contre l’intoxication au plomb – 2022 dans la région
Entre le 23 et le 30 octobre dernier, la communauté internationale a marqué un temps d’arrêt pour célébrer la semaine mondiale contre l’empoisonnement au plomb. En l’effet le plomb est un métal lourd très sollicité par les industries principalement en raison de ses multiples propriétés chimiques ; cependant ce métal est toxique et classé par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé comme très préoccupant pour la santé humaine et environnement.
Au cours de l’édition de 2022, plus d’une centaine d’ONG et de gouvernements ont saisi l’opportunité pour organiser les activités de sensibilisation et d’éducation afin d’alerter les populations, le secteur privé, les medias, et autres autorités étatiques sur l’urgence de réglementer la teneur de plomb dans les peintures ou de se conformer à la réglementation en vigueur pour les pays qui en dispose déjà un cadre juridique formel.
Dans les pays francophone de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre, plusieurs organisations se sont jointes à cette campagne. Au Cameroun, le Centre de Recherche et d’Education pour le Développement (CREPD) et Action for Sustainable Development (ASD) ont respectivement interpellé les producteurs de peintures, les décideurs, la presse, mais aussi les éducateurs et les enfants du primaire sur la menace que représente le plomb et les solutions à explorer.
Les ONG membres de l’IPEN au Congo, au Niger, et au Sénégal ont également implémenté quelques activités afin de retenir l’attention des populations, des peintres et des pouvoirs publics au sujet de l’élimination du plomb dans notre environnement. Si au Congo l’accent a été davantage mis sur la finalisation de la loi portant réglementation des peintures au plomb, au Niger l’initiative a consisté à faire une sensibilisation de proximité auprès des producteurs et importateurs de peintures sur la qualité des peintures mise à la disposition des populations.
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Upcoming Events
- Open-Ended Working Group 1.2: Science-Policy Panel
30 January - 3 February 2023
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Recent Reports
Burundi: Burundi National Report on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs)
Chad: National awareness campaign on the plastic waste trade
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Les conséquences humaines et environnementales des produits chimiques et déchets dues à la pandémie du COVID-19 dans la ville de Bukavu et ses environs (COVID-19 Impacts on Chemicals and Wastes)
Mali: National Report on HHPs in Mali
Niger: Alternatives to Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Niger
Togo: National Report on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) and Alternatives in Togo
Newest IPEN Reports
Hazardous Chemicals in Plastic Products
Both the environment in Africa and the Arabic region and the human health of Africans and people from Arabic countries suffer from toxic chemicals and imported wastes, including illegal wastes, more than in developed countries.
This study shows that toxic chemicals are present in toys, kitchen utensils, and other consumer products purchased from African and Arabic region markets in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Syria, Tanzania, and Tunisia.
Plastic Waste Fuels
IPEN studies show how policy is driving massive investment in plastic waste-to-fuel processing, and that exports are threatening waste management in ASEAN countries and undermining the Basel Convention and climate change commitments.
Plastic Poisons the Circular Economy
IPEN published a number of studies showing significant obstacles for countries seeking to implement safe plastic circular economies. The studies reveal that countries are unable to handle large volumes of diverse plastics waste streams safely, and the reality that, without regulations requiring plastic ingredients to be labeled, countries are blindly allowing known toxic chemicals onto their markets in plastic products.
Plastic pellets found on beaches all over the world contain toxic chemicals
Preproduction plastics as pellets, or "nurdles", can carry many different chemicals, both those added to the plastics and pollutants that attach (sorb) to them in the environment. Often lost during production, transportation, and storage, pellets have been found on beaches all over the world since the 1970s. This study of plastic pellets gathered from beaches in 23 different countries contained many chemicals of concern, some in very high concentrations.
Widespread chemical contamination of recycled plastic pellets globally
Because almost all plastics contain toxic chemicals, recycling processes can perserve and can even generate toxic chemicals, such as dioxins. In this study, pellets made from recycled HDPE, intended for use in new products, were purchased from 24 recyclers in 23 countries and analyzed for 18 substances. The large number of toxic chemicals in many of the samples highlights the need to rethink recycling to ensure it does not perpetuate harms..
Plastic’s Toxic Chemical Problem: A Growing public health crisis
This summary of our two plastic pellets reports encapsulate the broad issues related to toxic chemicals in plastics and the concerns with recycling processes that can perserve or generate toxic chemicals.
Plastic Waste Management Hazards
Plastic waste has become an unprecedented pollution issue, blanketing our planet in the petrochemical remnants of plastic production. This report examines current and emerging methods by which plastic waste is managed globally and questions whether any of them present a solution to the rapidly accelerating generation of plastic waste. In short, they don't and the only long-term answer is to produce less plastic.
Regional Hub
Centre de Recherche et d’Education pour le Développement (CREPD)
Based in Cameroon
Regional Coordinator: Achille Ngakeng
Contact: fahub@ipen.org
CREPD is a Cameroon-based NGO created in 2004 and is dedicated to bridge the gap between science and action in Cameroon and sub-Sahara Africa to promote sustainable development. The organization is instrumental in advising science-based informed decision and policy making processes, as well as the national development planning on “what is needed at grassroots levels” to enable sustainable development through daily sound management of chemicals and wastes, sustainable agriculture, and responsible mining. Many efforts are made to entail continuous capacity building through North-South collaborative research/activities (OK International, USA; BRI, USA; and Ashland University in Ohio, USA); and collaboration with national University through student internships and volunteering programs (ENSAI, University of Ngaoundere, Adamawa Region, Cameroon). CREPD has a consultative status with UNEP, is an active Participating Organization of IPEN and currently acts as IPEN’s Regional Hub Host for Francophone Africa. CREPD received the first prize of SAICM Award in 2013 for outstanding QSP project implementation in Africa.
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