The Three Chemicals and Waste Treaties of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

On 23 September 2010, the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for North America organized a Congressional briefing entitled “The Three Chemicals & Waste Treaties of the United Nations Environment Programme.”  Over forty people attended this briefing, which discussed the following three treaties:

• The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;
• The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade; and
• The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The U.S. is not currently a party to any of these three international agreements.  Three global treaties managed by UNEP together provide an international framework governing the environmentally sound management of hazardous chemicals throughout their lifecycles.  The briefing, which was open to Congressional staffers from the Senate and House of Representatives and the general public, aimed to provide an overview of the treaties, how they operate, current U.S. involvement, and the potential benefits of U.S. ratification.  Part of the success of this briefing is attributed to securing an impressive panel of esteemed speakers, including:

• Dr. Donald Cooper, Executive Secretary of the Stockholm Convention, Co-Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention.
• Mr. Jim Jones, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Dr. Katharina Kummer Peiry, Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention.
• Mr. Dan Reifsnyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. State Department.

The office of Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) hosted the briefing.  Senator Lautenberg introduced the "Safe Chemicals Act of 2010" to transform how chemicals are regulated in the United States in April 2010.  This bill supports uncomplicated and effective U.S. implementation of the Stockholm Convention, the LRTAP POPs Protocol, and the Rotterdam Convention.”  Senator Lautenberg is currently the leading voice in the Senate for toxics reform and regulation.

Resulting media coverage includes:

• Greenwire, http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2010/09/24/archive/2?terms=Obama+admin+steps+up+pressure+to+ratify+treaties+on+toxics
• The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/09/24/24greenwire-obama-admin-steps-up-pressure-to-ratify-treati-73636.html
• BNA, http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=17839841&vname=dennotallissues&fn=17839841&jd=a0c4g3r9y7&split=0

Ben Dunham, Legislative Assistant and Counsel for Senator Lautenberg, introducing the panel comprising: Amy Fraenkel, Director, UNEP Regional Office for North America; Dr. Donald Cooper, Executive Secretary of the Stockholm Convention, Co-Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention; Dan Reifsnyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. State Department; Jim Jones, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Katharina Kummer Peiry, Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention.