Document R5VnM7LaOG6gjJdXyOrkkrKV

4 T ............................. ... ~ ......... oRGAf.'teiYnoii ron sconccnc co-RrLwrron ftt:n Devrn.0!r"-:.'T (%) r.-. ` * ... ' " ' ' -- ,W ' .'"*r>T TRESS/A (73)3 ' ........ 'ji,-- wtr.T '* ** W ....... Paris, 14th Pebruary, 1973 OECD C0I71CI1 TAKES MAJOR DECISION WITH REGARD TO THE CONTROL OE CERTAIN TOXIC CHEMICALS OECD Member countries have agreed to control the manufacture and trade of industrial chemicals known 83 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)*, the-use of which may lead '-to the contamination of the environment. This is the first international agreement aimed at limiting the production -and use of. .chemicals,.in,nrd.er-. to.proteat-the-envircnrTrt-r~*Or,>r' r- limited number of tises, specifically listed in the CECD C\ Decision end including.in particular,applications v:h$t e vl. i ncn-f.lamnability of PCBs is on essential. l'acicr, -v.culi . ''itrttrerisea.'' The Decision also allows for production of K'fs for use in closed systems, such os condensers end transformers in large .electrical equipment, which present minimal risks for the' environment. - The agreement recommends that Member countries in Implementing the Decision give priority attention to the elimination of PCB uses in such products os heat transfer fluids for food processing, animal feed and pharmaceuticals; adhesives and sealants; hydraulic liquids, other than in mining, and lubricating oils; vacuum pump fluids and cutting oils; also pesticides. ... . The OECD action stems from the widespread concern of Governments, following a series of accidents. The persistence and toxicity of PCBs first became apparent with the discovery in 1966 of traces in poisoned fish and wild birds. Accidents during the past four years, hove included the occurrence of . - 1-OBs in chickens caused by absorption from PCB-contoining plastic wrappers; the discovery of PCIJo in food wrappings due to recycling of copying paper in the production of paper pulp; the occurrence of TCDs in milk from cows given feed contaminated by PCBs through herbicides or silos where it hail been stored (D.5.A., 1QC9, 1270, and 1971). The most serious accident. . . ,involved human poieoning following leakage of heat transfer fluid in a rice oil pasteurisation plant in Japan in 1968. See Teclmioal Dote attached. ./' '.'5 01 e 0071694 - TOWOLDMONOQ56885 r -2- ,. . .. . The text of the agreement, set out in the Council ' - * Decision on the Protection of the Environment, is attached together vith g teclmical note on PCBs resulting from an cight-raonth investigqtiot^by*the. CPP_p3,iuqhaentrvi)n3Pit,tjee\-******%.*-, ''oh^tHe'TJhintended 'Occurrence of Chemicals' in' the ' ' " ' ' Environment. The agreement stems iron proposals of the C-roup for concerted action drawn up at its meeting in November 1972, as part of the Organisation's work of developing co-ordination between Member countries to minimise distortions in international traie that could arise from lack of harmonisation of notional measures'. The Decision, establishing co-ordinated environmental regulatory action among OECD countries,lays stress on the ultimate need to entirely elininete the dispersal of PCBs.; it is also in line with the Resolution passed by the United Nations Conference on the Hunan Environment in June' 1972 colling on Governments to minimise the release of dangerous or toxic substances, especially where they are persistent. - T,:- oon4^ TOWOLDMONOQ56886  \ pMfjTnTOH.OFJPHE ,OECD COUNCIL OP POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS . . The Council, . . , . . . .... ... Having regard to Articles 5(a), 5(b) and 12(c) of the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 14th December, I960; Having regard to the Recommendation of the Council of 26th May, 1972, on Guiding Principles concerning International Economic Aspects of Environmental Policies "Having' regard to the Note' by the Secretary-General' cf ` 7th February, 1973, concerning Proposals for Concerted Action. ' I crinntgfl B^phs.ny;.g,,i.'. . Considering chat the use of Polychlorirut6 : ^5.0 old. be._cp;itivl'.sJ by luteraniio.1 . V.i :jr CCcape into .. r' No.::.:."!.!'" s' *. - ?.. . n cl '.he ultimats objective cf eliminating envlit'.' up?, into the environment; --. -v.-v On the proposal of the Environment Committee; ' DECIDES; . ... ' 1. Member countries shall ensure that" in their respective territories, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) shall r.ot be v:;o<l * for industrial or commercial purposes, except in the following categories of use: Dielectric fluids for transformers or large pov.'er factor correction capacitors; ' F^atjfcrfmsfer fluids (other than in installations for pj'6ce;js'ing "'oT'i'oocib, drugs, feeds and veterinary product"'); Hydraulic.fluids in raining equipment; ,. .... . . . .... .. nun'll. consol tors (subject to the provisions of Section Zi'.A bol'ou)'; " " . oonb9b TOWOLDMONOQ56887 and, as' rer^rd.v 'the rore^oin;- 03tr;tcrie;:, TrBa m?.;; 'bo"used onlyin those rpplieaticn.v in v-'kioh ih*r Tti'^uircsi^ntt fer nor:- inflaricabiiity outv.'virh the nc-j ior environmental protection .. md in v/hich Member' rountricc art? ::r,ti.~ricd that ''.sufficient controls are exercised in order to ..inir.ioc risk to the c-nvironr'rant. V',` %*Hs .K-'f.XrW :+*'-" 2. In pursuance of nara-Trash 1.1 above, Member countries shall: `' ' (a) control the manufacture; import ana export of bulk ' ^ (b) institute sdenuute arrunrereni; s; for the recovery, regeneration, ofeeuati: ir.oin-.raticr. or other safe disposal of surplus and waste nate-rialc; - (c) institute a special, uniform labelling system . - . .. . for both bul:: PC3a and PCB-containing manufactured products; and .. : (d) establish safety specifications for containers..and transport. --^-'-lP.'~-.-vEGOr!>Si+I)5. th'it-.!4ernbei>e/>u"-t.nlting----Decisions set forth in Section I above: ......... control, the. manufacture.,^import. ;pnd exp.ort ,pfJE- containing products; ' ...., . .. .................... ................ 2. work towards the elimination of the use of PC3s in small capacitors; 3. give priority attention to the elimination of the following applications of PCI's: . ' (a) heat transfer fluids in the food, pharr,:ar eutical.', Iced and veterinary industries, ,. . . (b) plasticisers for paints, inks, copying paper, acnorives, sealants; ' (c) hydraulic liquids (other than in mining) and lubricating oils; . (d) vacuum pump fluids and cutting oils; (c) pesticides; 0071697 TOWOLDMONOQ56888 - 5- : _ 4. request fires to use, as PCE replacements, materials r. . v/hich ere less hazardous to.human health-and the environment . .. .... than the ranee of PCEs nov in use, ** *!,>**i At the beginning of 1974, 1975 end 1976 ';.ithin the frrr.e'rk of the Environment Committee, i. ember countries shall ex'ihenge information on the mein statistical data concerning PCEs, notably, on: ........ (T) amounts of PC2s, including : amounts manufactured by PCB type, mounts imported " " " end by country, amounts exported " " " and by country, .amounts incinerated " " " mounts'consumed" ' " - " " end by-use; (2) PCB replacements supplied by manufacturers, - - ineluding the following points: ' ''' 1 ^i denti.fi cation, " `to'Tal^mbunts'^or eacfrckumTcal'type 'iKa'Tor*"" each use, knov.Ti xoxicity and environmental hazard of each cheatcar -type; - - *- -- ,. "1 (3) disposal of surplus PCEs by incineration (including evaluation of incinerator efficiency) or by other efficient means. IV. ','OTES the ''Technical i'ote on Polychlorinated Biphenyls" contained in the Appendix to this decision. V. ' IKV1TLS Member countries to report to'the Organisation at the beginning of 1974, 1975 and 1976 on measures tahen in application of this Decision. i- -00/1690 TOWOLDMONOQ56889 6 VI.. I!"-?J!TJCSS the Snvironisent Co:.,nit toe to foil'- a the inplementntic-n of this Deei.oion, to report at .rccular Intervals t* tile Oouncir on the Iiifomstj on fyo!i\re;ec orotic' c ,'jf in Section Hi of thie Le-iicion an.i to roof. 'ouch proof . .el:: to j urther irprovc- and rtrn" then the control of rrcdu 'tion end .ained and t!.c- continued won', of the Ort*nication in this field. , ' 0071699 TOWOLDMONOQ56890 7n Tcchnice! '~otc cn Bolyohl crlnot'c j-i ah:-nvj s 1. Polychlorinated Mpher-yls (?C?s) are a group of strfcle substances comprising theoretically rare than 200 individual compounds, many cf which are widely used particularly because of their dielectric properties r.r.d r.rn-ilammability. At pre sent they are obtained through chicrinaticn cf iipher.yl, resulting in fixtures that are characterised by their average " extent cf chi crime. Bue to the persistence and toxicity cf scree of these compounds(1), effects have been observed in the envircment ar.d accidents reported over the last few years, which have given rise to serious concern in member countries. In vie-.; of this concern, the Sector Group on Unintended Occurrence of Chemicals in the Environment has investigated, on a. priority basis, the need for, and feasibility of, concerted action to control the use and emissions of ECSs. The results cf this enquiry lead to the icllovir.g conclusions: (a) Because of unacceptable levels of PCBs found in the environment end because of a number of incidents involving human health, some countries have taken, cr are considering taking action to control the use of PCBs; (b) There are (1972) only six companies in O.E.C.I). member countries .that manufacture PCBs; five of them have already taken steps to reduce production to the supply for a few approved uges; (c) PCBs can be replaced except for some- uses where their dielectric properties and r.or.-f1 cmmability are essential; (d) The tcchology for destruction of PCBs exists; (e) Because of the many applications of PCBs in the wide range of consumer products moving in inter national trade, the situation will almost certainly become complicated unless international agicement is reached on allowable uses; .a,_ ____________________________ ' (D As of the time of the preparation of this koto, limited recuaieli studios with cot tain selected PUB-co.-spounds seem to .indicate that some of theca, coma sunk could .von Inal !y safely bo used for certain applications. 0071700 ' TOWOLDMONOQ56891 TOWOLDMONOQ56892 TOWOLDMONOQ56893 t. 10, ,. - - rand retailers would accept return of appliances that arc- out of use. '.'he problem e.f recovery regains unresolved.at the present time, but it has to be' noted tfcot Japan has stopped the use of PC3s in the nranuf raciure of urn; .'1 cr. ascitor::. V.* -J 8. The dissipative uses are those where recovery of used PCBb is not possible, since they arc not contained in closed cyotc:r.s but in direct contact vdth "he envie on-r.ent: (i) T.ubricoTtnr r-r.r. r.b.-finoils The conditions under which these oils rare used arc such that there is continuous emission of stall quantities into the environment. These applications, hot being essential, should be discontinued; (ii) Pesticide Use Shis use has ortunctcli' beer, abandoned in nest countries already, if r.ot, it should be banned with EjCaD-. countries, require reictrr.ticn oi` pesticides, cue a v measure can easily be taken under existing legislation; ---'-<411) PlhPlsers-'- - ...... ..............- ' . ' , The r.iost important category, by volume, of dis' sipative use ie in the field of plasticisers. They are or have bean used in most countries in a wide , variety of consumer products including paints, inks, copying paper, adhesives, sealants, plastic products, etc., many of which arc traded internationally. The major applications seen to be ir. the printing and paint industries. 9. The Printing Industry: Because of the rich of contamina tion of'paper, which rafter recycling may be used in food pack aging, the use of PChs in the printing industry should be banned. In view of the fact that printing inks can be produced without PChs and that in any case the amount used probably represents a total value of only about 30,000 ir. 0.1.0.11. countries, such a measure should not cause serious economic dosage. Assuming that copying paper is usually provided by the copying machine manu facturers (relatively let; and big companies), any economic effects should be small. 10. The Paint Industry poses a somewhat different problem. Over thTTku.<t uoct.ue, ju eduction has increased by 3.5 per cent .5 per cent_annually and .the.yU-end is risi.ngin the .O.Ii.C.D, area. 0071703 TOWOLDMONOQ56894 Tr-_------------------------------------------- - t? :-e.-.. "* _,r * ~ -,; - . Th" ovbi 2,000 million doiip.f 7/c,?t'7hircpeeh'peiht" industry alone accounts for sor.o 40 per cent of the world out nut. Production ; ;i, ajjsiii'eu ty ,:XDv; large and a. great many gjall.ecispanies.. . '(Unitcd'Kingdom = 430, Italy' and' Irchco' 350 etc'.). ^hi'S ' ' L Picture vsuggests that an overall ban cn PCBs in paints could :;ai ' ` It appears, however, that where used (e.g. in stovirt applications) PCBc constitute son:-thing line 5 - 10 per cent cl the paint. Few details are available in respect of the amounts used j.r. paints, tut taking ore cx-'-rple (Prance) where 250 tons v>::-e used (1971) in a paint Indus.' \- that produced something li'.:? 70C,000 tons cf paint, pr.-strvbl.v cnly 2500-5000 tons would contain 713s. Considering in cc'cii ;; on that nr;.,-ill paint nanufac. tuners ar. generally highly specie' iced, c-r.O that the mcrufac" "tuf in'; "pr chess voula not' have tc 'rr-dergo a rsajcr change to ...... replace the use of PCBs, a oar, on PCBs eheuld not cuass any serious disturbance. The use of PC3e in prints has, in 'fact, j been discontinued in cone countries already. Figures for .... nreduction (3,654,200 tons in 1969) and consumption ,6,517,500 tons) in O.E.C.D. countries r-ga.n suggest that import of--points' From tior.*G.E.C.r.' producers msy te of joiner significance, , 11. In ornctice, none cf the nroducts where POPs have been eliminated, there v/ili be continuous eniscifns into the environDcnt due to evaporation, insufficient incineeration etc. Judging -by.^be- -ect.i-on-7,already - taken -in. aeveral-:COuiiti'*eSr--SUb.titut......., can rep.dily be found for the whole category of plasticizer use of PCBs, which should, therefore, be banned. 12. It follows from what has been said above that for adequate protection of health and environment, but also to avoid undue , .competition in international trade, agreement is necessary on siloved uses of PCBs. in order tc ensure that home production is not substituted by import, control action by ^governments, through licencing or other means,.is essential, iieesures are further necessary to ensure collection of used material, safety in transnsj:t cf raw PCBs, and assessment of substitute materials: -- . (a) - . A uniform labelling' system., internationally ' recognisable, should be developed for use cn_ containers of raw PCBs as wellas cn.any equip ment or product containing PCBs. ' ' . .. . ' v. (b) . ' '' -Suppliers (i.e. manufacturers and importers) . . should further provide containers'l'oi the transpert of PCB-cont.-iining liquids: such containers must meet the Fpprupriate specification!: that have been laid down'to ensure safety in transport of 1 dangerous chemicals. ' 007170* TOWOLDMONOQ56895 'JU \a/' V, . --13------------------------------------------------ r------ | - _ Sc^ , Bevclopxent oj subs.i.it>.te;i jtha.t;-.ax 1-ess-JiEEardoaB -... " than persistent PCiis(i) should he encouraged, tut in viev of the fact that no system for oro-ir.arkct - :rr^. - . s hoc been fntrci^utasd*;.\a.... ce-ctin^ for onviroitaic-i/^rl effects--is so fs-r entireiv the responsibility of the manufacturers. Informs- * ion on renlaceneiit produ i .; . t*/i. vr-ijv e rj VJW^T'WT" (1) Gee footnote un pnge'5. - 0071705 TOWOLDMONOQ56896