Swiss researchers alarmed: illegal trade in toxic chemicals is widespread

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Nearly half of the total traded volume crosses country borders illegally, the Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute (Empa) wrote Tuesday. The study was published in the journal “Nature Sustainability”.

“This widespread illegal trade is extremely concerning,” said Empa researcher Zhanyun Wang, who initiated the study. Illegal trade undermines global efforts to protect against hazardous chemicals.

The Rotterdam Convention currently covers 54 chemicals and chemical groups that can be harmful to humans and the environment. There are mercury compounds, pesticides and five of the six types of asbestos. The researchers analyzed public data from the UN’s Comtrade database for 46 of these chemicals.

Act only if approved

The listed substances may only be traded internationally if the importing country has expressly agreed to the import. According to Empa, 64.5 million tons of these substances were traded between 2004 and 2019. However, 27.5 million tons went to countries that had expressly refused imports.

Ethylene dichloride accounted for the majority of the total volume traded – 55.3 million tonnes. This carcinogenic and organ-damaging solvent is necessary for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The toxic reagent, disinfectant and pesticide ethylene dioxide accounted for 6.3 million tons.

The other chemicals – especially pesticides – accounted for a relatively small part. However, traded volumes are still significant, Wang said. Since the entry into force of the Rotterdam Convention in 2004, the amount of highly toxic chemicals traded has barely decreased.

The provision according to which imports are permitted only with explicit consent is not observed worldwide, namely in Western, Central and Southern Europe, as well as in South and South-East Asia. These regions also have the most illegal imports, as do the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.

According to the report, the researchers found ‘surprising’ that there are also substances being traded that should only be used to a limited extent or not at all. The pesticides aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor and dieldrin are mentioned.

Smuggling and trading on the black market excluded

According to Wang and his co-authors, the study is a fairly conservative assessment of what happened — it left out smuggling and black market trafficking.

In addition, the US exported about four million tons of chemicals to countries that refused to do so. That is not necessarily illegal, Empa wrote. Because the US had not ratified the Rotterdam Convention. So the rules are different for them. So far, 165 countries have ratified the agreement.

The researchers used public data, which raises the question of why more illegal trade is not being done. “In many countries, the Ministry of the Environment is responsible for implementing the Rotterdam Convention,” Wang said. However, trade is controlled by customs. In addition, developing countries in particular do not have sufficient resources for inspections.

The researchers recommend strengthening measures in the trade of hazardous chemicals. And they believe that other problematic substances should be covered by the Rotterdam Convention. They recommend this, for example, for chrysotile asbestos, the most common type of asbestos that was previously not covered by the treaty.

(SDA)

Source:Blick