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Environment Class 04

Previous Class Topic

  • Overview of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Osmosis

  • Single-celled organisms like amoeba use osmosis for nutrient absorption.
  • External digestion occurs when food is broken down outside the cell, and nutrients flow from a region of higher concentration to lower concentration through the cell membrane.
  • After external digestion, amoeba ingests the partially digested matter and continues digestion internally.
  • This mechanism contrasts with organisms that perform most of their digestion within their bodies.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

General Overview

  • POPs are chemicals resistant to environmental degradation and tend to bioaccumulate in living tissue.
  • They undergo biomagnification in food chains, posing serious health and ecological problems.
  • Common uses include pesticides, insecticides, industrial chemicals, and additives in consumer goods.

Stockholm Convention

Purpose and Background

  • Signed in 2001 and came into force in 2004.
  • Operates under the aegis of the United Nations.
  • Seeks to restrict or eliminate the production and trade of POPs, often referred to as the “dirty dozen.”

Dirty Dozen POPs

  • Initially included a dozen chemicals, mostly pesticides and insecticides. The list later expanded.
  • DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane): Historically used against pests; persists in the environment.
  • Aldrin, Endrin, Dieldrin: Widely applied in agriculture.
  • Mirex: Utilized in cotton cultivation, especially noted in certain regions for causing skin allergies in farmers.
  • Heptachlor: Applied in chili cultivation; hazardous due to its toxicity.
  • Chlordane, Toxaphene: Also in the original list for their long-lasting toxic effects.
  • Endosulfan: Added in 2011; poses significant toxicity and health risks.

Industrial POPs Beyond Pesticides

  • Hexachlorobenzene: An industrial chemical used in multiple processes.
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): Valued for temperature resistance and insulation properties in electrical components and other products.
  • Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA): Utilized in non-stick cookware; raises concerns due to carcinogenic properties and immune system threats.
  • Polychlorinated Dibenzo Furans & Dioxins: Byproducts of combustion in industrial processes and vehicles; harmful upon release into the environment.

Key Points

  • The Convention focuses on developing alternatives to POPs.
  • Countries party to the Convention must take measures to reduce, ban, or eliminate listed chemicals.
  • Updated listings ensure newly identified POPs, such as Endosulfan, are monitored and regulated.

Insecticides Act (1968) and Rules (1971)

Purpose

  • It predates international treaties and highlights the early regulation of harmful chemicals decades before global conventions like Stockholm.
  • Mandates labeling of insecticides/pesticides commonly used in agriculture.

Color-Coded Labeling

  • Green Label: Slightly toxic; permissible usage levels above 5,000 mg/kg.
  • Blue Label: Moderately toxic; permissible 500–5,000 mg/kg.
  • Yellow Label: Highly toxic; permissible 50–500 mg/kg.
    • Example: Endosulfan falls under this category.
  • Red Label: Extremely toxic; permissible 1–50 mg/kg.
    • Example, Zinc phosphide is commonly used as rat poison and in certain solar panel applications.

Significance

  • Proper labeling ensures that users understand toxicity levels.
  • Improper execution, including a lack of widespread farmer education regarding label meanings, poses ongoing health and environmental risks.

Basel Convention

Main Objective

  • Established in 1989 to regulate the transboundary movement of hazardous waste and its disposal.
  • Sought to combat what became known as “toxic colonialism,” where developed nations shipped hazardous waste to developing or underdeveloped nations.

Key Background: The Koko Case

  • In 1988, Italy sent 8,000 barrels of hazardous waste to Nigeria for a nominal fee.
  • This case underscored exploitative practices by wealthier regions exporting their waste to regions ill-equipped to handle it.

Provisions and Limitations

  • Regulates, but does not ban, the transboundary movement of hazardous waste.
  • Waste can be legally shipped anywhere except Antarctica.
  • Does not cover aspects of the ship-breaking industry or radioactive waste.
  • India and the USA have not yet ratified its regulations.

Key Provisions

  • Prior Informed Consent (PIC): Exporters must secure agreement from importers before sending hazardous materials.
  • Basel Ban Amendment (1995): Fully in force since 2019, prohibiting developed OECD/EU countries from sending hazardous waste to non-OECD nations.

Ongoing Issues

  • Despite regulations, large amounts of electronic waste still enter developing nations.
  • The Convention addresses industrial, electronic, medical, and plastic waste but excludes radioactive waste.

Hong Kong Convention

Addressing Basel’s Shortcomings

  • A 2009 international treaty under the International Maritime Organization (IMO), targets ship-breaking and recycling regulations.
  • Promotes safe and environmentally sound ship recycling practices, minimizing hazards to yard workers and surrounding ecosystems.

Scope

  • Developed in response to the dismantling of ships in facilities across countries like India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where toxic materials harmed both workers and marine environments.
  • Encourages responsible ship-breaking, including managing byproducts such as asbestos, oils, and lubricants.

Ratification Status

  • Not in force because it requires ratification by nations, which collectively are responsible for 40% of global shipping.
  • Strives to reduce negative impacts of international shipping, promoting higher safety standards.

Recycling of Ships Act (2019)

National-Level Implementation

  • Enacted by India to align with global guidelines set by the Hong Kong Convention.
  • Regulates ship recycling, emphasizing worker safety and environmental protection.

Major Objectives

  • Protect yard workers from exposure to hazardous materials (like asbestos) during ship dismantling.
  • Reduce environmental pollution caused by the ship-breaking industry.
  • Comply with international guidelines to gain global trust and attract more ship recycling business.

Benefits

  • The potential to supply around 10–15percent of secondary steel needs from dismantled vessels, lowering overexploitation of virgin resources.
  • Enhanced economic prospects and employment by strengthening India’s position as a regulated global ship recycling hub.

Hazardous Waste Management and Handling Rules (2016)

Regulatory Framework

  • Issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the Environment Protection Act (1986).
  • Defines hazardous and other waste (e.g., used tires, e-waste heavy metals, biomedical waste, flammable/reactive materials).
  • Mandates controls on generation, handling, storage, treatment, and disposal of these materials.

Key Provisions

  • No country may export hazardous waste into India for final disposal.
  • Export for recycling requires approval by relevant authorities.
  • The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) grants permits for hazardous waste management and disposal, guided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
  • Interstate waste transport requires a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the SPCBs of both states.
  • Uniform labeling and packaging protocols reduce the risk of environmental release during transport.

Disposal of Cigarette Filters

Composition and Environmental Impact

  • Filters contain up to 95 percent cellulose acetate, a semi-synthetic polymer that degrades slowly.
  • Widespread littering of cigarette butts contributes significantly to pollution.

Regulatory Gaps

  • The National Green Tribunal instructed the CPCB to create disposal guidelines.
  • Cigarette filters are not yet classified as hazardous waste by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, hindering enforcement.

Bamako Convention

Overview and Scope

  • Focuses on African nations, mirroring the intent of the Basel Convention.
  • Bans the import of hazardous waste into Africa and includes regulations on disposal within the continent.
  • Emerges as a reaction to ongoing toxic colonialism, exemplified by incidents such as the Koko Case.

Key Points

  • Explicitly covers radioactive waste—an omission in the Basel agreement.
  • Emphasizes preventing exploitation of African countries by prohibiting hazardous waste imports.
  • Encourages safe handling of locally generated waste with national capacity building.

Rotterdam Convention

Prior Informed Consent (PIC) for Hazardous Chemicals

  • Adopted in 1998, effective from 2004.
  • Sets legally binding measures to ensure the safe trade of hazardous chemicals and pesticides.
  • Facilitates complete information exchange between exporters and importers before transactions.

Objectives

  • Minimizes risks to human health and ecosystems from hazardous chemical and pesticide trade.
  • Allows nations, particularly developing ones, the right to accept or reject chemicals based on transparent data.
  • Encourages shared responsibility in labeling and managing harmful substances.

Chemicals Listed

  • Includes asbestos, DDT, aldrin, chlordane, mercury, acetochlor, hexabromocyclododecane, and phorate.
  • Phorate has been linked to severe skin diseases in agricultural regions.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Role and Importance

  • Describe the continuous circulation of nutrients (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, sulfur) through biotic and abiotic components of the environment.
  • Gaseous cycles (like carbon and nitrogen) are often “perfect” because replenishment rates are relatively quick.
  • Sedimentary cycles (like phosphorus and sulfur) take longer to restore nutrients, thus called “imperfect.”

Regulation of Climate and Life

  • The movement of elements like carbon helps regulate atmospheric conditions.
  • Photosynthesis and decomposition maintain a balance by cycling carbon between terrestrial and atmospheric reservoirs.
  • Disruption of cycles influences climate change, ocean acidification, and acid rain and ultimately threatens biodiversity.

Consequences of Disruption

  • Excess carbon dioxide release alters the greenhouse effect, intensifying global warming.
  • An imbalance in nitrogen or sulfur cycles leads to problems such as photochemical smog or acid deposition.
  • The stability of soil fertility and water quality relies on uninterrupted nutrient recycling.

Topic to be Discussed in the Next Class