TNPSC Thervupettagam

18th meeting of Stockholm Convention

October 10 , 2022 587 days 575 0
  • The 18th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Review Committee (POPRC-18) to the Stockholm Convention was held in Rome, Italy.
  • It included five more chemicals for listing them under the convention.
  • Three of the listed chemicals (chlorpyrifos, chlorinated paraffin (beyond prescribed) and long-chain perfluoro carboxylic acids) were already nominated at the POPRC-17.
  • Two chemicals — dechlorane plus, a flame retardant and UV-328, a stabilizer used in some personal care products — will be evaluated at this session.
  • The UNEP’s proposal to list chlorpyrifos as POP was resisted by India.
  • India argued that
    • Chlorpyrifos is not a carcinogen, and its concentrations are low.
    • Some of the studies in the POPRC-17 proposal showing adverse effects of chlorpyrifos were not peer reviewed.

Chlorpyrifos and India

  • Chlorpyrifos was registered under the Insecticide Act of 1968 since 1977.
  • Also, Anupam Verma Committee recommended its review for continued use in 2015.
  • Chlorpyrifos was approved for agricultural use in 2021.
  • Approval includes its use as a pesticide against pests affecting Bengal gram, rice and cotton.
  • It was approved for 18 crops in India.
  • It is one of the ten pesticides banned by Punjab and Haryana governments in August 2022.
  • China and India are among the largest producers of chlorpyrifos.

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