§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the 12 most dangerous persistent organic pollutants which the United Nations Environmental Programme has recommended should be banned; and if he will make a statement. [22227]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe United Nations Environmental Programme has not yet come to a decision on the need to ban any persistent organic pollutants, although it has identified 12 substances that should be assessed for risks posed to human health and the environment. Consideration will then be given to measures necessary to control risks identified. The 12 consist of
pesticides (aldrin, dieldrin, DDT, endrin, chlordane, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene and heptachlor);industrial chemicals known as polychlorobiphenyls (or PCBs); dioxins and furans.The UK has played a major role in developing a proposed protocol on persistent organic pollutants under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe convention on long-range transboundary air pollution. The Government support the UNEP initiative to build on this work, and will play an active role in its development.