September 16, 2006	Saturday	Sha'aban 22, 1427

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LAHORE, Sept 15: Punjab Environment Minister Makhdoom Ishfaq Ahmad has said that persistent organic pollutants are lying in the province in the form of 167 stockpiles of unattended obsolete pesticides and about 279.45 tons of mixed pesticides stocked in poorly maintained stores.

Inaugurating a one-day provincial workshop on five-year ‘National Implementation Plan for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)’ organised by the United Nations Development Programme, the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency and the Punjab Environment Protection Department here on Friday, the minister said the inventory of Dioxin and Furan also indicated existence of numerous sources of emission of these gases in air, water and residues of a number of products. The total emission of Dioxin in Punjab was estimated at 5,809 grams toxic equivalent per year whereas the inventory of Polychlorinated Biphenyl identified thermal and hydraulic oils as its major sources. Millions of empty bottles of cotton pesticides thrown away by the illiterate farmers were also a potential threat for environment.

He said the ministry had completed the inventory of POPs with the cooperation of environment protection agencies and UNDP during the past two years as an obligatory duty under the Stockholm Convention for the formulation of National Implementation Plan for their elimination.

He said all stakeholders had been included in the decision making process for building capacity to combat the menace of POPs at the provincial level.

He said the Punjab Health Department had decided to install incinerators at all district headquarters hospitals for burning the hospital waste. It had now been decided to install incinerators outside cities as the smoke and gases emitted as a result of burning caused environmental pollution. A British firm had also been engaged for identification of proper sites and development of landfill sites. Disposal of drums in which chemicals were imported was also a problem. Emissions from steel furnaces on Bund Road in Lahore also posed a threat to the people living in the vicinity.

United Nations Investigation, Training and Research Mission head Dr John A Haines said sound management of POPs was necessary because they caused 250,000 deaths around the world every year. The hospital waste required to be properly disposed of. Six countries engaged in manufacture of DDT and Dieldrin required to be stopped.

Punjab Environment Protection Agency director general Kamran Ali Khan said developing countries were facing difficulties in controlling the side effects of the POPs produced by the developed nations in the form of pollution and degradation of environment.

POPs Inventorisation and National Implementation Plan project manager Syed Zaheer Ahmad Gilani said DDT and some other POPs were illegally available in Pakistan despite a ban. The Polychlorinated Biphenyle used for cooling the oil in old transformers also caused emission of poisonous gases.

Dr Usman Mustafa said chlorinated organic compounds known as Dioxins and Furan were formed as unintentional byproducts of many industrial processes like waste incineration, mineral production involving chlorine such as waste incineration, chemical and pesticide manufacturing and pulp and paper bleaching. Dioxin was the general term that described a group of 210 chemicals highly persistent in the environment. Of 29,688.44 grams TEQs of Dioxin and Furan released in Pakistan per year, 8,809.927 grams TEQ were released in Punjab.

Dr Mahmood A Khwaja from Sustainable Policy Development Institute, Islamabad, said the Stockholm Convention on POPs was an international treaty designed to end production and use of world’s 12 most poisonous chemicals. The DDT, Aldrine, Dieldrine, Endrine, Heptachlor, Chlordane, Mirex and Toxaphane and industrial compounds Polychlorinated Biphenyle and Hexachlorobenzene had been put on the blacklist and Dioxins and Furans had been declared undesirable byproducts under the convention.

Giving a presentation on Pesticide Action Plan Prof Dr Saghir Ahmad Jafri said POPs used in a very wide variety of electrical equipment and transformers because of suitability for controlled current supply had hazardous effects on human health and required to be eliminated.

He said the presence of Polychlorinated Biphenyl had been established in 471,316 transformers installed in the country and these required to be filled by alternate fluids. As many as 376,242 transformers were damaged. The oil leaking from damaged transformers could pollute atmosphere because these could not be repaired promptly in view of the fact that there were only four transformer reclamation workshops in the country.

UNDP National Consultant Dr Safdar Ali said the National Action Plan aimed at promotion of awareness about POPs and elimination of 600 metric tons pesticide from 425 identified sites by 2011 and rational management of obsolete stocks and contaminated sites after completion of survey and necessary sampling. The programme also aimed at strengthening of legislative infrastructure to facilitate elimination of POPs.