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For Elimination of PCBs from
Asian countries (PENANG DECLARATION ON POPs)
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PENANG DECLARATION ON POPs

We, the participants from countries in the Asia-Pacific region to the International Symposium on PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) express here our concern about the continuing presence of POPs in our environment and their harmful effects on human and animal health.

"POPs" is the term used to represent the twelve persistent organic pollutants identified in the Stockholm Convention. They include the industrial chemicals known as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and the pesticides HCB (hexachlorobenzene), endrin, mirex, toxaphene, DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane and heptachlor. The industrial by-products dioxins and furans are also listed as POPs.

POPs are considered among the most dangerous of life threatening substances created by humans. They pollute the food chain and are present as contaminants in wildlife and humans at levels thousand of times higher than the surrounding air, water, and soil. Many studies have shown that POPs are capable of disrupting the endocrine system and are associated with reproductive failure, immune system disorders, behaviour and learning disorders, and cancers.

We have voiced our concerns on various issues and problems associated with POPs. As a result, we call on our governments and all stakeholders to take the following actions:

  • acknowledgment by government, industry and agriculture that the only way to prevent releases of POPs into the environment is to avoid their production and use.
  • ratification of the Stockholm Convention on POPs by all governments in the Asia-Pacific region and the introduction of laws and education to achieve its objectives.
  • phase out of the production and use of all POPs and the cessation of those human activities that lead to their generation. The phase-out must be undertaken at national and ultimately at global level.
  • elimination of all POPs discharges, emissions, and losses to the environment and the remediation on POPs contaminated land and water.
  • substitution of POPs with non-hazardous products and services through the adoption of "clean production" technologies and manufacturing processes by all industrial and agricultural sectors.
  • implementation of the Precautionary Principle and acceptance of the premise that all synthetic chemicals are hazardous until shown to be otherwise.
  • The establishment of scientifically robust criteria and practical and transparent procedures for identifying new POPs beyond the original twelve targeted for the global action.

With respect to the management and destruction of POPs, we call on our government to enact laws and provide education that supports the following actions:

  • Identification and collection of POPs: and products containing POPs: The identification and collection of POPs and products containing POPs must be complemented by consultation and education about their risks to health and the environment. These four activities must be accepted as the first step in the POPs management and destruction program. Such a program must include practical measures to prevent damage to human health and the environment that may result from the ongoing use of products containing POPs through an accident, leak, spill, fire, explosion, or natural disaster.
  • Secure Storage: Secure storage is defined as a place where segregated waste streams are stored in purpose built/adapted facilities which incorporate high security measures, the ability to monitor and retrieve chemicals, zero emissions to water, soil, and atmosphere, rigorous and routine inspections and reporting, and an emergency response program. Storage facilities must be sited and designed with a view to facilitate the destruction of the stored wastes in the future. Communities living near dedicated storage facilities must be consulted and kept informed of any issues by regular reporting.
  • Landfill: Best practice landfill management must be adopted.
  • Destruction:
    • Best Available Destruction Technologies with Preference for Closed Loop Systems: POPs must not, under any circumstances be allowed to be dispersed into the environment through direct dumping or destruction using inadequate disposal technologies. Technologies used must avoid the formation and release of hazardous chemicals into the environment, e.g. closed loop systems.
    • On-Site Treatment: Mobile destruction systems, which can be transported to a POPs storage site or contaminated sites, must be removed upon completion of the designated destruction process. They should not remain on site where they could become a dedicated facility for the disposal of other POPs waste streams.

Responsibility and Accountability: Governments, POPs producers and those manufacturers that create products that use POPs, must take legal responsibility for the cost of the identification, collection, storage, and disposal of POPs and products containing POPs.

Community Right-to-Know: Full and transparent access to information on all aspects of management and destruction programs must be made freely and easily available to the public. This includes access to information relating to the current situation of identification, collection and monitoring data at storage and destruction sites, technologies used and the alternatives considered.


THEREFORE, with one voice, we collectively agree and support this declaration.


Dated this 25th February 2003 in Penang, Malaysia


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