London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade

London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade

 

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Definitions

For the purposes of the Guidelines:

(a) “Chemical”means a chemical substance whether by itself or in a mixture or preparation, whether manufactured or obtained from nature and includes such substances used as industrial chemicals and pesticides;

(b) “Banned chemical”means a chemical which has, for health or environmental reasons, been prohibited for all uses by final governmental regulatory actions;

(c) “Severely restricted chemical”means a chemical for which, for health or environmental reasons, virtually all uses have been prohibited nationally by final government regulatory action, but for which certain specific uses remain authorized;

(d) “International trade”means export or import of chemicals;

(e) “Export”and “import”mean, in their respective connotations, the movement of a chemical from one State to another State, but exclude mere transit operations;

(f) “Management”means the handling, supply transport, storage, treatment, application, or other use of a chemical subsequent to its initial manufacture or formulation;

(g) “Prior informed consent”(PIC) refers to the principle that international shipment of a chemical that is banned or severely restricted in order to protect human health or the environment should not proceed without the agreement, where such agreement exists, or contrary to the decision, of the designated national authority in the importing country ;

(h) “Prior informed consent procedure “(PIC procedure) means the procedure for formerly obtaining and disseminating the decisions of importing countries as to whether they wish to receive future shipments of chemicals which have been banned or severely restricted. A specific procedure was established for selecting chemicals for initial implementation of the PIC procedures. These include chemicals which have been previously banned or severely restricted as well as certain pesticide formulations which are acutely toxic. This is explained in annex II.

2. General principles

(a) Both States of export and States of import should protect human health and the environment against potential harm by exchanging information on chemicals in international trade;

(b) In their activities with regard to chemicals, States should act, in so far as is applicable, in accordance with principle 21 of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment ;

(c) States taking measures to regulate chemicals with a view to protecting human, animal or plant life or health, or the environment, should ensure that regulations and standards for this purpose do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade;

(d) States should ensure that governmental control measures or actions taken with regard to an imported chemical for which information has been received in implementation of the Guidelines are not more restrictive than those applied to the same chemical produced for domestic use or imported from a State other than the one that supplied the information;

(e) States with more advanced systems for the safe management of chemicals should share their experience with those countries in need of improved systems;

(f) Both States of import and States of export should, as appropriate, strengthen their existing infrastructures and institutions in the following way:

(i) Establishing and strengthening legislative and regulatory systems and other mechanisms for improving control and management of chemicals. This may include development of model legislation or regulations, in light of these Guidelines and other relevant guidelines prepared by other organizations;

(ii) Creating national registers of toxic chemicals, including both industrial chemicals and pesticides;

(iii) Preparing and updating manuals, directories and documentation for better utilization of facilities for information collection and dissemination at the country level and to on-line facilities at the regional level.

3. Exemptions

These Guidelines should not apply to:

(a) Pharmaceuticals, including narcotics, drugs and psychotropic substances;

(b) Radioactive materials;

(c) Chemicals imported for the purposes of research or analysis in quantities not likely to affect the environment or human health;

(d) Chemicals imported as personal or household effects, in quantities reasonable for these uses;

(e) Food additives. 1/

4. Effects on other instruments

(a) States should take the necessary measures with regard to implementation of these Guidelines.

(b) The provisions of these Guidelines do not affect the obligations of States deriving from any relevant international agreement to which they are or may become party.

5. Institutional arrangements

5.1 UNEP and FAO should develop an information exchange system to ensure that designated national authorities of importing and exporting countries have a single contact point for obtaining information and communicating decisions on chemicals subject to the PIC procedure;

5.2 UNEP should share with FAO the operational responsibility for the implementation of the PIC procedure and jointly manage and implement common preparation on PIC guidance documents, mechanisms for information sharing, and creation of data bases;

5.3 UNEP should collaborate with FAO in reviewing the implementation of the PIC procedure, including participation, responses, and violations of importing country decisions;

5.4 For purposes of international communications, each State should designate a national governmental authority (or authorities) competent to perform the administrative functions related to the exchange of information and decisions regarding importation of chemicals included in the PIC procedure; 2/

5.5 The designated national authority should be authorized to communicate, directly or as provided by national law or regulation, with designated national authorities of other States and with International Organizations concerned, to exchange information, to make and communicate decisions regarding chemicals included in the PIC procedure and to submit reports at the request of such States or organizations or on its own initiative;

5.6 States should ensure that designated national authorities have sufficient national resources to assume responsibility with regard to implementation of these Guidelines;

5.7 States should as soon as possible make available the name and address of their designated national authority to the International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC), as well as subsequent changes;

5.8 A register of designated national authorities should be maintained, regularly updated, and disseminated by IRPTC;

5.9 IRPTC should, in addition:

(a) Co-ordinate the network of designated national authorities;

(b) Develop recommendations on practices and procedures, and such joint programmes and measures as may be required to make the Guidelines effective;

(c) Maintain liaison with other concerned intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

(d) Keep under review the implementation of these Guidelines, on the basis of periodic reports from designated national authorities and provide biennial reports on the effectiveness of the Guidelines and suggestions for their improvement.

 

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990, International Organizations, London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade 2, London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade 3, Other Environmental conventions, United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, country.


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *