Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Early History: Stimulating International Action to
Control the Entry of POPs and Heavy Metals to the
Environment
Despite the caution of the bench scientists, Garth, Russel and I were convinced of the vera-
city of the grasshopper/cold trapping hypothesis and were treating it as proven. We were
familiar with the work of Jozef Pacyna and Michael Oehme (published in
1988
) that sup-
ported the atmospheric transportation hypothesis. We also knew that organochlorine levels
in seals in waters around Svalbard were similar to those of seals in Arctic Canada. With
his usual tenacity, Garth thought we had enough justification to seek international controls
on organochlorines. Of course, we did not have anything like the required information, but
that did not matter to Garth. I took a look at existing agreements related to chemicals and
the environment. Nothing existed that would commit countries to control these substances.
There was not even an international collaboration to discuss the possibility that a combina-
tion of long-range transport and biomagnification could cause significant effects at locations
far from sources. The only partially relevant agreements were the Basel and Rotterdam con-
ventions that dealt with waste disposal andinternational trade oftoxic substances. Garth was
not discouraged one little bit, and in spring 1990, I was writing to the United Nations En-
vironment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Convention
on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) to investigate the possibility of an
appropriate multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) to deal with POPs. In the case of
CLRTAP, I suggested the creation of a POPs protocol.
UNEP and WHO did not respond, but the CLRTAP opened its door slightly. We en-
countered this convention earlier when we looked at acid rain in the Arctic. Because it was
set up to deal primarily with acid rain, its delegates were very familiar with the concept of
long-range atmospheric transport being responsible for environmental effects occurring at
localities distant from sources. As it is a framework convention, it enables parties to “attach”
legally binding protocols that target specific pollution issues as they emerge. I was invited
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