Global warning on mercury: Break not, dump not, burn not

It may be hot in Manila, but last week, the mercury soared in Stockholm, as members of the international community were locked in a burning discussion of the day’s headline-making issue: preparing a legally-binding treaty on mercury. With this in mind, our man in Stockholm, Manny Calonzo, reports that waste and toxic watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has renewed its all-out campaign against the improper disposal of spent mercury-containing lamps. (Our own EcoWaste Coalition, Ban Toxics, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Health Care Without Harm, all NGOs, as well as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources participated in the United Nations-organized June 7-11 meet on mercury in Sweden.)

In a statement issued from Stockholm, EcoWaste reiterated the urgency of putting in place a practical system for hazardous waste collection in the Philippines that will curb pollution from broken, crushed or burned fluorescent lamps containing mercury, a toxic chemical of global concern that causes significant harm to human and ecological health.

Says Thony Dizon, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project PROTECT (People Responding and Organizing against Toxic Chemical Threats), “Mercury vapor is released into the environment from the breakage of fluorescent lamps during their use or when they are disposed.  When spent lamps are thrown into the trash can, they usually end up in dumpsites or landfills where they are crushed, burned, or recycled without safety precautions, thereby causing the air, water, and soil to be contaminated with mercury.”

Manny Calonzo, co-coordinator, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, sends this urgent message, “To reduce the risk of mercury exposure for consumers as well as for waste handlers and recyclers and their communities, we urge the government to draw up and enforce a system towards the environmentally-sound management of discarded mercury-containing lamps, including arrangements for the safe containment and storage of collected mercury wastes. The system, we hope, will also spell out the specific responsibilities of household and institutional users, local and national government agencies, and business and industry towards the environmentally-sound management of mercury-containing lamp waste.”

What is environmentally-sound management? According to the United Nations Environment Programme, it is “taking all practicable steps to ensure that hazardous waste or other wastes are managed in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against adverse effects which may result from such wastes.”

“Dump not, burn not mercury lamp waste” screams the hot message on the blue-and-yellow posters that EcoWaste unfolded simultaneously in Manila and Stockholm to raise awareness on the proper management of spent fluorescent lamps.

Dizon points out, “The posters represent our commitment to spreading information about mercury in products and promoting the ecological management of mercury-containing wastes.”

So, how do we protect ourselves and the environment against mercury? EcoWaste Coalition gives these hot top tips:

• Do not break.  Handle spent mercury-containing lamps with extreme care as they can easily break.

• Do not burn lamps containing mercury or throw them into regular waste bins.

• Do not play with discarded lamps or leave them lying around.

• Return spent lamp to its original box container or place in a clear plastic bag, seal, and mark “Toxic: Lamp waste with mercury.”

• Put the properly wrapped and labeled lamp waste into a secured place for temporary storage.

• For increased protection against breakage, store spent lamps in an upright position and place in a covered tin or plastic container for smaller lamps or in a cupboard for linear lamps.

• Mark the container where the lamp waste is stored with a readable warning: “Toxic: Lamp waste with mercury.”

• Keep the storage area safe, out of children’s reach, and away from the elements and human traffic.

• Contact fluorescent lamp manufacturers and/or distributors to check if they have a take-back program for their spent products or suggest a take-back program if they have none.

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These school supplies score high on toxins

So, the kids are going back to school this week? Is that the school bell we’re hearing? No, it’s the alarm bell that EcoWaste recently sounded over the presence of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or DEHP, a suspected carcinogen, in the school supplies that the group sent to the laboratory for analysis. All five samples sent tested positive for DEHP, exceeding the US limit by nearly 200 times.

If you haven’t been doing your homework, phthalates are toxic industrial chemicals commonly used to make plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more flexible, softer or durable. Due to health concerns, the European Union and the United States have banned the use of some phthalates in plastic toys and childcare articles.

EcoWaste bought five typical PVC school supplies from popular stores last month and had them analyzed by Intertek Testing Services Philippines, a leading consumer product testing company, for phthalates. Results from the laboratory testing done May 24-31, show that all five samples contained high levels of DEHP. A green long plastic envelope had 19.881-percent DEHP; a PVC plastic book cover, 18.997-percent DEHP; a PVC notebook cover, 18.543-percent DEHP; a PVC plastic lunch bag and a PVC bagpack both had 17.120-percent DEHP.

The limit for DEHP and five other types of phthalates as per US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is 0.1% of any children’s product for ages 12 and under.

Aileen Lucero of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project PROTECT notes, “Our investigation proves the presence of elevated amounts of health-damaging phthalates in products commonly used by school-going Filipino kids.  In the interest of children’s health and safety, we urge the authorities to make a decisive policy action — based on the precautionary principle — against these toxic substances.  In the meantime, we advise parents to patronize school supplies that are PVC-free and invite them to join us in pushing for a strong regulation that will ban and safeguard our children from phthalates,”

An alarmed Dr. Andreas Prevodnik, program officer on chemicals of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), laments, “This is a disturbing discovery! Children are particularly vulnerable, as their reproductive systems are under development. Furthermore, DEHP is a suspected carcinogen. For these reasons, DEHP is prohibited in the EU in toys and childcare articles.”

A partner of the EcoWaste in its chemical safety work, SSNC warns that DEHP is a developmental and reproductive toxicant in animals, and is believed to have similar effects in humans. Several scientific studies have found a connection between impaired male fertility and exposure to DEHP.

Prevodnik notes, “First of all, the use of PVC plastics, which requires plasticizers such as phthalates, should be restricted, not the least in products intended for children. When it comes to chemicals, the SSNC also always refers to the precautionary principle. If less harmful alternatives are available, these should substitute the more harmful. A number of alternative plasticizers that appear to be less harmful than DEHP are available.”

FYI, in December 2005, the European Parliament, guided by the precautionary principle, voted to ban the use of three phthalates (DEHP, dibutyl phthalate or DBP and butylbenzyl phthalate or BBP) and restrict the use of another three phthalates (di-iso nonyl phthalate or DINP, di-iso-decyl phthalate or DIDP and di-n-octyl phthalate or DNOP) in plastic toys and childcare articles, without age limitations.

In July 2008, the US Congress enacted the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that, among others, banned six phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, and DNOP) from children’s toys and cosmetics.

In March this year, Australia adopted an interim 18-month ban on products containing more than one percent DEHP by weight for toys, childcare articles, and eating vessels for use by children up to three years old.

Indeed, our children’s health is not something to be toyed around with. –Ching M. Alano (The Philippine Star)