Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Sound Management of Chemicals

Initiative

Updates on Current Activities

2008

New Direction

This new direction focuses on 4 areas:

1. Establish a foundation for chemicals management across North America

2. Develop and implement a sustainable regional approach to monitoring

3. Reduce the risk from chemicals of mutual concern to North American

4. Improve environmental performance of sectors

• Improve overall Outreach and Engagement

Establishing a FoundationSMOC

Mexican chemicals inventory– Consideration of Canadian and USA systems– Strategic team in place– Gaps analysis, criteria development– Partner with UK support

• Links to Leaders Summit, Montebello– Security and Prosperity Partnership

• Chemicals management initiative

Establishing a Foundation EM&A

• Preparation of guidance document for trilateral bio-monitoring exercises– Sampling, analysis, data management– Inter-laboratory verification

• QA/QC exercises for blood POPs analysis– Build on 2006 initiative

Sustainable Regional Monitoring

• Focus on compatible, comparable information and sustainable networks– Report on trilateral monitoring initiatives– Grey Literature Synthesis report– PRONAME in Mexico

• Tri-national Blood Biomonitoring report

• NARAP assessment report

Sustainable Regional Monitoring

• Improving ability/building capacity to monitor in a comparable and reliable manner and to assess impacts;

• Quality Assurance/Quality Control;– Sampling/Chemical analysis and data reporting– Consistency, validity and comparability

• Help advance the Parties’ shared international objectives, – SAICM and SPP.– OECD, GRULAC, UNEP

Reducing Risk of Chemicals of Mutual Concern - SMOC

• NARAPs continue to be implemented–mercury–lindane

• Dioxins/Furans/HCB transition–from NARAP to Strategic Initiative–Implementation on-going

• PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE’s)

Mercury Action Plan• Reassess priorities matrix and path forward

• Closure of NARAP in 2010

• Mexican products inventory completed 2008

• Linkage to UNEP partnership initiative

• Phase 3 of a project to reduce exposure from products in hospitals in Mexico,

• support project to speciate mercury at high level sites in Mexico

Lindane and Other HCH Isomers

• Approved by Council, November 2006

• Implementation matrix priorities developed– Workshop on alternatives completed– Agricultural registrations ending– Inventories and current pharmaceutical uses

• Lindane nominated to POP’s Convention• Dietary intake in Mexico

– LifeLine™ project training materials – Lindane and Isomers in dairy products study

• NARAP closure proposed for 2016

Dioxins, Furans, HCB

• Transition - NARAP format to Strategic Program– Final version in fall 2008

• Air monitoring network– 9 sites in Mexico– Samplers from Canada– Operator training and Analysis by USA

• Workshop: emission factors; sampling/analysis– April 15, 17, 18, 2008– Team meeting April 16

Dioxins, Furans, HCB

• Blood samples (serum) in Mexico– Part of blood biomonitoring work

• Values of TEQ appear to be about ½ of NHANES

• Risk assessment workshop– Next week, trainers from Canada

• Modelling workshop– Atmospheric modelling of Stockholm chemicals

Reducing Risks of Chemicals of Mutual Concern through EM&A

• Mercury project : – consolidation of several fish tissue data sets– Assessing risk of exposure,

• Lake Zapotlán watershed, Mexico

• Dioxins and furans: – training operators– emissions modeling workshop

• Lindane monitoring project: – dairy products

Reducing Risks of Chemicals of Mutual Concern

• PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE’s)– Used as flame retardants– Concern regarding persistence and presence

in people and the environment– Three main mixtures: penta, octa, deca

• Penta and octa production ceased, and proposed for addition to Stockholm

• Efforts ongoing in Canada/USA on deca

– Magnitude of issue to be determined in Mexico

Improving Sectoral Performance

• Electronics Sector– Linkage to trade– Two studies completed

• Needs of SME’s re: Chemical regulatory agenda• Improved environmental design/waste management

– Path forward based on horizontal integration• Discussion among principles on options for aligning

with PRTR, Trade & Environment

Outreach and Engagement

• SMOC WG has expressed a desire for more stakeholder involvement– Mechanisms and options to be elaborated– Greater communication– Greater feedback

• communication with various government agencies

• North American Chemicals Conference – Under consideration for 2009

Thank You

Merci

Gracias