Polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), “famous” as persistent
organic pollutants (POPs), have been managed nationally since the
1970s and globally under the Stockholm Convention on POPs since 2004,
requiring environmentally sound management (ESM) of PCBs by 2028.
At most, 30% of countries are on track to achieve ESM by 2028. Globally
over 10 million tonnes of PCB-containing materials remain, mostly
in countries lacking the ability to manage PCB waste. Canada (Ontario)
and Czechia, both parties to the Stockholm Convention, are close to
achieving the 2028 goal, having reduced their stocks of pure PCBs
by 99% in the past 10 years. In contrast, the USA, not a party to
the Stockholm Convention, continues to have a substantial but poorly
inventoried stock of PCBs and only ∼3% decrease in mass of
PCBs since 2006. PCB management, which depends on Stockholm Convention
support and national compliance, portends major challenges for POP
management. The failure to manage global PCB stocks >30 years after
the end of production highlights the urgent need to prioritize reducing
production and use of newer, more widely distributed POPs such as
chlorinated paraffins and per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances,
as these management challenges are unlikely to be resolved in the
coming decades.
The Minamata Convention (MC), a multilateral environmental agreement (MEA), aims to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and its compounds. The success of the MC essentially depends on its effective implementation in developing regions especially those where the contribution to global mercury emissions is large. We assess the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of the MC’s implementation in India, which is among the top mercury emitters in the world. We examine the influence of existing Indian regulations on several aspects of the MC and highlight those areas that should be prioritized in future actions combating mercury pollution in India. India has elaborate regulations on several important aspects of the MC, yet their implementation and enforcement remain weak. To change the current situation, it is necessary to develop programs that systematically track mercury consumption, within-country trade, and emissions, monitor environment and human exposure to mercury, and reconcile the mercury management agenda and actions with national development plans in India. India needs to prepare, and timely provide to the secretariat of the convention, the National Action Plan (NAP) with a special focus on managing mercury emissions and releases as described in the Articles 8 and 9 of the MC. Overall, effectively implementing the MC in India will result not only in curbing mercury pollution, but also help in progress towards related Sustainable Development Goals.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.