Eight dangerous pesticides banned from Sri Lanka

Eight dangerous pesticides are no longer used in Sri Lanka though PCG and HCB industrial chemicals were used extensively some time ago, Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said.

The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the joint workshop of the Stockholm and Rotterdam convention for the Asian region held at Hilton hotel yesterday. Minister Yapa explained the action taken by the Government to keep Sri Lanka environmental friendly through its legislation.

Sri Lanka has ratified conventions and international agreements relating to ship waste, marine pollution and oil pollution from ships. Sri Lanka also ratified the Basel Convention on the control of Trans Boundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal in 1992.

The Minister explained the key regulatory framework and mechanisms adopted by the Government to regulate all unhealthy environmental situations in Sri Lanka. Control of Pesticides Act, Imports and Export Control Act, National Environmental Act and Marine Pollution Prevention Act are a few among them, he said. He said steps will be taken to implement measures for the safe use of chemicals and their disposal ensuring safety of the people and the environment.

The Minister said Sri Lanka took initiatives in the field of chemical management by controlling Persistent Organic Pollutants commonly known as POPs and usage of other dangerous chemicals.

Being a signatory to the Stockholm Convention on POPs , Sri Lanka prepared the National Implementation Plan on POPs in 2006. But Sri Lanka was able to curb the detrimental effect of POPs long before the Stockholm Convention came into force.

Substantial measures had been taken by the Sri Lanka even decades before the Convention was adopted, he said.

The Minister noted DDT chemical was banned from agricultural uses in 1970 and from all other uses such as for vector control in 1976. In 1996 Chlordane, the last of the POPs pesticides was banned from all uses in Sri Lanka.

The Asian Region joint workshop of the Stockholm and Rotterdam Convention together with the Sri Lankan Environment Ministry is being held in Colombo upto January 21. Over 55 representatives from 17 countries with Sri lankan environmentalists and experts are attending the event.

This event was organized by the Environment Ministry in association with the Secretariat of the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions in Geneva.

The regional workshop’s objective is to identify the capacity and strengthen the capability to maintain a healthy environment in the world. Fruitful discussion on chemical uses will also be available at the event.