UN meeting seeks hazardous chemicals ban

Lawmakers are spotlighting nine hazardous chemicals for a potential ban as part of a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meeting this week.

The chemicals, commonly used as pesticides and flame retardants, could join 12 already banned hazardous chemicals known as the "dirty dozen", which were prohibited under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

Any ban could have significant repercussions for the global agricultural and consumer goods sectors, both of which continue to employ some of the hazardous chemicals.

The infamous pesticide DDT will be on the hit list, as UNEP considers whether or not to ban it in countries that still use it to kill mosquitoes carrying malaria. "While the Convention targets DDT for elimination, it recognises that some countries must still use this pesticide to protect their citizens' health, " officials said in a statement.

Rather than simply banning the nine chemicals, the meeting will consider ways to mitigate the effects of not using them and attempt to identify viable alternatives.

UNEP said it will try to assess safer alternatives and will also argue that technical and financial resources must be given to countries to help them meet their obligations to ban the chemicals.

The chemicals under scrutiny are Alpha hexachlorocyclohexane; Beta hexachlorocyclohexane; Hexabromodiphenyl ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether; Tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether; Chlordecone; Hexabromobiphenyl; Lindane; Pentachlorobenzene; Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride.