Ahead of a critical international meeting on the regulation of dangerous chemicals, environmental groups are asking the Obama administration to press for the banning of a pesticide linked to neurological disorders.
The pesticide at issue: lindane.
Representatives of 158 countries meet next month to debate whether lindane should be added to a list of chemicals targeted for a global phaseout under the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The United States has signed but not ratified the treaty.
Environmentalists are asking the administration to push governments to add lindane to the treaty's list of restricted chemicals. The treaty currently targets 12 chemicals -- the so-called Dirty Dozen -- for restrictions that would lead to an eventual ban. When treaty members meet, they will discuss whether nine chemicals, including lindane, should be added to the treaty.
Because it has not ratified the treaty, the United States participates as an observer -- a powerful one.
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Enviro Groups Urging Obama to Support Int'l Ban of Pesticide
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Enviro groups urging Obama admin to support int'l ban of pesticide
By Sara Goodman
The New York Times, April 8, 2009
Straight to the Source
