UN Expert: Toxic Pollution Is a Global Health Emergency, Global Treaty Needed
Marcos Orellana, the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, warned on October 29 that toxic pollution is a global health emergency, saying a worldwide regulatory vacuum is fuelling a toxics "pandemic" that kills millions of people every year.
Presenting his report to the UN General Assembly, Orellana said up to one third of children have elevated blood lead levels, making lead exposure one of the most damaging risks to children's health and development. Regulation of lead remains weak in many countries and lead paint is still sold worldwide.
The report says the export trade in toxic products shifts hazards to countries with weaker controls: lead paint, toxic pesticides and substances such as cadmium are exported to developing countries, transferring the "toxic burden" to workers and communities in low- and middle-income countries, while mercury pollution continues to threaten fish-dependent communities, Indigenous peoples and coastal economies.
Orellana called for a global treaty to regulate the life cycle of toxic substances on a human-rights basis, saying everyone has the right to live in a toxic-free environment and that the health of present and future generations should not be collateral for industrial and commercial profit.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：爱沙尼亚基维奥利化工厂（资料图），Hannu 摄，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域 / Photo of Kiviõli chemical plant by Hannu, Wikimedia Commons, public domain
