Relevant Provisions of the Basel Convention and Works under the UNEP

2Relevant Provisions of the Basel Convention and Works under the UNEP

2.1Basel Convention

2.1.1General Provision

39. 
    The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. The Basel Convention came into force in 1992, and there are 172 parties to the Basel Convention as of March 2009. The Basel Convention aims to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects resulting from the generation, management, transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous and other wastes.
    
40. 
    In its Article 2 (“Definitions”), paragraph 1, the Basel Convention defines wastes as “substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provisions of national law”. In paragraph 4 of that Article, it defines disposal as “any operation specified in Annex IV” to the Convention. In paragraph 8, it defines ESM of hazardous wastes or other wastes as “taking all practicable steps to ensure that hazardous wastes or other wastes are managed in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such wastes”.
    
41. 
    Article 4 (“General obligations”), paragraph 1, establishes the procedure by which Parties exercising their right to prohibit the import of hazardous wastes or other wastes for disposal shall inform the other Parties of their decision. Paragraph 1 (a) states: “Parties exercising their right to prohibit the import of hazardous or other wastes for disposal shall inform the other Parties of their decision pursuant to Article 13.” Paragraph 1 (b) states: “Parties shall prohibit or shall not permit the export of hazardous or other wastes to the Parties which have prohibited the import of such waste when notified pursuant to subparagraph (a).”
    
42. 
    Article 4, paragraphs 2 (a) - (e) and (g) contains key provisions of the Basel Convention pertaining to ESM, waste minimization, and waste disposal practices that mitigate adverse effects on human health and the environment:
    

(a) Ensure that the generation of hazardous wastes and other wastes within it is reduced to a minimum, taking into account social, technological and economic aspects;

(b) Ensure the availability of adequate disposal facilities, for ESM of hazardous wastes and other wastes, that shall be located, to the extent possible, within it, whatever the place of their disposal;

(c) Ensure that persons involved in the management of hazardous wastes or other wastes within it take such steps as are necessary to prevent pollution due to hazardous wastes and other wastes arising from such management and, if such pollution occurs, to minimize the consequences thereof for human health and the environment;

(d) Ensure that the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes is reduced to the minimum consistent with the environmentally sound and efficient management of such wastes, and is conducted in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such movement;

(e) Not allow the export of hazardous wastes or other wastes to a State or group of States belonging to an economic and/or political integration organization that are Parties, particularly developing countries, which have prohibited by their legislation all imports, or if it has reason to believe that the wastes in question will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner, according to criteria to be decided on by the Parties at their first meeting; and

43. 
    Article 4, paragraph 4 mentions that each Party shall take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures to implement and enforce the provisions of this Convention, including measures to prevent and punish conduct in contravention of the Convention and consider criminal any instance of illegal traffic of hazardous wastes.
    
44. 
    Article 4, paragraph 8 and 9, mentions requirements of transboundary movement of hazardous wastes. Parties must require that hazardous wastes subject to transboundary movement are managed in an environmentally sound manner, whatever the place of their disposal generated and disposed of domestically or those wastes that are exported. The exporting state may not allow the export of hazardous wastes if it has a reason to believe that they would not be managed in an environmentally sound manner in the state of import. Similarly, parties of import have an obligation to prevent any import if it has reason to believe the import will not occur in an environmentally sound manner.
    
45. 
    COP3 adapted an amendment, so-called the Ban Amendment, to the Convention which was devised to prohibit the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes from the Annex VII countries, namely, “members of OECD, EC and Liechtenstein”, to other countries. This prohibition is to apply to shipments of hazardous waste for resource recovery and recycling, as well as for final disposal (SBC 2009). However, the Ban Amendment has not yet entered into force as of January 2010.
    

2.1.2Mercury Related Provisions

46. 
    Article 1 (“Scope of the Convention”) defines the waste types subject to the Basel Convention. Subparagraph (a) of that Article sets forth a two-step process for determining whether a “waste” is a “hazardous waste” subject to the Convention: first, the waste must belong to any category contained in Annex I to the Convention (“Categories of wastes to be controlled”), and second, the waste must possess at least one of the characteristics listed in Annex III to the Convention (“List of hazardous characteristics”).
    
47. 
    The present technical guidelines focus on wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with mercury and mercury compounds listed in Annexes I and VIII to the Basel Convention as categories of wastes to be controlled as shown in Table 2 -1.
    

Table 2 1 Mercury-containing wastes listed in the Basel Convention

Waste entries with direct reference to mercury:
Y29	Wastes having as constituents: Mercury, mercury compounds
A1010	Metal wastes and waste consisting of alloys of any of the following: Antimony Arsenic Beryllium Cadmium Lead Mercury Selenium Tellurium Thallium but excluding such wastes specifically listed on list B.
A1030	Wastes having as constituents or contaminants any of the following: Arsenic; arsenic compounds Mercury; mercury compounds Thallium; thallium compounds
A1180	Waste electrical and electronic assemblies or scrap1 containing components such as accumulators and other batteries included on list A, mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glass and PCB-capacitors, or contaminated with Annex I constituents (e.g., cadmium, mercury, lead, polychlorinated biphenyl) to an extent that they possess any of the characteristics contained in Annex III (note the related entry on list B B1110)
Wastes entries which may contain mercury:
A1170	Unsorted waste batteries excluding mixtures of only list B batteries. Waste batteries not specified on list B containing Annex I constituents to an extent to render them hazardous
A2030	Waste catalysts but excluding such wastes specified on list B
A2060	Coal-fired power plant fly-ash containing Annex I substances in concentrations sufficient to exhibit Annex III characteristics (note the related entry on list B B2050)
A3170	Wastes arising from the production of aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbons (such as chloromethane, dichloro-ethane, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, allyl chloride and epichlorhydrin)
A4010	Wastes from the production, preparation and use of pharmaceutical products but excluding such wastes specified on list B
A4020	Clinical and related wastes; that is wastes arising from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, or similar practices, and wastes generated in hospitals or other facilities during the investigation or treatment of patients, or research projects
A4080	Wastes of an explosive nature (but excluding such wastes specified on list B)
A4160	Spent activated carbon not included on list B (note the related entry on list B B2060)

48. 
    Taking into consideration mercury poisoning if mercury waste is burned or accidentally spilled (such as mercury in thermometers), the following hazardous characteristics in Annex III of the Basel Convention are considered:
    

• 
  Poisonous (Acute) (United Nations (UN) Class: 6.1; Code: H6.1): Substances or wastes liable either to cause death or serious injury or to harm human health if swallowed or inhaled or by skin contact; and
  
• 
  Toxic (Delayed or chronic) (UN Class: 9; Code H11): Substances or wastes which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may involve delayed or chronic effects, including carcinogenicity.
  

49. 
    Taking into consideration mercury poisoning because of bioaccumulation and biomagnification if mercury in wastes is released into the environment and bioconverted to methylmercury, the following hazardous characteristic is also considered:
    

• 
  Ecotoxic (UN Class: 9; Code: H12 in Annex III to the Basel Convention): Substances or wastes which if released present or may present immediate or delayed adverse impacts to the environment by means of bioaccumulation and/or toxic effects upon biotic systems.
  

50. 
    Taking into consideration ESM of mercury waste, the following disposal operations which do not lead to the possibility of resource recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct re-use or alternative uses in Annex IV of the Basel Convention are considered: D5: Specially engineering landfill; D12: Permanent storage; and D15: Storage pending any of the operation in Section A limited to intermediate storage for D5 and D12.
    
51. 
    In addition, any operation, which may lead to resource recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct re-use or alternative uses, in Section B in Annex IV of the Basel Convention is considered under the guidelines.
    
52. 
    As stated in Article 1, paragraph 1 (b), “Wastes that are not covered under paragraph (a) but are defined as, or are considered to be, hazardous wastes by the domestic legislation of the Party of export, import or transit” are also subject to the Basel Convention.
    

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