U.N. conference adopts landmark toxic waste liability accord

A U.N. conference on hazardous waste on Friday adopted a landmark protocol that sets up a liability fund that will allow Third World nations to cover clean-up costs in cases of accidents.

A U.N. conference on hazardous waste on Friday adopted a landmark protocol that sets up a liability fund that will allow Third World nations to cover clean-up costs in cases of accidents.

Approval of the protocol came on the last day of a week-long conference in the Swiss city of Basel, where delegates also decided to speed up the transfer of waste management know-how to developing nations, and to lower the production of toxic and hazardous waste around the globe.

The head of the Swiss Federal Environment Agency, Philippe Roch, described the approval of the protocol as a landmark event.

He said that, for the first time, the signatories to the so-called Basel convention on hazardous waste had agreed to introduce clear rules on liability and risk management.

Delegates agreed that companies handling hazardous or toxic waste must now weigh the risks of producing, transporting or disposing of hazardous waste. If there are accidents, the companies must pay for the clean-up costs.

The United Nations estimates that 3 million tons of toxic and hazardous waste cross national borders each year.

The agreement came exactly ten years after the Basel Convention on the Movement and Disposal of Hazardous Waste was adopted in the Swiss city. The convention was set up following international outrage over the dumping of hazardous waste in developing countries by producers from industrialised economies. The accord
has been adopted by 132 states, including Switzerland but not the United States.

From staff and wire reports.