Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO1 Fifth Meeting of the Regional Ozone Network in Europe and Central Asia Workshop on ODS disposal &destruction 14 April, Tbilisi, Georgia Outcomes of the JOINT UNODC/UNIDO EXPERT MEETING ON ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE METHODS FOR THE DESTRUCTION/DISPOSAL OF CHEMICALS Vienna, 6 to 8 September 2005

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO2 Background Organized by the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in cooperation with The Laboratory and Scientific Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, September 2005

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO3 Purpose Safe handling, storage and environmentally safe disposal / destruction under economically feasible conditions of a variety of chemicals. To respond to concerns on environmentally safe methods for the destruction/disposal of chemicals Areas: 1.Precursor chemicals used in the illicit manufacturing of narcotic drugs 2.and psychotropic substances. 3.Ozone-depleting substances (ODS).

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO4 Participants and objective 9 experts from eight countries, a representative from the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), a technical advisor from the Precursors Control Section of the INCB Secretariat, and UNODC and UNIDO staff. The meeting was devoted to the development/finalization for publication of practical guidelines for the safe handling and disposal of chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs, particularly in those countries where an appropriate environmental management infrastructure is lacking.

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO5 Conclusions Clear differences between the two groups of substances were recognized, participants noted that there are key principles that are applicable to both. Subsequent discussions then centred around those common principles, which include the need for the identification of safe, reliable and cost-effective methods, technologies and approaches, and the desire to continuously improve them; Necessity for building partnerships with national counterparts that are in need of establishing facilities for destruction/disposal or those who may already have the required capacity; Need for appropriate training; and, ultimately, the need to develop a national environmental waste management infrastructure, and to support those infrastructures with appropriate legislative instruments..

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO6 Recommendations Common UNODC - UNIDO Recommendations Governments should demonstrate their political willingness and commitment to develop and implement safe practices for chemical disposal / destruction by: Ensuring that the national waste management infrastructures take into account those situations, where seized precursor chemicals, ODS, POPs and related chemical waste are destroyed or disposed of; Reviewing the available facilities and resources for disposal or management of other types of wastes that may be utilized or adapted for the destruction of the chemicals of concern; Reviewing the adequacy of the existing legal frameworks and domestic legislation, to ensure effective control of the chemicals and their disposal / destruction;.

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO7 Recommendations Common UNODC - UNIDO Recommendations Introducing or strengthening as required specific plans / policies for the disposal and destruction of the chemicals of concern within the national waste management infrastructures, including specific provisions for: –the safe handling, and secure collection, transportation and storage of the chemicals of concern prior to their destruction; –ensuring the health and safety of the individuals concerned; through appropriate awareness raising, training and provision of adequate equipment; Introducing or strengthening mechanisms for sharing information at national and international levels; Exploring options as to how the necessary technical and financial resources can be made available.

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO8 Recommendations ODS Working Group Recommendations Governments should: Include provisions in the ODS legislation to stipulate the producer of the waste ODS responsible for its disposal. Encourage the training on recovery and recycling of ODS and seek to provide recycling centres with a reclamation machine to ensure a better grade of the recycled ODS thus minimizing the volume of ODS requiring destruction. Investigate the possibility of exporting waste ODS to other countries that have the facilities to reclaim or destroy it, provided that the laws of the importing countries allow it. Cooperate with customs to enforce the legal instruments in the country Governments in cooperation with the Implementing Agencies should: Determine the capacity for which the establishment of a destruction facility is required..

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO9 Recommendations Select a technology in accordance with the national environmental laws and regulations, also considering the quantity of ODS to be disposed of, the cost of the technology and the cost of destruction of a kg of chemicals. Three categories of countries based on which the choice of destruction technology could be recommended have been identified: –Countries having a variety of chemicals (waste ODS, hazardous chemicals and persistent organic pollutants) requiring disposal need to consider technologies that are adaptable to a wide variety of chemicals. Cement kilns, container based incineration system, gas phase catalytic reduction, liquid injection incineration, plasma technologies and rotary kiln incinerators are all examples of technologies that may be recommended..

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO10 Recommendations –Countries having a small volume of waste ODS may consider acquiring a mobile/semi-mobile unit to be used at a national/regional level depending on the amount of waste ODS available. Technologies that may be mounted to mobile and semi-mobile units include container-based incineration systems, argon plasma Arc, Nitrogen Plasma Arc, gas phase chemical reduction, super heated steam reactor, vitrification and liquid phase chemical reduction. –Countries having a large volume of waste ODS may consider establishing a central destruction facility to treat the waste ODS at the country level. Countries that have agreed to a regional approach should: Take supplementary measures in terms of bilateral agreements between the countries to facilitate the movement of the waste ODS..

Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch UNIDO11.. Mr. M.Si Ahmed Director UNIDO Multilateral Environmental Agreements Branch (MEA) D12 55 P.O.Box 300 Vienna A-1400 Austria