Probe Weekly: ESDO now targets toxic chemicals
http://www.probeweekly.com/Details/2015/06/01/233
A Probe report
Over the last two decades, the Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO has dedicated itself to the cause of clean environment and a country free of pollution. It has taken up many issues in the course of time, including lead-free paint, mercury-free dentistry and agriculture free of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, among others. This organisation has built up a movement aiming at a zero-waste village for toxic-free sustainable livelihood. ESDO has included environmental education at a primary and secondary level in order to institutionalise modern environmental concepts. At the very outset, the organisation and the people behind the organization had begun with the drive against polythene shopping bags.
ESDO carried on its relentless struggle against polythene in the face of threats from the polythene bag manufacturers, loopholes in the environmental laws, and other obstacles. As a result, today polythene bags are banned. Journalist and ecologist Dr. Hossain Shahriar is the Secretary General of ESDO. He says, it is not possible for the overall environment to be protected by one particular organisation. It is the government that has to carry out this work. Individuals and organisations can work on policy advocacy.
In the mid-eighties, polythene was everywhere. Even a tiny purchase from a footpath vendor would be handed over in a free polythene bag. Shahriar initially became interested in the polythene bag issue during a trip to Australia. When buying some fruit in a Melbourne market, Shahriar was given a paper bag by a shopkeeper. He asked for a polythene bag, which he was used to in Bangladesh.
The shopkeeper replied that she did not use polythene bags because of the environmental hazards. After this initial exposure, Shahriar educated himself about the environmental consequences of using polythene bags and learned that in other Asian cities such as Bangkok, significant strides were being made in eliminating these bags. It was to raise this awareness that, upon his return to the country, Hossain Shahriar prepared reports for the weekly Bichitra and Dainik Bangla, highlighting the harmful effects of polythene. Then came 1988 when the entire Dhaka city was submerged in flood water. It only after a stretch of 22 days that water in the nearby rivers and canals began to recede. But even then the water remained stagnant in Dhaka. Hossain Shahriar was a reporter with the daily Janata at the time. He was given an assignment to find the reason behind this water-logging. Coming to Shyamoli, he discovered that polythene bags were the main cause of the water-logging. His report was the lead news in the daily. Under WASA supervision, over the next few days the same condition was found all over the city.
However, no one was talking about banning the use of polythene. On 6 June 1990 ESDO started out, launching a campaign against polythene. Dr. Shahriar says, one thing was clear. A movement was essential to free the city of polythene and its harmful effects. ESDO would be the platform for the movement.
The next year, in June 1991, ESDO also took up the waste management issue. The polythene issue was part of this too. ESDO had realized by then, targeting polythene alone would not be enough. The entire waste management system of the city would have to be redesigned.
As a result of the organisation's continuous advocacy and lobbying, in November 1992 the government formed a committee regarding banning polythene shopping bags, headed by the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee for the environment and forests ministry. ESDO submitted a two-year work plan to the committee, regarding a halt to polythene bags. This included rehabilitation of the workers of this industry. On recommendation of the committee, the ministry took the decision on 29 November to ban the use of polythene bags all over the country from 14 January 1993.
Politics entered the scene. Strong lobbying from businessmen and manufacturers led the government to move away from its decision to ban polythene. On 14 January the government announced that the ban was suspended for the time being. Hossain Shahriar says, "Our movement was seriously affected by this U-turn of the government. The businessmen were up in arms against us. Our offices and houses came under attack. The government advised me to go out of the country, saying they wouldn't be able to ensure my safety.
Shahriar and his team continue struggling to work on the issue in 1999 with the Awami League government. That year, on the occasion of World Environment Day, the environment fair organised at Osmany Memorial auditorium was declared polythene-free. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was impressed, but her assurances were not implemented because a few influential ministers of her cabinet themselves owned polythene bag factories. Only black polythene bags were banned.
In 2001 when BNP came to government once again, polythene was finally banned under the Environment Protection Act. The ban came into effect in January 2002 in Dhaka and, when the law was passed by the parliament on 3 March that year, polythene production, hoarding, marketing, display and use, was banned.
Implementation of this law continued unhindered until 2004 when it became lax. Presently it does not seem to be imposed anywhere in the country, not even in the capital city. Where anyone even carrying a polythene bag can be fined, polythene is being manufactured, hoarded and used under the very nose of the administration. Dr. Shahriar says, when political unrest began grow in 2005, polythene began to enter the market once again. The administration became lax and the banned polythene swamped the market. During the caretaker government things improved a bit, but later polythene took over the market once again. If one visits the markets now, it certain does not seem that polythene is banned by law.
Hossain Shahriar says, laws are not enough; the enforcement of the law is important. That is lacking now.
Since 1994 ESDO has been working at giving modern environmental concept an institutional shape. It has brought 48 primary and secondary schools under the Environmental Education project. The students of these schools have been organised to form a Green Club. Siddika Sultana, Executive Director ESDO, said through the green club they have been working to build second generation of environmental leadership, which can help protect nature and create pollution-free Bangladesh.
ESDO also took up the 'eco village' project for the environment supportive use of local resources and an environmental friendly lifestyle.
Toxic-Free Bangladesh
ESDO has long experience on nature conservation and community development. The organizational goal of "toxic-free Bangladesh" has been focused on Zero Waste Village. ESDO has been working for seven years under this project to make the village Char Hogla of Munshiganj district an eco-village. It has also taken up the project in Kathkhali village of Galachipa, Patuakhali and Hatiyanda village in Singlaupazila, Natore. Now ESDO has been building a zero-waste village at Mamodpur village of Porsha, Naogaon.
In 2002 ESDO joined the movement to build a toxic chemical-free life system in Bangladesh.
Chemicals hazardous to human health and environment have been used in consumer products in Bangladesh for decades. Lack of laws, regulations, government enforcement and public awareness are mainly responsible for the uninterrupted continuation of this. However, ESDO aims at toxic free Bangladesh and is pioneering in raising public awareness through research publications, media campaigns and policy advocacy since 1990 throughout Bangladesh.
Developed or industrialized countries are doing advanced research on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and developing countries are also becoming aware about EDCs nowadays. Realizing the threat of EDCs to children and future generations, ESDO from Bangladesh, along with IPEN, support the nomination of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) as an emerging global policy issue under SAICM and the SAICM stakeholders’ action to prioritized EDCs.
Earlier in 2003, ESDO had worked on the issue of heavy metal used in agriculture, particular in pesticides. The pesticides have lead, cadmium and chromium as well as other heavy metals. E-waste containing lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury are the new addition to environmental pollution in recent years. There is no proper system as yet for e-waste management and so health risks are on a steady rise. ESDO is working on policy advocacy in this regard.
Since 2003 ESDO has been associated with IPEN as a participating organization and also undertook activity under International POPs Elimination Projects (IPEN) and International SAICM implementation projects (ISIP). The intervention of ESDO was on the issue of e-waste management, mercury phase out, lead free paints, POPs elimination, etc. In 2010 ESDO took up the cause of mercury-free dentistry with three major objectives, to enact legislation to ban use of mercury dental amalgam, alternative dental curriculum and mass awareness. It began working that year with the World Alliance for Mercury Free Dentistry, to raise public awareness and since 2011 has been carrying out an awareness campaign against mercury dental amalgam. It is also working with Bangladesh dental colleges and the dentist association in this regard. In 2012 ESDO won the NGO of the Year award in recognition of its work.
No Lead Paint
In an ESDO publication, Lead in Paint: A Threat to Human Health and Environment, the World Health Organisation is quoted as stating that the human body cannot absorb lead. Lead in any amount is harmful. About 4 crore 70 lac (47 million) children in Bangladesh face health problems due to lead contaminated paint in their houses, schools and playgrounds. And over 77% of the people are at health risk due to lead contamination. In order to address this health issue, ESDO has taken up a mass awareness programme. The organisation carried out tests on 90 paints samples of 34 paint manufacturers in 2012 and published the results in a report. The samples contained 11,900 ppm (parts per million) of lead on average. The highest lead content was 123,000 ppm. In 2001, in China the level of soluble lead was determined to be 90ppm. This was also banned in interior design and in decoration for the wood industry.
ESDO has been working to eliminate lead paint from Bangladesh since 2010. Bangladesh currently does not have any legislation regarding the concentrations of lead in paint. ESDO is campaigning for the introduction of legislation and to have a national standard of lead limit in paint to be 50 ppm. ESDO Executive Director informed that, the standard authority BSTI has agreed and the national standard will fix 50pp by September this year. In 2010 ESDO published first lead in paint report titled “Lead in Paint Bangladesh Situation: Impact on Human Health and Environment”. From 2012 ESDO has been working with IPEN-SWITCH Asia Lead Paint Elimination Project, funded by EU (European Union). IPEN-SWITCH Asia Lead Paint Elimination Project is being implemented aimed at minimizing and eliminating the manufacture, import, sale and use of lead decorative paints in Bangladesh including 6 other project in partner countries in order to reduce and prevent childhood lead exposure. The overall objective of ESDO is reduction or elimination of lead decorative paints on the market in throughout the country; creation of mass awareness; in association with government, media and paints manufacturers; and Introduction of regulations to stop the import and supply of lead pigment.
Fight against mercury dental amalgam
Bangladesh has a low level of dental health care. As healthcare access and income levels increase there is an increasing demand for dental fillings in Bangladesh and it should be a priority that those fillings are safe and mercury free said Dr. Shahriar. Even low levels of mercury can have a serious health impact, particularly for young children and pregnant women.
Dentists and dental professionals are most at risk from exposure to the toxic effects of mercury in amalgam. Because they are working with amalgam regularly their lifetime exposure is much higher. In Bangladesh many dentists use bulk mercury to prepare fillings creating large amounts of mercury waste. Additionally, few dentists have proper processes for dealing with waste or spills, often untrained maids and cleaning staff are responsible for cleaning up mercury, without protective gloves or masks. Dr. Shahriar says, to protect our future and environment we need to stop using mercury amalgam now and to introduce alternative dental curriculum for mercury-free dentistry.
ESDO has been doing significant research work on toxic chemicals in food and agriculture, mercury in products, mercury in health care, e-waste, lead in paint, plastic pollution, air and indoor pollution, etc. that has contributed to academic research, and major national and international policy decisions.
ESDO has had significant contributions on a global level. ESDO continues to work in international treaty, convention and working groups like as Stockholm, Rotterdam, Basil and Minamata convention on Mercury. It actively participated in SAICM, CBD and GALEP. ESDO is recognized as a valuable member of international networks and organization like IUCN, IPEN, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, Zero-waste working group and GAIA, etc. •
