by Mr. George M. S. Klufio

1. What Are POPs?

Persistent Organic Polluants (POPs) have been identified as chemical substances which are not only bioaccumulative but also persistent posing risk to health and the environment.

They are branched chain, chain or ring organic compounds that are noted for their resistance to biological, chemical, or photolytic degradation or breakdown. Persistent Organic Polluants are also characterised by their propensity to accumulate in lipid as a result of their very limited solubility in water. Although many different forms of persistent organic pollutants may exist, bolt natural and anthropogenic, persistent organic polluants which are much noted for their persistence and bioacumulative characteristics include many of the first generation organochlorine insecticides such as aldrin, dieldrin, toxaphane, chlordane and DDT and several industrial chemical products or by products including PCB's, dioxins and furan. These compounds when used in large quantities. have the ability to bioacumulate and biomagnify, as a result of their environmental persistence.

Some of these compounds such as PCBs may persist in the environment for periods of years and may bioconcentrate by factor up to 70,000 fold. These are properties which for obvious reasons, are intolerable.

POPs are represented by two important subgroups including both the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the halogenated hydrocarbons. This latter group includes the organochlorines, which, historically, have proven to be most resistant to degradation and which have had the widest production, use and release characteristics. Organochlorines are also generally the most persistent of all halogenated hydrocarbons.

In general, it is known that the more highly chlorinated biphenyls tend to accumulate to a greater extent than the less chlorinated PCB's, similarly, metabolism and excretion is also more rapid for the less chlorinated PCB's than for the highly chlorinated biphenyls.

The need for Global action to prevent these adverse effects, especially, having regard to the defiance of POPs for trans-boundary movements, cannot be overemphasised. It is therefore heartening to observe the efforts being made at international and National levels to initiate appropriate measures aimed at reducing or eliminating emissions and releases of POPs to even regions where these have never been produced or used. The need for these international interventions is vindicated by the wide spread uses of POPs in both the developed and developing countries.

1. Agricultural sector:

Until the early 1980's, the organochiorine insecticides, mainly, Aidrin, Dieldrin, DDT, and Lindane have been used in controlling pests of crops in Agriculture. Ghana has warm humid climate most of the year. This situation creates favorable conditions for a large number of insect-pest species and disease organisms to attack crops making pest and disease organisms a potential threat to food security in the country.

Pests outbreaks are rampant, hence a variety of highly toxic pesticides have been resorted to in the past but which have now been discontinued except Lindane which has been restricted to capsids control in cocoa production for its welcome effectiveness.

Although there is an on-going screening programs of chemicals in Ghana, through which dangerous or hazardous chemicals importation into Ghana is prohibited, the possibility of illegal import of POPs and related substances into the country cannot be ruled out.

Monitoring of chemicals production, importation, distribution, storage, use and sale had not been easy.

Quality assurance and chemical identification are expensive exercise, making thorough monitoring unattainable thus making room for smuggling of products into the country which have not been approved.

Ghana is yet to conduct a comprehensive inventory of POPs in the country covering the most essential sectors of the economy, including the energy sector, important for PCBS uses.

It is known that PCB is contained in the electrical installations and used mainly as dielectrical fluid in transformers and capacitors Other equipment containing POPs are hydraulic heat exchangers, lubricating and culting machines, to mention a few.

3.0 Control programmes:

In the past ten decades the problems of use of pesticides and other toxic substances has become associated with numerous human and environmental problems and has been overwhelming.

Several instances of human poisonings occur because of illiteracy, misuse of chemicals, wrong application of equipment, lack of proper storage facilities, improper repackging of products, none availability and wrong use of protective gears and general lack of proper methods of disposal of chemical wastes.

Another problem of product poisoning is due to misapplication of pesticides leading to pollution of water bodies used as drinking water sources causing havock to users of these water bodies.

In view of these emerging problems associated with persistent of chemicals in the environment along with problems of misuse of chemicals, the Government took steps to institute suitable control measure for chemical and hazardous wastes in the environment.

In 1985, chemical monitoring programme was initiated. Under this programme, importers of all types of chemicals (industrial, agricultural consumer/commercial) were obliged by Government directive to obtain a clearance permit from the Environmental Protection Agency before delivery of their consignment at the ports of entry was granted. This was to ensure that chemicals importation and manufacture are screened in order to ensure that only safe and effective chemicals - chemical products are allowed into the country.

The implementation of this directive involved other government agencies such as Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) the Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) the Ghana Standards Board, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and Factory Inspectorate Department of Ministry of Employement and Social Welfare.

To improve upon this existing procedure for controlling and managing chemicals, the Pesticides Control and Management Act, 1996 (Act 528) was enacted to ensume proper control of pesticides manufacture, importation, storage, distribution, sale, use and disposal. A substantial body of this legislation relates to Agriculture and Health Sectors. The operationalisation of this Act coupled with the Environmental Protection Act (Act 490) has helped to reduce risks associated with the use of chemicals.

The Registration of Pesticides and Chemicals Stipulated under Act 528 and the Environmental Impact Assessment of activities and projects provided under Act 490 worked together to integrate environmental pollution and risks reduction.

Other existing laws of relevance to the control action include, a body of mining laws, that seek to address the totality of mining problems through provisions relating to environmental protection in the mining process.

The Food and Drugs law that sought to ensure that only safe and wholesome food, drugs and other substances are made available for public consumption.

Factories, Offices and Shops Act of 1970, Act 328 also seeks to protect the health and safety of worker from inter-alia, the dangers posed by chemical to employees in the working environment. A recent amendments to this law (occupational and health law) embodies a provision which impacts positively on the present international initiative to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs to present exposure which cause injury to health of workers and to the environment. Last but not the least; the Standards Degree ensures that products manufactured in Ghana, meet internationally acceptable Standard of quality before they are offered for sale.

The integration of activities in relation to these laws has generated control and management of chemicals in the environment generally. This cover the following:

POPs uses Alternative identified/Proposed

(1) Aldrin, Dieldrin Insecticide on Biological control I 'PM

Agricultural crops

(2) AldrirttiDDT Insecticides for

termites control

in industrial sites Dursban (chlorpyrifos)

(3) Endrin Insecticides on

agriculture crops ; Biological control I and (I.P.M)

· Non Governmental Organisation: Training and education of extension staff and

· Ministry of Employment & Social: education and training in safe operation of machines

(5) Future Actions

Presently Ghana has taken preliminary steps to control toxic chemicals including POPs, but there remaïns a lot to be achieved.

Ghana expects technical assistance at the International level to forge ahead, both technically a financially.

2) There is a need to identify the uses and use purposes of POPs in the country.

3)    There is also need to identify suitable alternatives to POPs. This requires the determination of toxicological and ecotoxicological risks for alternative materials to ensure safety. Ghana hopes to rely on information already available in this area for effective development of suitable alternatives to replace existing POPs.