Consensus on Global
Chemicals Management

Specifics have yet to be determined, however

Over 100 environment and health ministers agreed on a new global initiative aimed at making chemicals safer for humans and the planet at an international conference in Dubai on February 7. Ko Jae-young, deputy minister of Environment Policy Office at the Environment Ministry, headed the Korean delegation to the conference.
The 9th Special Session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program/Global Ministerial Environment Forum approved the initiative, called "The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management or SAICM."The new initiative covers risk assessments of chemicals and harmonized labeling up to tackling obsolete and stockpiled products. It also carries provisions for national centers aimed at helping countries, especially in the developing world, train staff in chemical safety including dealing with spills and accidents.
The initiative, contained in the Dubai Declaration, puts the globe on track to meet a commitment made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.
The governments agreed to aim to use and produce chemicals in ways that minimize adverse effects to health and the environment. It is among the first concrete outcomes of the 2005 World Summit held in New York in September attended by heads of state.
SAICM, a voluntary agreement, comes at a time when global chemical production is set to climb by as much as 80 percent during the next 15 years.
Between 70,000 and 100,000 chemicals may be already on the market with an estimated 1,500 new ones being marketed each year.
Lee Min- ho, director of international affairs at the International Cooperation of the MOE acknowledged that the participants focused on the agreement of the master plan on chemical safety during the just-end conference, but not on the specifics. The details of the initiative will be discussed during the Inter-Government Forum on chemical Safety to be held in September, she said.

OECD REPORT ON THE ENVIRON-MENT OF KOREA ― Environment deputy minister Ko Jae-young participated in a session on the second OCED report on the environment assessment of Korea held in Paris from January 23 through January 25. The second OECD report session dealt with three sectors ― environmental management, sustainable development and international cooperation. He accompanied then-MOE Minister Lee Jae-yong. The second OECD report will be published officially this coming June. The first one was released in 1997 when Korea was admitted into the international organization. nw

Ko Jae-young, deputy minister of Environment Policy Office at the Environment Ministry