PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) will implement a multimillion-dollar programme aimed at assisting eight Caribbean countries to update their national implementation plans (NIPs) with regards to the exposure of toxic chemicals.

“The execution of this project will help strengthen the capacities of member states to better manage hazardous chemicals, with a view to implementing environmentally sound mechanisms for the storage, abandonment of use, identification of alternatives to use, and final disposal/destruction of these types of chemicals,” said CARPHA Executive Director Dr James Hospedales.

The eight Caribbean countries to benefit from the US$8-million dollar project are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Director of the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean), Dr Ahmad Khan, said that some pesticides, cleaning agents and industrial chemicals contain hazardous properties which can cause cancer, developmental delays, dysfunction of the reproductive organs and reduce immunity.

He explained that one particular group of these toxic chemicals is referred to as persistent organic pollutants (POPS) and that exposure to POPS can be through direct contact with the chemicals, consumption of contaminated foods, or environmental exposure.

He said because of this, it was imperative for the Caribbean to make the management of toxic chemicals to protect human health and the environment a priority.

As a result, BCRC-Caribbean, in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, prepared a project document outlining the work required to strengthen the capacity of Caribbean countries to manage POPS.

They also approached the Global Environment Facility and were successful in acquiring almost all the funds to support the project.

“The BCRC-Caribbean is committed to deliver services to our member parties under the four chemical’ conventions (Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Minamata) that govern the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and chemicals,” Dr Khan explain.

“Through the successful implementation of this regional project, we will be able to establish the extent of new POPs in our countries and, more importantly, develop action plans to target the elimination and/or reduction in the use of these particularly harmful chemicals,” he added.

In addition, BCRC-Caribbean said it will host a three-day regional workshop here from Tuesday to initiate an update of the participating countries’ NIPs, POPs inventories and related capacity development. During the workshop, conducted by CARPHA, country representatives will present an update on the status of implementation of their NIP Action Plans.