[Poster Large]

Plenary:

How Europe Is Dealing with its Stocks of Obsolete Pesticides

John Vijgen
 IHPA, International HCH and Pesticides Association

 

Abstract of Presentation:

How is Europe dealing with the huge stocks of obsolete pesticides in the new European Union (EU) member countries and in the neighboring Caucasus and Central Asia? How big is the problem? Is there enough political momentum to eradicate the problem from the continent? What are the political dynamics? What is the role of the European Union (EU)? What infrastructure exists for pesticide collection and disposal? How does the European situation compare with what is going on in the United States and elsewhere?  How are collection and disposal programs supported?  What role could TPSA play in building a critical momentum of support for collection programs internationally, in the Central and Eastern Europe region,  and in the United States?

The presentation will feature the US premier of short videos and photos from Eastern Europe and the EU.

 

 

John Vijgen was born in Heerlen, The Netherlands, and educated as a Civil Engineer at the Technical University of Aachen, Germany. He has been working on pesticide clean-up since 1988 when his efforts to clean-up HCH and Lindane in the Netherlands resulted in decontamination of 200,000 tons of HCH-contaminated soils.

 

John Vijgen has been the driving force in organizing eight International HCH and Pesticides Forums since 1992, held primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. The 9th Forum will be held September 20-22, 2007 in Chisinau, Moldova.

 

In 1998 Vijgen founded the International HCH & Pesticides Association (IHPA) with the objective of eliminating obsolete pesticides in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Central Asia Republics, and providing an international forum for solving the problem of obsolete pesticides.

 

Vijgen has written or edited at least six books (most recently The Legacy of Lindane HCH Isomer Production); developed a series of Technical Fact Sheets regarding methods for destroying obsolete pesticides; been an advisor to international agencies such as UNEP Chemicals, UNIDO, FAO, and various National Implementation Plans for the Stockholm Convention; and managed large-scale HCH-waste projects.

 

Currently John Vijgen is leading the EU Phare project, supervising the disposal of pesticide wastes and providing technical assistance to prevent further accumulation of obsolete pesticides in Romania.