The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) is preparing an inventory of 22 Persistent Organic Pollutants (PoPs) to update the status, proper use and safe disposal of these harmful chemicals in the country.

Nepal being a signatory to the Stockholm Convention, an international environmental treaty that aims to restrict the production and use of PoPs has been obliged to work to protect human health and the environment from PoPs. The country became a signatory in 2002 and submitted the first National Implementation Plan to UNEP in 2007.

“We need to update and review the plan to assess the status of these toxic pollutants and ensure its proper disposal. The government is working to prepare the inventory that would take in account the status, its usage in different sectors, effective management and proper disposal,” said Krishna Chandra Poudel, secretary at the MoSTE.  The two-day workshop on inventory training workshop concluded on Tuesday.

There has been growing concern over the poor management of huge quantities of PoPs including toxic pesticides such as DDT, industrial chemicals such as poly-chlorinated biphenyls and industrial by-products such as dioxins and furans among others that are stored in various places in the country. PoPs, a group of chemicals and compounds that posses toxic properties, resist degradation and are transported far and wide through air, water and migratory species pose a risk of causing adverse effects to the human health and the environment. These toxic substances are found to be stored in forests around places in Amlekhganj, Nepalganj, Biratnagar, Rupadehi and Janakpur districts.

The ministry has been implementing a project to enable activities to review and update NIP for Stockholm Convention on PoPs to ensure its effective management and proper disposal.

“The government is committed to work to prepare necessary legal measures to ensure the effective management of these toxic pollutants,” said Jagdish Bhakta Shrestha, director general at Department of Environment.