HAZARDOUS chemicals kill or cause illness in thousands of people each year. Developing countries in particular often become conduits for hazardous substances that are banned elsewhere. It is good then that the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC) comes into force on 24 February. This requires an exporting country to notify an importing country if one of its manufacturers wants to export specific hazardous materials. The importing country then has the option to accept, refuse, or to impose conditions on import.
The aim is to empower importing countries – in particular developing nations that may not know what chemicals…
