Listing the wastes

a list of hazardous wastes that had been compiled in a bid to prevent their export to third world countries is likely to be revised and drawn up afresh. Nearly 100 countries would revise the list at a meeting held in Malaysia.

The exercise will be a follow-up to the September 1995 adoption of an Amendment to the Basel Convention prohibiting the export of hazardous wastes from the Organisation of Economic Corporation and Develop-ment (oecd) member states to any other state for final disposal.

The hazardous waste list will ban the export of wastes containing arsenic, lead, mercury, asbestos and dozens of other chemicals and substances. The non-hazardous waste list will exempt those wastes which can be profitably and safely recycled or reused from the ban. These include scrap iron, steel or copper, certain electronic assemblies, non-hazardous chemical catalysts.