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2001-05-16 |
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Report Contents
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Introduction
Argentina does not yet have a "generic" federal law or decree setting general rules for potentially hazardous substances and products, and the few existing restrictions are product oriented (pesticides, cleaning products, etc.) and do not involve electronics per se. The Ministry of Health currently is preparing a National Plan for the Management of Chemical Substances that likely will result in new legislation or regulation. A proposal pending in Congress would impose the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure for all imports involving products or substances banned, restricted or not yet approved for health and environmental reasons in their country of origin or country of export.
Defined Restrictions:
Federal
Health Ministry Resolution 544/2000 - Formalizing the Program on Chemical Risks in the Directorate of Health Protection and Promotion; Continuity of the National Plan on the Management of Chemical Substances
Status
In effect.
Covered Products
chemical substances and products.
Basic Obligations
Formalizes the creation of a Program on Chemical Risks within the Health Ministry. Creates a intergovernmental and stakeholder Permanent Advisory Forum on the Ecologically Sound Management of Chemical Substances, with representatives of government and nongovernmental bodies, and chaired by the Health Ministry. Program's and Forum's main task will be completion of a comprehensive National Plan on the Management of Chemical Substances to modernize Argentina's regulations and technical infrastructure. The Plan's priority foci are:
- response to toxicological emergencies;
- "right to know" (hazard communications);
- carcinogenic substances and workplace safety;
- persistent organic compounds;
- examination of which populations are at risk from exposure to pesticides;
- harmonization and supplement of legislation;
- endocrine disruptors.
Issues of Concern and Comments
The only industry groups formally invited to join the Forum are the two chambers representing the chemical/petrochemical and pesticide manufacturers. Beyond government agencies, the rest of the Forum includes representatives of Greenpeace, a consumer group (ADELCO), and two trade unions.
PROPOSALS - FEDERAL
(Proposed) Senate Law Project (PLS) 2030/00 on the Control of Imports of Toxic Substances
Status
Under consideration by the Senate Ecology, Public Health and Foreign Relations Committees.
Covered Products
Would include any substance whose use or sale has been banned or "partially limited," or is still awaiting authorization, in the exporting country due "to its real or presumed toxicity to human health and safety or to the preservation and development of natural resources."
Basic Obligations
PIC system
For covered substances, the appropriate "authority of application" (not specified by the bill, but may be Economy Ministry for industrial substances, Agriculture Ministry for pesticides, Health Ministry for medicines, etc.) would submit the import application to "a procedure of additional verification."
Legal Documentation
All import applications for covered substances must be accompanied by a legal declaration from the importer attesting to the following information:
- the non-existence of norms that ban or totally limit the use and/or sale of the substance in the exporting country.
- in the case of bans, limitations and/or partial restrictions on the use and/or sale in the exporting country, a detailed account of the time, place, volume, modality of use for the control action, plus a copy of the technical report upon which the ban, limitation or restriction was based.
Consultation with Exporting Country Authorities: The appropriate "authority of application" will then solicit information about the control regime directly from authorities in the exporting country.
Right-to-Know: The Executive Branch would create a publicly accessible database of actions taken by the authority of application, along with the legal declarations submitted by importers.
Issues of Concern and Comments
Key Definitions
A "substance" would be defined as "any element or compound extracted from nature or obtained through usual methods by chemical science, and which when presented in its natural state or in any phase of industrialization has had, has or could have economic value in the marketplace." "Exporting country" would be defined as (1) that from which the sale or provision of the substance was made; (2) that in which the substance was first registered; (3) that in which the substance has been banned, "partially or totally limited," is not authorized, or the authorization is still pending; (4) that in which the substance is produced.
This bill is presented in part as a follow-on measure to Argentina's ratification in June 2000 (Law 25.278) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (www.pic.int), even though the scope of the bill is far broader than that of the Agreement.
This bill is sponsored by the Ecology Committee Chairman Antonio Cafiero (Oct. 17 Bloque-Buenos Aires), and as such has a better chance than most bills of clearing that Committee. Its passage in the Health and Foreign Relations Committees is less certain.
KEY LAWS/MEASURES - PROVINCIAL LEVEL:
Existing Law - Provincial
Córdoba
Law 8300/93, amending Title V of Law 7343/85 on Guiding Principles for the Preservation, Conservation, Defense and Improvement of the Environment
Status
In force.
Covered Products
Hazardous substances, as classified by the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC).
Basic Obligations
Article 64 says that commercial and industrial establishments "established in provincial territory" "produce or manipulate" hazardous substances - when classified as such by IRPTC - should communicate to provincial authorities (i.e., the Environment Agency) the technical name (chemical name) of the substances involved and the names of the commercial products that contain them. Failure to notify can be fined the Argentine peso equivalent of the market price of 2,500-50,000 liters of lead-free gasoline.
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