GHD was engaged by AusAID to manage the second phase of the
project to collect and destroy all Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs) and other intractable chemicals across 13 Pacific
Island Countries. GHD has identified, repackaged and transported
140,000kg of waste chemicals to Queensland, Australia for safe
destruction using specialised non-incineration processes.
“POPs are man-made chemicals that are toxic,
persistent (that is, don’t break down quickly in the environment),
accumulate up the food chain, and pose a significant health risk to
humans and the environment,” explains Project Director Dr Alison
Baker.
“Exposure to POPs can result in nervous system
damage with impacts on learning and intelligence, liver damage,
some cancers, and interference with hormone functions. Recent
studies demonstrate that POPs move around the world, evaporating in
hot equatorial regions and condensing and precipitating near the
poles. Many Arctic/Antarctic birds and small land and marine
animals are dying from direct or indirect effects of accumulated
POPs, so eradication of these chemicals is very important for the
world’s health and environment.”
POPs were imported into the Pacific region in
agricultural pesticides and herbicides, in major electrical
equipment coolant oils and in DDT used for air-borne control of
malaria-bearing mosquitos. Since banning their use, large
quantities of unused POPs have been stored throughout the Pacific,
generally in insecure and unsafe conditions in urban
areas. This has the potential for serious adverse impacts on
human and animal health and, on the local environment upon which
the local agriculture, fishery and tourism industries depend.
This project has removed stockpiled POPs from 11
Pacific Island Countries: Fiji, Cook Islands, Federated States of
Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. These countries are small
island states and lack the specialised resources needed for
treatment and disposal of persistent hazardous
chemicals. There is also a lack of awareness among the island
communities about the hazardous nature of these chemicals, so
storage facilities are often inadequate to protect people and the
environment.
“We can proudly say that the POPs and PICs project,
under GHD’s management, has successfully removed a major potential
threat to health and livelihoods of some two million people in
twelve countries,” says Dr Baker.