NEWS ARCHIVE

EPA TO DELAY SOME COAL REGULATIONS 

EnviroLink Network - 29 June 2000 - The Environmental Protection Agency notified Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., on Wednesday it will delay implementing regulations to exempt Western coal mines from strict federal water-pollution regulations. Rahall said the new regulations would hand an additional competitive edge to Western coal by exempting many mines from obeying regulations that limit sediment and acid water releases. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

NO ERA URANIUM MINE LEAK DAMAGE - REPORT

Planet Ark - 28 June 2000 - The Australian government said yesterday a report into a contaminated water leak from the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory confirmed no environmental damage had been done.  The mine is on the fringe of the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ENERGY, GREEN REFORMS THREATEN CHINESE ALUMINUM

Planet Ark - 28 June 2000 - Rising electricity costs pose a threat to China's primary aluminum industry which could lead to closures and a drop in alumina imports, Mike Komesaroff, director of Urandaline Investments, said yesterday.  "The average price paid by a smelter in the West is $18 per MW hour but the lowest prices in China is $24...if the gap widens then many smelters will be forced to the wall," he said at the CRU International aluminum conference in London. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

OECD USHERS IN NEW CODE OF GOOD CORPORATE CONDUCT

EnviroLink Network - 27 June 2000 - The world's most industrialised nations on Tuesday agreed to promote a code of good corporate behaviour for multinational companies that could improve labour and environmental standards worldwide.  Although the guidelines are not binding, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said they delivered a strong message as to how governments expect corporate giants to behave across the globe. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ENVIRONMENTAL HARMONY SOUGHT AS EUROPEAN UNION EXAMPLES

Lycos (ENS) - 26 June 2000 -  The 13 countries now seeking to enter the European Union (EU) must be given a chance to influence EU policy before they join the Union, said Margot Wallstrom, European Commissioner for the Environment.  At a meeting of nongovernmental organizations, environment ministers and other top officials from 30 EU and candidate countries  last week in Szentendre, Wallstrom said, "Integrating environmental concerns in every other policy area is now a core principle of the European Commission." This is vital, since there are limits to what environmental legislation alone can do, she said.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ALCOA TESTING LOWER COST ALUMINUM SMELTING

Planet Ark - 23 June 2000 - Alcoa Inc. said Yesterday commercial tests of a new aluminum smelting process that promises significant cost and investment savings accompanied by environmental benefits are "producing encouraging results."  The leading aluminum producer said it has received U.S. patents on developments in inert anode technology. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

TISZA RIVER BASIN PROGRAMME

22 June 2000 - The Tisza River Basin countries announced their agreement with the proposal to negotiate a river-basin wide arrangement/programme. The proposal was captured in the UNEP/OCHA cyanide spill report and since then promoted by the Baia Mare Task Force with support of UNEP/ROE (Regional Office for Europe).

LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL TO REGULATE HAZARDOUS METALS

Planet Ark - 22 June 2000 - A Pennsylvania lawmaker introduced a bill on Wednesday to protect consumers and steelworkers from hazardous radioactive scrap metal.  Representative Ron Klink formally introduced the Scrap Metal Act of 2000, a bill designed to protect consumers and steelworkers from "hazards related to imported and domestic radioactively contaminated scrap metal."  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

HUNGARY SEEN LAGGING FAR BEHIND EU ON RECYCLING

Planet Ark - 21 June 2000 - Hungary severely lags European Union countries in waste recycling and will have to spend as much as $2.6 billion over the next 12 years to catch up, a waste management official said on Tuesday.

Henrik Balatoni, president of the National Association of Recyclers, said Hungary was only recycling five to 10 percent of its waste, compared with an EU average of more than 50 percent. 

Hungary, one of the leading Eastern European candidates for EU membership, would need to spend between 400 billion and 700 billion forints ($1.48 billion-$2.59 billion) over 12 years to bring its waste-recycling programme up to standard, Balatoni told a news conference, according to national news agency MTI. 

He added that this did not include the upgrading of existing wate dumps, of which only 10 percent met EU standards. 

HUNGARY SWITCHES ENVIRONMENT CHIEF AFTER POLLUTION

Planet Ark - 20 June 2000 - Hungary named a new environment minister on Monday after the previous minister resigned in the wake of a cyanide spill in the Tisza River.  Ferenc Ligetvari, a 59-year-old water management expert and director of the Szarvas Agricultural College in southeastern Hungary, was appointed in parliament to replace Pal Pepo, who resigned last week. Ligetvari was nominated by the junior coalition Smallholders Party. Under a coalition agreement with the centre-right Fidesz party, the Smallholders choose the farming, environment and defence ministers and one minister without portfolio.  Pepo resigned in the wake of criticism over the cyanide pollution on the country's second largest river, the Tisza, from a gold smelter in Romania in January.  He was criticised by government and opposition party politicians alike, who said he was slow to act after the spill which wiped out fish and wildlife along the course of the river in three countries.

MERCURY FROM PERUVIAN GOLD MINE DUMPED IN TRANSIT

Lycos (ENS) - 16 June 2000 -  Eight people have been hospitalized including a woman in critical condition following a mercury spill near the Minera Yanacocha mine, 600 kilometers (375 miles) north of Lima, Peru.  Approximately three gallons (330 pounds) of mercury spilled from a contractor's truck in Choropampa, 53 miles southwest of the mine, which is owned by Newmont Mining Corporation and Compania de Minas Buenaventura. The truck was enroute from the mine in the Northern Peruvian Andes mountains to Peru's capital city of Lima on June 2.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

Information Release

UNEP/ICME Workshop
Cyanide Management in Mining

In Paris, on 25-26 May 2000, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council on Metals and the Environment (ICME) convened an international workshop to consider developing a Code of Practice for the use of cyanide in the gold mining industry.

On 30 January 2000, an accident involving cyanide occurred in Baia Mare, Romania, focusing public attention on the risks associated with gold mining. Although the immediate consequences of the accident have since been dealt with, this did not prevent the resurgence of considerable public concern as well as concern in the mining industry itself. While this type of accident remains an infrequent occurrence, the actual and potential consequences of cyanide can be very harmful.

The industry has recognised this and has decided, for its part, to support an initiative to further improve management systems.

In all countries where mining operations represent a substantial industry, there are government regulations relating to mine safety. In addition, many major mining companies have their own internal standards guaranteeing the security of operations. The fact remains however, that at the present time, there is no one single international Code specifically for the use of cyanide in gold mining.

The purpose of this workshop was to initiate the process of drawing up such a Code and the management system which follows from it.

This workshop, held at the École des Mines, brought together 40 delegates representing selected major mining companies and industry associations, the Gold Institute, the World Gold Council, various governments, suppliers of cyanide, the United Nations, the European Commission, the OECD, the World Bank, NGO’s, experts and consultants.

The workshop confirmed the importance of a Code of Practice for the industry and established a procedure for the development of this Code. The delegates :

• identified the issues and principles that could be included in an industry Code of Practice and management system guidelines;

• identified the importance of the promotion, acceptance, implementation, verification and reporting in relation to the Code;

• acknowledged that both large and small gold mining companies will have to be brought into the process; and

• agreed that a Steering Committee be established to provide oversight and guidance, and to set a timetable to develop a draft code based on a process of multistakeholder consultation.

The overall long-term objectives of the Code are to drive improved performance in mining through high standards of technology, management and control and to provide the public with the confidence that their expectations for the industry are being addressed.

At the close of the workshop, Mr. Fritz Balkau, Chief of Production and Consumption from UNEP pointed out: "This meeting was a significant development in that it was the first time that a group from the mining industry met to develop a Code on environmental issues on a global basis. We have been able to bring together the representatives of the main stakeholders throughout the world and we have managed to set common objectives in a very short period of time. We expect that the implementation of such a Code will reduce the frequency of serious accidents involving the use of cyanide and produce a greater degree of environmental and public security from mining operations."

In agreeing with the above statement, Mr. Gary Nash, Secretary General of ICME, was encouraged "by the commitment of the industry to this project and the constructive contributions of all stakeholders".

For more information

Fritz Balkau, UNEP
fax: + 33 1 44 37 14 74
email: fbalkau@unep.fr 

Gary Nash, ICME
fax: + 1 613 235 2865
email: gnash@icme.com 

EUROPE LIMITS HEAVY METALS IN ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT 

Lycos (ENS) - 14 June 2000 -  The European Commission has called upon electronics and electrical manufacturers to replace dangerous heavy metals in their products. In recycling, collection and incentive measures announced Tuesday, the commission set its sights on one of Europe's fastest growing sources of waste - electrical and electronic equipment. Heavy metals will be limited and producers made responsible for taking back and recycling these goods. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

AURUL TO RECOMMENCE OPERATIONS AT BAIA MARE

13 June 2000 - For more information, click here.

AUSSIE FIRM SAYS NEW GUINEA COPPER MINE A DILEMMA

Planet Ark - 8 June 2000 - Major Australian resources company Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd said yesterday that the environmentally troubled Ok Tedi copper mine in Papua New Guinea was proving a dilemma for it.  

"While the mine clearly does have an environmental impact, the income it provides is very advantageous to the country and the people of the communities in the region where the mine operates," Ron McNeilly, executive director and president of BHP Minerals, told the Mineral Council of Australia's annual seminar in Canberra.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

INDIA SEEKS TO CLEAN UP USED BATTERY TRADE

NEW DELHI - 7 June 2000 - The Indian government has issued draft rules on collection of used lead batteries to ensure that backyard smelters do not damage the environment, officials said yesterday. The rules also fix certain responsibilities on manufacturers, importers, re-conditioners and consumers on the sale and purchase of batteries, they said. "This is basically meant to channelise battery collection and ensure that the environment is not damaged due to smelting by backyard smelters," a senior official of the Ministry of Environment told Reuters. Backyard smelters refers to smelters which recycle old batteries using methods not approved by the government and which harm the environment. The official said 60 days' time has been given for suggestions and objections to any of the draft rules, published in the Gazette of India. A final notification will be issued after the expiry of the deadline, he said. The draft rules, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, are aimed at identifying problems related to lead battery recycling and meant to encourage ecologically sound recycling of lead. The rules, published in the Gazette of India, will come into effect after a fresh notification is issued after 60 days incorporating any suggestions and objections. The draft rules say that anybody buying a new battery should deposit the old battery with a manufacturer, assembler or re-conditioner who in turn should submit the batteries to government-nominated agencies. They will also ensure that no damage to the environment occurs during transportation and reprocessing of used lead acid batteries. According to the rules the consumer will ensure that used batteries were not discarded in any other manner except depositing them with the designated collection centres. The auctioners would ensure that the used batteries were sold to authorised recyclers only. 

DANUBE RIVER GREEN CORRIDOR CREATED

Lycos (ENS) - 6 June 2000 - Officials of four countries bordering the Danube River decided Monday to coordinate their efforts to conserve the river's wetlands. The governments of Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine have agreed to create Europe's largest cross border wetlands protection and restoration area.  The Danube and its tributaries in Romania and Hungary are still struggling to recover from the effects of a January 30 spill of cyanide tainted waste water from a gold recovery operation in Baia Mare, in northwestern Romania.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

LOWER DANUBE STATES SIGN ENVIRONMENT ACCORD 

Planet Ark - 6 June 2000 - Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova signed accords on Monday to restore flood plains and wetlands in the River Danube and Black Sea and create a river delta protected area.   Environment ministers from the four countries signed in Bucharest the first accord to create the Lower Danube Green Corridor, intended to add some 300,000 hectares to the existing protected areas of 773,166 hectars.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, 5 JUNE 2000
Message of UNEP Executive Director, Klaus Toepfer

NAIROBI/ADELAIDE, 5 June 2000 - Every year on 5 June, we celebrate World Environment Day - an occasion when people the world over come together to demonstrate their commitment to the protection of the environment. With the theme, 2000 - The Environment Millennium - Time to Act, this year’s celebrations take on a special significance.

This is the first World Environment Day of the Third Millennium. On January 1 of this year, millions of people on every continent celebrated the dawn of this new millennium. Even those who do not observe the Roman Christian calendar joined in. The millennium celebrations seemed to capture a global mood, a realization that we are all connected, no matter how far apart we live geographically, culturally or economically. In our daily lives, it is not always easy to recognize how closely we are interconnected with our fellow human beings. Increasingly, however, we are recognizing that what connects the street child in Rio, the farmer in Kalimantan or Kenya, the factory worker in Germany and the stockbroker in New York is the global environment. More and more we are realizing that what we do has far reaching ramifications - even if the connections are not immediately obvious. In fact, the ramifications are already being felt in every corner of the globe.

The imperative need to move from ‘words to action’ does not in any way reduce the importance of ‘words’. Programmes of action - for sustainable development – can only succeed if they arise out of consensus. And consensus is not easily achieved. On this World Environment Day let us resolve to reverse the trends of the last thousand years. Let us take the necessary steps, which will lead us into a more sustainable future marked by improvements in our standards of living and in the health of the planet on which we all depend.

For more information or to arrange interviews with the UNEP Executive Director contact: Tore J. Brevik, UNEP Spokesman on tel: +254-2-623292, fax: +254-2-623692, email: tore.brevik@unep.org or Elisabeth Guilbaud-Cox, Coordinator, Special Events.