At the start of the biggest high-level conference ever held to regulate chemicals, top officials say they are optimistic that delegates will approve new international controls on some widely used industrial compounds and clamp down on hazardous wastes.
Jim Willis, who oversees three major chemical treaties based in Geneva, says 1,500 delegates from 170 nations will likely agree to gradually ban a flame retardant, hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, used in furniture, vehicles and electronics, while exempting some uses in buildings.
Willis told reporters Saturday in Geneva that delegates at the two-week convention also are expected to accept stricter requirements for disclosing information about exports of several other substances including a powerful herbicide, Paraquat.
Swiss environment ambassador Franz Perrez said he expects agreement on new ways of managing trade in hazardous wastes.