 Hello and welcome to Issues and Answers, a production of the Government Information Service. My name is Jessie Léonce and I will be your host for this installment for the next 30 minutes or so. I am the Information Assistant from the Department of Sustainable Development and accompanying me from my office is a Sustainable Development and Environment Officer Miss Yasmine Jude and she's here to speak to us about persistent organic pollutants and the awareness initiative that surrounds it as part of a Jeff project that is titled Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for Pops in the Caribbean. A special good day to you, thank you so much for joining us and agreeing to be here Yasmine. Thank you, good day to you Jessie, good day to our viewers. Persistent organic pollutants are a group of chemicals that are of concern because of their adverse impacts on both human health and the environment. They are man-made because they've found a lot of useful applications from industrial to agricultural as well as common household items that we use. Examples, a lot of our textiles can be coated with chemicals that contain pops and these are normally added to make them a little more flame retardant. We find them in electronic and electrical equipment, some pesticides in the past like DDT, Aldrin, you've heard of Claudicone in Martinique. These all are persistent organic pollutants. That's where you can find them. They have a unique property of remaining in the environment for a very long time. So once they're released into the environment, they enter the air, the soil, water. They can contaminate food and they stay there for years and that's because they are not broken down by any known natural processes. That's concern. They're also transported over very long distances because they're very mobile, very volatile. So they're carried with air currents, ocean currents. They have the ability to accumulate in the fatty tissue of organisms and as we move up the food chain, the food chain really describes the feeding relationships between organisms in an environment starting with plants and then things like herbivores like the cows and then humans. As we move from one level to the next, as we get progressively higher, the amount of those persistent organic pollutants increase. So the concentration in each organism as you go up the chain, it actually increases. So that's of concern and last but by no means least, they are very toxic. They are associated with a number of cancers, reproductive disorders, both defects to name a few in both wildlife and in humans. They also compromise our immune systems as well so our ability to fight disease can be compromised. Okay, speak to us about the interventions at the global level that have essentially brought us here down to the regional and national level trying to spread awareness and as well as other initiatives to reduce the impact of pops. Okay, so recognizing these adverse impacts of persistent organic pollutants or pops as we affectionately call them, there was concerted global effort to get rid of pops, to rid the world of pops. And so in 2002, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was born. Essentially the objective of that agreement, multilateral environmental agreement is to reduce or eliminate the emissions of pops. Okay, and St. Usher for the last 20 years has been part of this effort. We are party to the convention and so we have made commitments, legally binding commitments to reduce our releases. And so the project which Jesse spoke to, a long name, it's really about developing and implementing a mechanism to deal with those very noxious substances. In effect, this project, through this project we have been able to accomplish quite a bit. The project first started in 2015, it's now in its final stages. We were able to update our national implementation plan. Our first implementation plan, which was transmitted in 2007, addressed the 12 chemicals that was covered by the convention at that time. They were called a dirty dozen and many of them were actually industrial, sorry, many of them were actually pesticides, pops pesticides. Since 2002, as of 2019, there are now 30 chemicals. So obviously we've had to update our inventories and update our national implementation plans. And we were able to do this through the project Jesse mentioned, which is being executed in eight countries, inclusive of St. Usher. Let's come down to St. Lucia, speak to us about some of the activities historically that have happened on Island, even in the region as well, that have been sources of pops in terms of emissions. I know one of the big ones is it's open burning, but what have we, the big ones today is open burning, but historically given the interventions that have been made, what did St. Lucia have to contend with in terms of practices that emitted pops? Okay, prior to the 1980s, as you're aware, our economy was very dependent on agriculture. And in the 70s and prior, some of you recall that we used spray planes, which were used to apply pesticides to plantations, to crops. And so we have a historical use of some of those pops chemicals. And as I said before, they persist in the environment. So even if they were used in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, there is a possibility that we do have sites on Island that are potentially contaminated. In addition to that, those chemicals that we have historically used were stored. They may have leaked and contaminated the soil and to the food chain. So these are issues we're dealing with. And one of the things that we're looking at actually is identifying potentially contaminated sites. We have identified a number of sites around the island and we are at the minute just wrapping up our risk assessments of a few sites that have been prioritized for further investigation. So we are doing working that regard. We're also working with St. Lucia Fire Services Department to help them transition from forms, firefighting forms that are used on the airports for fighting aircraft in the eventuality of aircraft fires. We are trying to assist them with transitioning away from the use of these forms. So of course, there's occupational exposure to those. So we've done quite a bit of work through this project. And one of the things that we've recognized in doing this is that over the last 20 years, there's been very, very low awareness. If you ask the ordinary man on the streets, most people, if they ask pops, what's that? A soda? Is that the sound pee makes? So really this campaign that we're about to embark on is to increase, to raise awareness and interest. And we're hoping that members of the public would want to find out, would call us to find out more and what they could do to reduce the use of items contained in pops. So knowledge is power, knowledge is key, and that is what we're embarking to do. Okay, we are due for our first break for this episode of Issues and Answers. We're talking persistent organic pollutants, pops. When we come back, just to bring it closer to home, we're going to talk a little bit about the asthma, if you don't mind the importation of some of the goods that may contain pops, if that is still happening in St. Lucia, and to what extent, and also getting into the awareness campaign locally for the Jeff 5558 project, which is the development and implementation of a sustainable management mechanism for pops in the Caribbean. Stay with us. To accelerate their growth. All the artificial flavoring. Sweeteners and colors too. We consume and we don't spare a thought for the damage that they'll do. No. Think about the children. Think about the children. How will we save it? Culls and GMOs are not the solution. Use organic and join. Excessive agrochemical use. Additives and genetically modified foods are harmful to health and the environment. Join the Good Food Revolution. Grow, buy and consume organic. A message from Rye St. Lucia and the Ministry of Sustainable Development with funding from the GEF Small Grants Program, UNDP. Good Food Revolution. Thank you so much for staying tuned. This is Issues and Answers, if you're just joining. The Department of Sustainable Development in St. Lucia has kick-started a campaign to draw awareness to the plight of persistent organic pollutants. It is a global issue being faced by many countries. We are not the greatest offender in terms of emitting pops, but we are being affected by it and it is in our environment. We have to confront it and do whatever little we can to reduce the effects, the impact of pops. I'm speaking to Ms. Yasmin Jude from the same office as I am from and she is the officer looking over the project, the GEF 5558 project, which is the development and implementation of a sustainable management mechanism for pops in the Caribbean. And as I said, we have the awareness campaign that has been kick-started by the department, but just to give you a better understanding of what pops are, impact sources, more definitions. I just want to ask you, Yasmin, we went over the impact of pops through the agricultural sector, industrial processes. But at home, at the household level, when someone opens their pantry or their cleaning cupboard, are there still pops products that they may be bringing into their homes? What are we importing into St. Lucia in terms of cleaning products, appliances that are emitting pops? And what is being done to reduce the importation levels? Okay, I'll start with the pops pesticides because they're easiest. Out of the 30, I think less than half of them are actually covered by our Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Act. However, there's been administrative measures taken by the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board, whereby any pesticide coming in that contains pops would not be allowed for registration or for use or for import. So while not all of them are actually covered currently under the current act, there are measures that are being taken administratively to ensure that we don't import any more of these. In terms of the stocks of pesticides that may have contained pops, obsolete stocks, these have been identified, packaged and exported for environmentally sound disposal in the UK. So that was done, I think, about 2016. As I mentioned earlier, there are many consumer products and equipment, industrial equipment, for example, transformers and capacitors that are used in power generation that may contain pops. However, through this project and the work that we've done, we've determined that loose-selects operations are essentially PCB-free. The transformers that they had in use, they have very low PCB content, so they're considered PCB-free. We've also analyzed the out-of-service transformers that they had in stock, and these were also deemed to be PCB-free. So that's a plus in terms of one of the groups of persistent organic pollutants. Other items, we use non-stick pans quite a lot, and these are coated, some of these are coated with PCBs, not PCBs, sorry, per-fluorinated, I can't say the long name, it's PFOS, it's essentially a fluorinated substance. And the challenge for us in terms of importing some pizza boxes can contain those food boxes that are sort of lined with a sort of plastic-y. I don't know if you recall seen in the past, I don't see them around too much, but some of those can contain pops. So it's kind of difficult for us to identify some common consumer items that have pops because they're not labeled as such. So producers, manufacturers... So manufacturers are reluctant to say what's in them, adhesives, some adhesives and paints can contain pops. So these in terms of controlling the import, it's a little more challenging and we have work to do in that regard. So as I had said earlier, right now the real challenge for us is how we dispose of items that may contain pops. We may not know, but we need to be very careful how we dispose of items and that is why things like old phones, electrical equipment, these are considered almost hazardous waste if they're not managed correctly because if we burn them, we are releasing those persistent organic pollutants that have been deliberately added to them. So that is why open burning for us is something that we would really want to encourage the public to stay away from. And that would be, you say, the primary concern? In terms of our releases at the national level, that appears to be our main source and we are working very closely with the Solid Waste Management Authority because we recognize it in the past. Landfill fires are a major contributor to the emissions of pops because we have all kinds of household and industrial commercial waste items that contain pops. And when these burn, they are releasing pops into the atmosphere. So through this project, technical support has been provided to assess operations at the Diego landfill and there's ongoing technical support to ensure that the likelihood of fires taking place at the landfill is reduced to a minimum. And as part of this, to be launched soon, I would not want to steal their sundown, wait until that happens, but just to alert you that there is a green waste composting facility that has been established at the Diego landfill and the idea is to divert green waste away from the landfill so that they can be composted and used as cover for the landfill, etc. So it will also reduce the likelihood if there's a fire, if we have a lot of fuel in the heap at the landfill, of course we're going to have more emissions. So these are some of the measures that we have been taking. So speak to us about St. Lucia and the rest of the participating countries in this project, where they stand as compared to the rest of the world in terms of meeting the agreement, the Stockholm Convention. Do we have more work to do? How much more work do we have to do? We're not one of the... Our releases compared to other islands, sorry, other regions are quite small. However, we are very vulnerable. Our ecosystems are very, very sensitive, which makes us very vulnerable because our livelihoods depend on the integrity and health of these ecosystems. Our food security can be compromised because if we have contaminated soils, it means that we're eating contaminated food. And one of the challenges that we have at the national level is actually determining whether or not we have any pops residues in the food that we produce. So, you know, that's a challenge. There's a lot of work to be done, but I think that one step at a time, we're making progress and we cannot do it alone. The department and the wider government of St. Lucia needs every single individual household community institution to get on board, to be aware of what pops are, what they can do, what are the sources and how could you assist in the efforts in reducing global emissions of these very toxic chemicals? And on that note, we take our second and final break. When we come back, we're going to be speaking on the awareness campaign that has been kick-started in St. Lucia as part of the Jeff 558 project, Stop the Pops campaign. Stay with us. What do you mean by counseling? Counseling, counseling, counseling. I don't have a chance. I've never had a chance. Mollie Glacier, just yesterday, you asked me advice about your husband and we spent over an hour on the cell. That's counseling. I don't want to do that. Just think about it, Glacier. When you're having difficulty with someone, you ask your friends for advice to help you to deal with your problems. But wouldn't you prefer getting advice from a professional counselor? For those who think counseling is for crazy people? When you're in a situation where you don't need professional counseling, but you have the same condition as doctors visit. Don't you know the Ministry of the Public Service has an employee assistance program they call EAP, which is offering six free counseling sessions for government employees? Glacier, why don't you take advantage of it? Really? It's free? Let me often let me call the EAP unit ASAP, because I want professional, did you say free? Free counseling. But Glacier, why don't you take advantage of it? Call the EAP unit at 468-2269. EAP Works, let it work for you. We are now down to our final segment in this episode of Issues and Answers, speaking on persistent organic pollutants. If you're just joining, we hope you can take a look back at the recorded version. But we have been speaking to Ms. Yasmin Jude, a Sustainable Development and Environment Officer in the Department of Sustainable Development, and she is the focal point here in St. Lucia for the Jeff 5558 project, Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for POPs, that is persistent organic pollutants in the Caribbean. It's not a mouthful, but the impact of POPs, emissions more specifically, has been just as huge, it's not bigger in our part of the world. We are, as she indicated, very vulnerable to the effects of these types of pollutants here in the Caribbean. Yasmin, if you could just speak to us about the campaign component of this project, what is being done by St. Lucia and the rest of the region, and why now? Why campaign now? Okay, campaign now? Because resources are available. Okay, that's the short answer. Okay, we've recognized in the Caribbean that many of the participating countries, as I said, have been parties for a very long time, but we have the common challenge of not having monies allocated from our capital budgets to undertake these projects. So fortunately for us, as parties to the convention, we have access to the financial mechanism for the convention, which is the global environment facility. Okay, and through this project, we've recognized, in doing the assessments in the various islands, that in all participating countries, inclusive of St. Lucia, awareness of POPs, what they were and what the issues were, were very low. So as a result, a regional communication strategy has been developed, recognizing that the issues are pretty much the same in all of the participating countries. And we've developed a specific, each tailored that the implementation of these strategies to be very country-specific, because we have our own peculiarities. And it's being done now, it's timely, because we have just completed a revised version of our national implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention. As a party to the convention, we are required, we have an obligation, international obligation, and legal obligation to say to the rest of the world what our plans for, what measures do we intend to take to reduce our emissions or use of persistent organic pollutants. So that implementation plan covers the 30 chemicals that are currently listed in the annexes of the convention, and it was approved in May of 2020, we're in 2021. So this campaign is being kicked off at an opportune time because in the coming year, various sectors are going to hear more about what's planned, what measures are planned within their sector and what we can do, and we will be dialoguing more with sector-specific stakeholders on what needs to be done. And certainly not to let 2021 pass us by, we've capitalized on the Christmas season with the radio program. Tell us a little bit more about that. Okay, so the radio program kicked off today, Wednesday, and it has been aired, it's been hosted on NBC, Real FM. Every Wednesday from this Wednesday for the next three Wednesdays from 11.30 to 12. And we will be looking at a specific topic related to persistent organic pollutants, what are they, what are the sources, why should you be concerned, what are the roots of exposure, what can you do at individual household community, national level, what can we do to address these persistent perils, I like to call them, because they don't go away very easily. So, again, in the spirit of Christmas, we will be offering prizes, a prize every week, so we encourage listeners to tune in, find out more, pay close attention, we will be asking questions and there's a chance to win a very attractive prize every week. Absolutely. And, of course, we can expect more rollout for the local campaign. I'd like to thank you so much, Ms. Yasmin Jude, for sitting down and speaking to us about POPs, giving our viewership a better understanding of persistent organic pollutants. You know, when we think about pollution, we usually think littering, throwing your juice box away, it's bigger than that, and even at the microscopic level, we are being impacted negatively, unfortunately, by human activity. But we do hope that people get an understanding of what is happening behind this project and the awareness campaign hits home. So just want to remind you, as we kickstart the awareness campaign for the Jeff 5558 project on persistent organic pollutants, the project is titled Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for POPs in the Caribbean. And starting in St. Lucia, where we know of other islands participating countries in the region, they've also kickstarted their own versions, their own campaigns, awareness campaigns surrounding POPs. But in St. Lucia, we have begun with a Christmas-themed radio program, a talk and giveaway program. Very exciting. The pilot was today, as Yasmin indicated, engaging persons on POPs related matters and also an opportunity to win very exciting prizes, to bring a chance for you to bring something home that's new for the Christmas season. So we do hope that next week, Wednesday, and the Wednesday after that, and the Wednesday after that, the final Wednesday being after Christmas, directly after Christmas, that you tune in to NBC Real FM, 91.3 FM, and on their Facebook Live. We will be joining them for a very exciting 30-minute session from 11.30 a.m. That's all the time I have for now. We'd like to thank you so much for watching on behalf of the entire GIS team here, facilitating this broadcast. Thank you so much for watching. Do stay tuned to NTN for more programming. Jesse Leon signing off. Goodbye.