Government Study Calls for Mexican Battery Regulation / Estudio recomenda normatividad sobre las pilas en México
Friday, March 13th, 2009Mexico’s National Ecology Institute (INE) has just released an “environmental diagnosis” of portable batteries in that country. The study looks at the growth of battery consumption in Mexico, a recent analysis of the chemical composition of both formal and informal (“pirate”) batteries (looking particularly at heavy metal content and any other aspects that may make […]
Finally, a Chance for a Global Mercury Accord / Por fin, un chance para un acuerdo global sobre el mercurio
Saturday, February 21st, 2009When the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Governing Council (GC) considered and agreed on the draft decision on chemicals management, including mercury, this past Thursday, I was in the room. It’s difficult to say which emotion filled the conference room more — joy or excitement. There was plenty of both. This decision had been many years […]
Brazil Adopts New Battery Rules
Friday, September 12th, 2008Brazil’s National Environment Council (CONAMA) just replaced the country’s groundbreaking 1999 rules on the environmental management of batteries and piles (pilhas) with even tougher ones. Manufacturers should take note, since legislators and regulators in other Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations will. The original rules served as a reference point for many LAC policymakers, particularly […]
Panama Launches Mercury Project
Friday, August 10th, 2007Panama’s National Environment Authority (ANAM) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to launch in that country the Pilot Project for Developing an Inventory and Risk Management of Mercury. The project will draw up a national inventory of emissions and products that contain the heavy […]