The Global Symposium on Soil Pollution #GSOP18 | 2 - 4 May 2018 | FAO Hq Mr. John Vijgen, International HCH & Pesticides Association (IHPA), Denmark

1. John Vijgen¹, Bram de Borst², Roland Weber³, Tomasz Stobiecki⁴, Martin Forter⁵
¹International HCH & Pesticides Association(IHPA), Denmark
²International HCH & Pesticides Association (IHPA), The Netherlands
³POPs Environmental Consulting, Germany
⁴Institute of Plant Protection, National Research Institute, Poland
⁵Basel, Switzerland
HCH and Lindane contaminated sites:
European and global need for a permanent
solution for a long-time neglected issue

2. • For each tonne of Lindane produced
• 8 to 10 tonnes of HCH-Waste has been produced
• Knowing that about 600 000 tonnes of Lindane
have been produced
• A minimum of 4.8 Million HCH-waste and
• A maximum of 6 Million tonnes waste could be
present in the world
• And because we have not been acting over 40-50
years the problem has increased …….. 10 fold or
more ………… in soil and groundwater ???
Lindane Production:
Different than all other POPs pesticides

3. Just to show the consequences on cost for
our and future generation(s)

4. Briefly 2 cases in Europe:
1. The Netherlands beginning 1980s - 2006
Pure HCH waste at the former production facility- Netherlands Eastern Region

5. Eastern region of the Netherlands, Twente
more than 100 sites with soil contaminated
with HCH
Development
treatment
methods
Temporary specific project disposal site
With HCH contaminated
soils
Remediation of with HCH-
contaminated areas

6. Netherlands: Representative map
around main city Hengelo on HCH
contaminated sites (2003)
Heavy contaminated –
Urgency known
Contaminated
Suspect
Remediated/after
care/remaining
contamination
No further action
needed

7. • From end of world war II and until 1975, Ugine-
Kuhlmann has produced around 100.000 tons of HCH-
waste
• HCH –waste has been spread at various locations, but
largest not yet traced
• 2015-2018: more than 200,000 m3 contaminated soil
and before that waste disappeared from the site
• Total problem increased at least 3-fold!!
2. Remediation Eugene Kuhlmann of
former Lindane factory, Huningue , France

8. 1972, Ugine Kuhlmann stores on its factory site large mountains
of HCH-waste. The wind blows the poisoning dust also to
Germany and Switzerland. Photo: Staatsanwaltschaft Basel
Stadt, 2.11.1972. (Forter, 2015).

9. Site under remediation by Novartis in 2014.
View of all tents covering the excavation soil
remediation works

10. • UNDP: Turkish HCH-storage site of Koaceli, South of
Istanbul. Here about 3,000 tonnes have been
stored over decades will be destroyed
• UNIDO: assessing potential management options of
HCH waste legacy from the lindane production in
Macedonia (total 38,000 tonnes). Objective is to
destroy around 10,000 tons of HCH-waste
• UN Environment: Legacy of HCH production in
Brazil is under preparation with the objective of the
destruction of 5000 tonnes of HCH-waste
3. Conclusions: Positive developments
Role of The GEF: Global Environment Facility

11. • Remediation Eugene Kuhlmann of former Lindane
factory, Huningue , France by Novartis
• Due to increasing public protests, positive
developments on the solution of the HCH-stockpile
from the chemical company Chemické Závody Juraja
Dimitrova (CHZJD), Slovak Republic are taking
place……….
• Environment Ministry prefers encapsulation. Plans to
construct a wall around the waste dump, which covers
about 4.65 hectares and holds about 120,000 cubic
meters of HCH POPs waste. The wall would be built to a
depth of 20 meters…………
3. Conclusions: Positive developments-2

12. • Aragon (Spain) struggles to move forward to solve its
Mega-problema site Inquinosa with huge quantities of
HCH waste and contaminated soils
• Aragon has requested vital financial support of 500
Million €
• EU Life projects has stimulated technical developments
for in Situ clean up of aquifer!)
3. Conclusions: Positive developments-3

13. • EU Member countries do not communicate via
National Implementation Plans (NIPs of Stockholm
Convention) about HCH-sites such as:
• France, Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic and UK
• Italy has never ratified Stockholm Convention, so is
not obliged to communicate!
• It seems that national authorities on contaminated
land know much more than they report in NIPs
• Lack of coordination between nat & regional
authorities in the member states??
4. Conclusions: Negative developments-1

14. • That is why EU Union Implementation Plan is a
paper tiger and needs to be a real plan with actions
based on serious input and needs from EU Member
countries
• On the other hand Member countries could decide
on contents of a real action plan and now miss
their real opportunities!!!!
4. Conclusions: Negative developments-2

15. • Those problem-owners that have dealt with HCH
and /or want to deal with it are not interested to
fulfil major conditions of Stockholm Convention of
Irreversible destruction of POPs
• Why? As quantities are huge, so tendency to
encapsulate simply because it is 10-50 times
cheaper
• No discussion on risks but only finances
• Encapsulation is forever and has to be rebuilt after
50 years (end of lifecycle of construction)
4. Conclusions: Negative developments-3

16. 4. Conclusions: Negative developments-4
• Those problem-owners that have dealt with HCH
and those that plan to deal with it do not like to
fulfil major conditions of Stockholm Convention of
Irreversible destruction of POPs
• Why? As quantities are huge tendency to
encapsulate simply because it is 10-50 times
cheaper
• No discussion on risks but only finances
• Encapsulation is forever and has to be rebuilt after
50 years (end of lifecycle of construction)

17. 4. Conclusions: Negative developments-5
• HCH-disposal sites always/mostly have DNAPLs:
EU Life + project Discovered at Inquinosa Lindane Factory
Ref: US EPA 1999

18. 5. Recommendations for sustainable solutions
of HCH waste and contaminated land-1
• EU Member states: to take steps to make
inventories, cost estimates of elimination and
prioritize their solution and make this information
publicly available in the National Implementation
Plans for the Stockholm Convention plus report
also to EU Commission in the framework of the
Union's Implementation Plan for the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (UIP),
which is at present being updated and is highly
dependent on the wishes and needs of the EU
Member States.

19. 5. Recommendations for sustainable solutions
of HCH waste and contaminated land-2
IHPA urgently calls upon EU Member states, EU
Commission and the GEF, the financial mechanism of
the Stockholm Convention, and all governments that
have ratified the Stockholm Convention to fulfil their
obligations: Develop National Implementation
Plans, seek co-operation, invest in facilities for
elimination of these dangerous chemicals and for
the industrial countries to support the countries
with developing and transition economies

20. 5. Recommendations for sustainable
solutions-3
• IHPA proposes EU Commission to establish an EU
“HCH-waste and soil” research and applied
technology program with the objective to find
sustainable solutions (technologies) that are more
economically feasible and that also fulfil the
conditions of a circular economy considering
marketable products that can be generated from
HCH as a potential resource (e.g- HCl)

21. 5. Recommendations for sustainable
solutions-4
• Finally, please do not wait another 40 years to
clean up HCH-waste contaminated soils and
contaminated waters

22. Thank you very much