The UNDP-GEF POPs Resource Kit - International POPs Elimination ...

MIREX: Mirex has been used against fire ants and to combat leaf cutters, harvester
termites, harvester ants and mealybug. It has also been used as a fire retardant in plastics,
rubber, paint paper and electrical goods.
TOXAPHENE: Toxaphene has been used primarily on cotton, cereal grains fruits,
nuts and vegetables. It has also been used to control ticks and mites in livestock.
DDT. DDT is also an insecticide. As such, it is similar to the seven banned POPs
insecticides listed above. The Stockholm Convention, however, does not obligate Parties to
phase-out and ban all use of DDT as an insecticide. It will, however, require Parties to
severely restrict DDT use.
In the past, DDT was extensively used against insect pests on a variety of agricultural
crops. Cotton may have been the most important of these. The primary DDT application,
however, has been in combating vector borne diseases such as malaria. DDT was widely
used during the Second World War to protect troops and civilians from disease, and it
continues to be used in many countries for this purpose until the present.
Most countries already ban or severely restrict all DDT uses in agriculture. The
Stockholm Convention will require Parties to phase-out all remaining DDT agricultural uses.
In most cases, it will be possible for countries to achieve this with few economic or technical
barriers. Some DDT applications for uses associated with disease vector control may also be
phased-out relatively easily. There exist, however, some important exceptions. In some areas
where malaria is endemic, DDT is used for spraying walls inside sleeping quarters to kill or
repel night-biting mosquitoes. In some of these areas – based on an analysis of local
conditions – the World Health Organization (WHO) still recommends indoor DDT spraying
as a useful and cost-effective malaria control measure. The Stockholm Convention will
permit this practice and some others to be continued without any specific phase-out date or
target.
Continued production and use of DDT will be permitted for disease vector control
when the DDT it is used in accordance with WHO guidelines, and when locally safe,
effective and affordable alternatives are not available. The Stockholm Convention, however,
will require Parties to implement measures to eliminate DDT production and use for other
purposes. It will also encourage research on suitable alternatives to DDT in disease vector
control and other actions aimed at reducing and ultimately eliminating DDT use.
The Convention will also require Parties using DDT for vector control to report every
three years on amounts used, conditions of use, and relevance of DDT use to the Party’s
disease management strategy.
Hexachlorobenzene. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) also has a long history of use as a
pesticide. However, HCB is not an insecticide. Its main use has been as a fungicide for seed
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