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Pakistan has ratified the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2004, and the Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) became the national focal point for POPs issues. By becoming a party, the Government had taken on the mandatory obligations to implement the Convention and the control measures identified in its guidance text.
The first step towards meeting the obligations was the development and formulation of the National Implementation Plan (NIP) for Stockholm Convention. The NIP was prepared and transmitted to the Stockholm Convention Secretariat.
Objectives of this project are reducing human health and environmental risks by enhancing management capacities and disposal of POPs in Pakistan through:
- The development and implementation of a regulatory, policy and enforcement system to reduce POPs releases and to regulate POPs waste disposal;
- Capacity building to reduce exposure to and releases of POPs;
- Collection, transport and disposal of 300t of PCB and 1200t of POPS Pesticides .The elimination of POPs pesticide stockpiles became even more urgent after the 2010 floods which damaged some of the storage sites of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. To ensure environmentally sound disposal of POPs, a facility to be upgraded, tested and permitted in compliance with Stockholm Convention BAT/BEP. As an alternative, the project will however keep open the option of shipment of POPs waste abroad for disposal, in compliance with the Basel Convention, if at an early stage it will result evident that the POPs cannot be disposed of using the technologies available in the country.
- The requirement to deal with Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) has been identified in the NIP of Pakistan. It was reported that no PCBs were ever produced in the country or re-exported, and that some of the old electrical equipment could contain PCBs. The PCB equipment was in fact an imported product originating from other countries.
- As other countries, Pakistan facing substantial gaps on the way to install the well founded and operational system for safe PCB handling. The main barrier in changing the situation to be aligned with existing international standards is the limited national capacity, lack of qualified technical advice on the modern approaches which would be essential at the first stages aimed at safe PCB management in the country and no adequate control measures, low awareness level on PCB associated risks and limited national resources. The main barriers are summarized in the list below. These will be targeted by the project:
- Limited legislation which does allow comprehensive regulation of the PCB management
- Insufficient sectors wide data on the PCB inventory/stockpiles
- Limitations in the PCB analytical capability:
- Low level awareness on the PCB associated risks and dangers
- Limited capacity and knowledge in maintenance procedures for PCB containing equipment.
- Caution and knowledge to avoid releases of PCB and limit exposure to workers and environment.
- Limited infrastructure to store the PCB materials for their sound management in line with international standards
- Lack of experience at the country level for PCB disposal.
- Absence of awareness of the PCBs issue. The current management of end of life equipment by the electric power companies demonstrates the almost complete lacking of awareness of the PCB issue, with specific reference to mineral oil transformers possibly contaminated by PCB. Electric power companies are not clear about their liability and the extent of the PCB issue in their companies.
- Lack of control of PCBs across borders of the country. Reportedly, near end of life transformers are auctioned and very often sold to neighboring countries without any checking on their PCB content. The traffic of POPs and PCBs chemicals across some Pakistan borders has been also documented.
- The survey which was carried out during the development of NIP in 2013 was focused on transformer type of equipment due to time limitations, and thus no study over the other types of equipment was performed – capacitors and circuit breakers were not covered by the survey. Resulting from the initial study, the NIP had reported that PCB materials have been found to be in power electrical equipment such as transformers and in oil reserve.
- Comprehensive reduction and elimination of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pakistan
Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) is currently implementing the project “Comprehensive reduction and elimination of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pakistan” with financial and technical support from Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The project objective is to reducing human health and environmental risks by enhancing management capacities and disposal of POPs in Pakistan through: i) the development and implementation of a regulatory, policy and enforcement system to reduce POPs releases and to regulate POPs waste disposal; ii) capacity building to reduce exposure to and releases of POPs; iii) collection, transport and disposal of 300t of PCB and 1200t of POPS Pesticides .The elimination of POPs pesticide stockpiles became even more urgent after the 2010 floods which damaged some of the storage sites of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. To ensure environmentally sound disposal of POPs, a facility to be upgraded, tested and permitted in compliance with Stockholm Convention BAT/BEP. As an alternative, the project will however keep open the option of shipment of POPs waste abroad for disposal, in compliance with the Basel Convention, if at an early stage it will result evident that the POPs cannot be disposed of using the technologies available in the country. The project has been developed to specifically address the principle barriers identified during project preparation. The project includes four components designed to overcome the barriers as follow:
- Component 1. Development and implementation of a Regulatory, Policy and enforcement system to reduce POPs releases
- Component 2. Capacity building of local communities and public and private sector stakeholders to reduce exposure to and releases of POPs
- Component 3.Collection, Transport and Disposal of PCBS and POPS Pesticides
- Component 4. Monitoring and evaluation
Objective of the assignment:
- The overall objectives of this consultancy are to provide clear and timely technical advice, guidance and technical backstopping to POPs project team within the framework of Stockholm Conventions, country obligations and project outputs and outcomes:
Expected Activities:
General Activities
- To provide overall technical guidance and backstopping relevant to PCBs and obsolete POPs pesticides Environmental Sound Management (ESM) to the project team based on BAT/BEP principles recommended by the Stockholm and Basel conventions;
- Guide the team and national stakeholders on legislative improvements (equipment/waste inventory, inspection and control measures, safety, waste handling, storage, transportation and disposal), required to ensure national PCB/POPs pesticides management system progresses through gradual improvement and in line with project’s objectives
- To ensure appropriate consultations on the currently acceptable POPs disposal methods and technologies available globally, and their current cost, including discussions of the project’s proposed review of technical capabilities of advanced cement kiln industry in Pakistan; and guide stakeholders on test burn/qualification matters related to the cement industry; In such consultations, use current GEF STAP guidance on POPs disposal technology’s available options;
- Undertake project missions (2 visits) to provide specific assistance to national project implementing counterparts and partners as required;
- To provide technical guidance in the formulation of project’s work plans, and ESM capacity building workshops as required; provide advice in the preparation of the project workshops (Agenda, Material to be presented etc) as required;
- To review, as required, technical documents and reports prepared by the project’s team and prepare recommendations for improvement;
- To prepare technical reference materials, as required, in support of specific project activities, specifically on national ESM system for POPs management, safety and POPs disposal technologies;
- To oversee the technical content of the project documents and deliverables (and ensure these are suitable for national application);
- To help build the technical capacity of the project staff and involved project partners;
- To participate in the external mid-term and terminal evaluations of the project when situation requires;
Specific Activities under each Project components:
Component 1: Development and implementation of a Regulatory, Policy and enforcement system to reduce POPs releases
Tasks to be performed by the consultant
- Develop TOR for the national team in carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the missing regulatory instruments to match the existing national regime with acceptable international benchmarks;
- Guide the project team inthe detailed review of the country’s needs in the formulation of relevant laws and regulatory measure for effective and environmentally sound control of PCB/POPs pesticides/waste handling in the country in line with international standards (Stockholm and Basel Conventions);
- Develop a set of recommendations to address the gaps between the existing baseline situation with no laws, regulations and guidelines for safe PCB/POPs pesticides/waste handling and the internationally recommended benchmarks developed by the Stockholm and Basel Convention Secretariats;
- Analyze local legislation for local cement kilns disposal methods, and enter into consultation with the main proponents on how to improve infrastructure for POPs disposal (including air-cleaning and ash collection), ensure test burns and their analysis, and eventual recommendations for stakeholder/public consultations on this option;
- Guide the project team in the formulation of all required technical regulations and instructions related to safe PCB/POPs pesticides/waste management (technical management guidelines);
- Guidance/circulars on PCB/waste classification, identification (field tests/laboratories/standards), inventory labeling, reporting (database), import/export, management (ESM handling, packaging, PPE/first aid) and disposal within the country’s hazardous waste management system;
- Guidance/circulars on POPs pesticides/waste classification, identification (laboratories/standards), inventory labeling, reporting (database), import/export, management (ESM handling, packaging, PPE/first aid) and disposal within the country’s hazardous waste management system;
- Ensure consultations on the enforcement procedures for control authorities (environmental inspections, energy equipment inspections, Customs);
- Participate in the required workshops on legislative measures and capacity building for governmental authorities, private sector and other POPs owners, environmental inspections and Customs authorities;
- Guide national team in updating Chemical Profile.
Component 2: Capacity building of local communities and public and private sector stakeholders to reduce exposure to and releases of POPs.
Tasks to be performed by the consultant:
- Develop capacity building and awareness raising programmes for defined target groups (general public/communities, private/public POPs owners, control authorities) on POPs exposure, risk minimization procedures and better handling, POPs releases and ambient monitoring, occupational protection and guide local team in delivering these programmes on the national level;
- Ensure development and monitoring of programme coverage of target groups in terms of percentage covered (for all groups, and separately for female population);
Component 3: Collection, Transport and Disposal of PCBs and POPs Pesticides
Tasks to be performed by the consultant:
- Develop guidance for updating National POPs Inventory, including mapping of online and stockpiled PCB equipment;
- Develop specifications for portable field equipment for PCBs, and, where requested, set of recommendations for national/regional laboratory upgrades, for procurement in support of the inventory process;
- Provide training to local teams on the PCB inventory (sampling/testing, labelling, reporting, database maintenance and monitoring).
- Guide local teams in analyzing received data and updating associated POPs inventories
- In close linkage with legislative improvement works, develop ESM system for safe handling and disposal of PCB equipment, POPs pesticides, associated materials and wastes in line with internationally applicable standards:
- Handling and repair of in-service and disconnected PCB containing and contaminated equipment;
- Packaging and storage of PCB equipment, POPs pesticides, associated materials and wastes;
- Safety measures at workplace/current storage locations;
- Transportation and disposal of PCB equipment, POPs pesticides, associated materials and wastes;
- Clean-up standards for contaminated areas (facilities, land);
- Reporting requirements by PCB/POPs pesticides/waste holders.
- Formulate specifications for incremental upgrade of PCB/POPs storage facilities infrastructure, required equipment and tools to meet international safety standards to ensure safe storage of such materials (oil, transformers, equipment, and other materials);
- Formulate specifications for the type of packaging, codes and labeling system;
- Formulate specifications for workplace safety measures: Personal Protection Equipments (PPEs), in-house ventilation standards, emergency response to PCB leakages/POPs releases, first aid in case of human exposure;
- With assistance of the project team, transpose the ESM system to the PCB/POPs pesticides holder level through
- Specialized training of their technical staff on ESM requirements and standards,
- Establishment of PCB management action plans for the involved POPs holders,
- Supervising the implementation of ESM system at identified enterprises/public sector.
- Provide quality technical support in tendering the disposal of PCB containing equipment, POPs pesticides, associated materials and wastes;
- Support national consultations on the POPs disposal methods and technologies, as proposed by the project at GEF approval so for globally available technologies; Aspects such as environmental and social considerations (EIA/SIA), compliance with existing international regulations, and the requirement to adhere to GEF STAP recommendations will be covered in national consultations; In case local cement kilns would like to participate in POPs disposal a full review of their capacity would be proposed by the consultant (via a separate test burn/qualification sub-contract with consulting companies/laboratories) with a separate product -a capacity/emission assessment report based on test burns in cooperation with sub-contracted firm/laboratory;
- Develop tender documentation for disposal of PCB materials, provided known information on available disposal options (local or In collaboration with project steering committee and project team, provide technical evaluation of the received bidding documentation.
Component 4 - Monitoring, learning, adaptive feedback, outreach and evaluation
Tasks to be performed the consultant:
- Provide technical backstopping when required by the project team;
- Review the deliverables achieved by awareness raising taskforce committee and provide recommendations for improvement of outreach programmes.
- Guide the project team in formulating the technical content of awareness raising materials on PCB risks and PCB management approaches.
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