ANIQ drives the application of SAICM in Mexico
The Mexican chemical industry association, ANIQ, is working alongside government, public administration, academics and civil society to deliver the SAICM goal of the rational management of chemical products throughout their life cycle. The ambition is that by 2020 chemicals in Mexico are used and produced in a way that minimizes significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.
The initiative is led by Mexico’s National Consultative Committee for the Integral Management of Chemical Substances, Persistent Organic Compounds and Hazardous Waste which is chaired by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and has a number of working groups.
ANIQ sits on the SAICM working group where 62 elements of the SAICM Global Action Plan have been identified as priorities. These are regularly reviewed in the light of emerging industrial, legislative and commercial processes and, most recently, several issues not covered in the legislation have been identified including: highly dangerous pesticides, nanotechnology, lead in paint and endocrine disrupters. A Voluntary National Agreement has been drawn up for organizations to aim to comply with SAICM and go beyond the legislation, and a methodology has been elaborated to evaluate advances against a number of criteria.
The Working Group has made particular progress across a number of key areas including: implementing GHS; elaborating a national inventory of chemical substances, with the proposal of a national register; development of a risk and hazard communication plan; dissemination of safety and material management information to higher education schools; creation of indicators such as biomarkers for identifying patterns in population health; and development of specific regulations for integral management of waste and the transport of hazardous materials.
ANIQ continues to play a key role in developing these actions and has now created a medical industry working group with a view to establishing health indicators for exposure to chemicals in industry workers.