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HABITAT: Unanimously Approves Ban On Lead In Gasoline
The UN Commission on Human Settlements (Habitat) unanimously approved a US-sponsored resolution on eliminating the use of lead in gasoline during its 17th session recently held in Nairobi.
The move emphasizes the international commitment to eliminate lead poisoning, according to the US-based Alliance To End Childhood Lead Poisoning.
David Hales, director of the Global Environment Bureau for the US Agency for International Development and one of the principal authors of the resolution:
"The Habitat resolution makes it conclusively clear that an international consensus exists to eliminate this tragic disease ... and there can be no further excuses for delay."
The resolution calls for governments to introduce policies to phase out use of leaded gasoline and to provide publicly accessible information on the progress of phase-out programs. It also calls for the international community to provide technical assistance to developing countries.
Hales: "Habitat is a critically important forum for advancing international phase-out and prevention because lead poisoning is a prime obstacle to building sustainable communities. Indeed, the dispersion into the environment of an elemental toxin such as lead that persists and accumulates over time, and that particularly interferes with children's development -- the world's future -- is the very opposite of sustainable development."
Lead poisoning continues to be one of the world's most debilitating diseases. The World Health Organization has found that virtually all urban children in developing countries under age 2 and more than 80% of those between ages 3 and 5 have levels of lead in their blood exceeding international health standards. Leaded gasoline remains the most dispersive source of lead exposure.
(Alliance release, 2 Jun).