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Mengenal Bahaya Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Wednesday, February 24, 2016


Polychorinated Biphenyls (PCB) dapat menyebabkan kanker, kemandulan, penyakit cardiovaskular, gangguan sistem syaraf, gangguan endokrin, gangguan imunitas dan berbagai permasalahan kesehatan lainnya. PCB -- karena sifat isolatornya -- banyak diganukan pada peralatan listrik seperti trafo, kapasitor, Air Conditioner.

Karena termasuk kedalam Bahan Berbahaya dan Beracun, tim dari CRPG, UNIDO dan KLH saat ini sedang memformulasikan regulasi dan ESM (environmentally sound management) PCB di Indonesia. Regulasi PCB akan memberikan dampak berbagai industri yang menggunaan peralatan tersebut, khususnya industri energi/ketenagalistrikan, pabrik-pabrik dan lain sebagainya.






Update lain dari CRPG tentang PCB:


Website KLH untuk PCB.

 

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PCB Regulations in European Union

Monday, February 22, 2016



PCB’s have long been recognised as posing a threat to the environment because of their toxicity, persistence and tendency to bioaccumulate (i.e. to build up in the bodies of animals, particularly at the top of the food chain). Although the use of PCBs has been reduced greatly since the 1970s it is recognised that those still remaining in existing equipment pose a continuing environmental threat.

 In European Union, about Polychlorinated Byphenils (PCBs) is regulated through EC Directive 96/59 EC on the disposal of PCBs and Polychlorinated Terphenils (PCTs), which requires the preparation of national inventories and the labelling/disposal of all PCB holdings.

 Also there are European Communities (Dangerous Substances and Preparations)(Marketing and Use) Regulations 2003.[1] These regulations implement Council Directives 85/467/EEC and 89/677/EEC in relation to polychlorinated biphenyls (except mono and dichlorinated biphenyls), PCTs, and preparations, including waste oils, with a PCB or PCT weight content higher than 0.005%. These substances may not be used, except in designated applications that were in service prior to 30 June 1986. Equipment and plant containing PCBs or PCTs are required to display instructions concerning disposal and maintenance and use of equipment and plant containing them.

 Member states then implement this directive into their municipal laws and regulations.

 Below are laws and regulations about PCBs in several member states of EU :

 United Kingdom
1.      The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires employers to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare of all their employees at work. You are required to co-operate with your employer, for example by using safety equipment and working methods as instructed.
2.      The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 (COSHH) place duties on employer to:
·         ensure that your exposure to PCBs is either prevented, or if this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled;
·         assess the risks to your health from PCBs and identify the measures which are needed to protect your health;
·         ensure that control measures are adequate and that you use them;
·         monitor your exposure;
·         provide you with information on the risks of PCBs and the steps which are necessary to protect your health.
Employer also have duties under COSHH to:
·         co-operate with your employer;
·         use protective measures and to report any defects.
3.      The Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires, amongst other things, waste holders to exercise a duty of care when disposing of certain materials.[2]

 Ireland

 The Waste Management (Hazardous Waste) Regulations 1998[3] of Ireland implement provisions of the EC Directive (96/59/EC) and sets out the requirements in terms of disposing of PCBs and registering holdings of PCBs. A holder of PCBs, used PCBs or contaminated equipment must:
1.      Decontaminate or dispose of used PCBs, contaminated equipment and the PCBs contained in such equipment as soon as possible. For contaminated equipment containing more than 5dm3 (5 litres) of PCBs:
·         By 31 December 2010, if the fluid content contains more than 0.05% by weight of PCBs. Transformers containing more than 0.05% by weight of PCBs must be decontaminated in accordance with a specific set of conditions;
·         At the end of its useful life if the fluid content contains between 0.005% and 0.05% by weight of PCBs.
2.      Label equipment containing more than 5 litres of PCBs and the doors of premises where such equipment is located. The labels must be indelible, easily visible and legible, stating that the equipment (or premises contain equipment) is “Contaminated by PCBs”. Where it is reasonable to assume that the fluid content of the equipment contains between 0.005% and 0.05% by weight of PCBs label as "PCBs contaminated 0.05%".
3.      Separate such PCBs or equipment from flammable materials and take precautions to avoid any risk of fire
4.      Operate a source separation program for equipment that contains less than 5 liters of PCBs and is a component of another piece of equipment, i.e., remove and arrange for the separate collection of such components with a view to their recovery or disposal.
5.      Give Notice to the EPA for all PCBs, used PCBs or contaminated equipment containing more than 5 litres of PCBs no later than the 1 September each year. To include: the name and address of the holder; the location and quantity of the PCBs or used PCBs; the location and description of the equipment; the quantity of PCBs contained in such equipment; the measures taken or proposed to be taken for the decontamination or disposal; and the date of giving such notice.
6.      Respect the prohibition of certain uses of PCBs:
o Importation, production or supply to another person of PCBs or contaminated equipment;
o Holding or use of PCBs or contaminated equipment, unless notified to the EPA;
o Separation of PCBs from other substances for the purpose of reusing the PCBs;
o Addition of PCBs to transformers or other equipment; and
o Maintenance of transformers containing PCBs, unless under certain circumstances




[1] “S.I. No. 220/2003 - European Communities (Dangerous Substances and Preparations) (Marketing and Use) Regulations 2003,” accessed February 23, 2016, http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2003/si/220/made/en/print.
[2] “HSE - Publications: Do You Know How to Work Safely with PC...,” accessed February 23, 2016, http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/msa19.htm.
[3] “S.I. No. 163/1998 - Waste Management (Hazardous Waste) Regulations, 1998,” accessed February 23, 2016, http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1998/si/163/made/en/print.

 

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About Open Government Partnership and Independent Reporting Mechanism

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Background
Corruption is one of the most serious problem that Indonesia currently have. To fight corruption, do citizen empowerment, and strengthening the governance is important to create a better country, to make a better life for all of the citizen. In order to achieve that, since 2011 Indonesia government partnered with Open Government Partnership (OGP), a voluntary international initiative that aims to secure commitments from governments to their citizenry to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

OGP Process
Indonesia as countries participating in OGP has to follow a process for consultation during the development of their action plan, and during implementation.
In this 2014-2015 period, Indonesia has reached its third national plan, where the scope has been expanded. There was even called SOLUSIMU, a contest where citizens could submit their ideas for improving public services for inclusion in the Action Plan, to make the betterment on the exclusivity-hole from the previous process on the previous period. However, the lack of advance notice, lack of evidence of consultation events, and lack of clarity on the incorporation of citizen-generated ideas in the action plan undermined the government’s increased public participation efforts.
Core Team meetings served as the multi-stakeholder consultation forum. It is found that there still was very little meaningful consultation and collaboration between government and wider civil society on the commitment implementation. The Core Team meetings then focused on raising awareness of the OGP process, and increasing public participation especially through SOLUSIMU contest, but the team did not publicize or track progress on commitments.

Methodological note
In Indonesia, The Independent Reporting Mechanism of OGP has partnered with Mohammad Mova Al’Afghani of Centre for Regulation, Policy, and Governance (CRPG), that carried out the evaluation of the development and implementation of this Indonesia’s third action plan. CRPG reviewed the government’s self-assesment report, gathered the views of civil society, and interviewed related government officials and stakeholders. After that, OGP staff and a panel of experts reviewed the report.
CPRG reviewed three key documents prepared by the government: a report on Indonesia’s third action plan submitted to the OGP portal in 2014, the internal document detailing action plan commitments and milestones published in Bahasa Indonesian in April 2015, and the government self-assessment report (GSAR) published in April 2015.
A stakeholder forum in FGD model was organized in Jakarta by The IRM researcher and Medialink, a civil society organization (CSO), in order to gather the opinion of multiple stakeholders.
Report Coverage
This report covers the first year of implementation of Indonesia’s third action plan, 7 November 2014 through 31 July 2015. Beginning in 2015, the IRM also publishes end of term reports to account for the final status of progress at the end of the action plan’s two-year period. This report follows on two earlier reviews of OGP performance, “Indonesia Progress Report 2011-2013” and “Indonesia Special Accountability Report 2013.” These reports covered the development and implementation of the first action plan as well as the development and implementation of the second action plan from 1 January 2013 through 31 December 2013.




 

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Mengenal Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)






Tahukah anda bahwa persistent organic pollutants dapat mengakibatkan berbagai masalah kesehatan diantaranya gangguan pada sistem hormon, gangguan pada sistem reproduksi, obesitas, penyakit kardiovaskuler serta penyakit jantung?

Apa itu Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)? POPs adalah bahan kimia yang berbahaya bagi manusia, hewan dan lingkungan. POPs memiliki beberapa sifat:  tahan urai (persistent), terakumulasi dalam tubuh dan beracun. 

Karena bahayanya, POPs diatur dalam Konvensi Stockholm. Berikut adalah contoh dari POPs, yang diberi nama "dirty dozen", yang merupakan 12 daftar bahan kimia pertama yang di klasifikasikan dalam Konvensi Stockholm. 


Berbagai negara telah meratifikasi Konvensi Stockholm, termasuk Indonesia.


CRPG pada saat ini sedang melakukan pengkajian regulasi bahan kimia di Indonesia, khususnya mengenai POPs dan PCB, bekerjasama dengan UNIDO dan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan.

 

Anti-Privatisation Debates, Opaque Rules and ‘Privatised’ Water Services Provision: Some Lessons from Indonesia

Monday, February 15, 2016

This was from a conference in IDS, Sussex, back in 2011, published in the IDS Bulletin in 2012. I found out that Wiley (the publisher) and IDS has opened access to this paper.


Enjoy the paper by clicking here.

 

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Indonesia OGP IRM Report Public Comment Period

Saturday, February 13, 2016


The Indonesian 2014 IRM Progress Report have been opened for Public Comment since January.

At a glance, Indonesia's achievement with the Open Government is as follows:




Download the English version here and the Bahasa Indonesia version here. 

 

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PCBs Regulations in United States of America


In the USA, PCBs are regulated in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), acts that controls the usage of dangerous materials, like 15 U.S.C. §2601 et seq., as amended.

TSCA directs the Administrator of USEPA to promulgate regulations, using the least burdensome requirements possible, to govern the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical substance or mixture, or any combination of such activities, if there is a reasonable basis to conclude that such activity presents or will present an “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.”  15 U.S.C. §2605(a).

One of the unique concepts in TSCA is the directive for USEPA to consider whether a risk is unreasonable in promulgating the regulations and in granting applications for alternative use, storage, and disposal options.  TSCA §6(e), 15 U.S.C. §2605(c).

 In evaluating whether or not a risk is reasonable, USEPA considers the probability that a regulatory action will harm health or the environment, and the costs and benefits to society that are likely to result from the action.  In other words, USEPA must protect against unreasonable risks from PCBs by providing cost-effective and environmentally protective options that reduce exposure to PCBs.