Endosulfan
Chemical identity
Endosulfan occurs as two isomers: alpha- and beta-endosulfan. They are both biologically active. Technical endosulfan (CAS No: 115-29-7) is a mixture of the two isomers along with small amounts of impurities.
alpha-endosulfan
CAS No: 959-98-8
beta-endosulfan
CAS No: 33213-65-9
POPs characteristics of endosulfan
According to the risk profile on endosulfan, adopted by the POPs Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention (POPRC), endosulfan is persistent in the atmosphere, sediments, and water. Endosulfan bioaccumulates and has the potential for long-range transport. It has been detected in air, sediments, water, and in living organisms in remote areas, such as the Arctic, that are distant from areas of intensive use.
Endosulfan is toxic to humans and has been shown to have adverse effects on a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Exposure to endosulfan has been linked to congenital physical disorders, mental retardations, and deaths in farm workers and villagers in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Endosulfan sulfate, a transformation product of endosulfan, shows toxicity similar to that of endosulfan.
Use and production
According to the risk management evaluation on endosulfan, adopted by POPRC, endosulfan is an insecticide that has been used since the 1950s to control crop pests, tsetse flies and ectoparasites of cattle, and as a wood preservative. As a broad-spectrum insecticide, endosulfan is currently used to control a wide range of pests on a variety of crops including coffee, cotton, rice, sorghum, and soy.
A total of 18,000-20,000 tons of endosulfan are produced annually in Brazil, China, India, Israel, and South Korea. Colombia, the United States of America, and several countries in Europe that used to produce endosulfan have stopped its production. The largest users of endosulfan (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and the United States) use a total of about 15,000 tons of endosulfan annually. An additional 21 countries report using endosulfan. The use of endosulfan is banned or will be phased out in 60 countries that, together, account for 45 per cent of current global use.[1]
Obligations under the Convention
Endosulfan is listed under Annex A. Parties must take measures to eliminate the production and use of endosulfan from 27 October 2012 onwards. Specific exemptions available for use and production of endosulfan for certain crop-pest complexes are listed in the Annex A. Examples of crop-pest complexes are (crop) cotton and (pest) aphids, cotton bollworms, aphids, jassids, leafrollers, pink bollworm, thrips, and whiteflies, and (crop) wheat and (pest) aphids, pink borer, and termites.
In general the production of endosulfan is only allowed for Parties as listed in the Register of Specific Exemptions. Continuing use as a pesticide for crop-pest complexes according to Part VI of Annex A is allowed, if the Party has registered the specific exemption with the Secretariat.
Trade of endosulfan as a substance is allowed provided the exporting Party has registered the production for a crop-pest complex in the Register of Specific Exemptions and the importing Party has registered the use for the same crop-pest complex. Trade of a mixture containing endosulfan is allowed provided the exporting Party and importing Party have registered the use for the crop-pest complex.
Management needs for endosulfan
· Enforce production ban, import/export ban, and use ban for non-registered use
· If your country does not intend to use endosulfan, cancel national registration for the pesticide,
if relevant
· If your country has notified the Secretariat of an exemption for a crop-pest complex, try to identify alternatives for that use with the aim to eliminate the registered use
· Develop inventories of the endosulfan stockpiles and manage stockpiles and wastes in an environmentally sound manner (Article 6)
· Try to identify ways to clean up contaminated sites (Article 6)
· Review and update the national implementation plan (Article 7) to include endosulfan
· Include endosulfan in national reporting (Article 15)
· Include endosulfan in the programme for the effectiveness evaluation (Article 16)
Guidance for the management of endosulfan
General management
· Guidance for the control of the import of POPs
· Guidance for strengthening the regulatory framework to enable regular monitoring products and articles that may contain new POPs
· Guidance on labelling of products or articles that contain new POPs or use new POPs during manufacture
· Guidance for developing, reviewing, and updating a national implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention
Chemical-specific management
· Guidance on calculation of action plan costs for specific POPs
· Information on endosulfan, such as name, CAS number, common names, trade names, and GHS classification (in the EU) – see Annex 5 of Guidance for the control of the import of POPs
· Names of producers of endosulfan – see Annex 3 of Guidance for the control of the import of POPs
· Information on alternatives to endosulfan as a pesticide – see Annexes of Supporting document for the draft risk management evaluation on endosulfan (UNEP/POPS/PORC.6/INF/12). Additional information on alternatives will be available from the work programme to support the development and deployment of alternatives to endosulfan, based on COP5 decision SC 5/4, in 2013
For more information, please contact:
Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention
11-13, Chemin des Anémones - 1219 Châtelaine, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 (0)22 917 8729 - Fax: +41 (0)22 917 8098
E-mail: , Website: www.pops.int
[1] UNEP, 2011. Endosulfan. An introduction to the chemical added to the Stockholm Convention by the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting.