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The Global Chemicals Outlook II – From Legacies to Innovative Solutions: Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, mandated by the UN Environment Assembly in 2016, seeks to alert policymakers and other stakeholders to the critical role of the sound management of chemicals and waste in sustainable development. It takes stock of global trends as well as progress made and gaps in achieving the global goal to minimize the adverse impacts from chemicals and waste by 2020. The Global Chemicals

On International Women’s Day, the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury launched a video on how women are more negatively impacted by mercury and what needs to be done to better protect, support and promote gender equality. watch the videoThe Minamata Convention tackles mercury throughout its entire life cycle, fighting gender issues every step of the way. This includes supporting gender-specific trainings and helping implement National Action Plans with a gender perspective -- with special focus on the problem

This interactive map reflects the results of research by New-York University that estimates the economic costs linked to childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries. Information as average lead level, cost for countries and population at risk under the age of five are available for selected countries.Exposure to lead has a permanent negative impact on children's developing brains. One impact is a reduction in intelligence quotient (IQ), which can be correlated with decreases in lifetime earning potential. Lead exposure

This interactive map provides country-specific data on lead paint levels around the world. Lead in paint is a major source of lead exposure for children globally. Since 2009, more than 100 studies from 59 countries have shown that lead paints are still widely sold in low- and middle-income countries. IPEN-affiliated NGOs conducted the majority of these studies, comprising more than 3,300 solvent-based paints. Many of these paints contained very high levels of lead above 10,000 parts per million (ppm) of

A range of documents provide information about the health impacts of lead, sources of lead exposure and methods for evaluating exposure. Key WHO risk assessment documents concerning lead are also provided. These resources can be used by governments and international and national organizations as the basis for taking preventive actions against adverse health and environmental impacts.

UNITAR Website webpage indicates activities and resources to learn more about nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials (nano). The third International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM3) emphasized: “the need for UNITAR and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to continue development of international guidance and training materials for the sound management of manufactured nanomaterials, drawing on existing initiatives, needs assessment and best practices, within their respective mandates and subject to available resources in cooperation with the regions and other relevant stakeholders"

Perflourinated Chemicals (PFCs) are the key ingredient in many stain, water and grease repellent coatings that make outdoor jackets water tight and frying pans non sticky. These chemicals consist of long molecules that contain carbon chains surrounded by fluorine. That bond between carbon and fluorine is incredibly tight. They interact so strongly with each other that the normal, inter-molecular forces, that cause substances to stick to each other, don’t stand a chance.While some types of PFCs are either safe or

Pharmaceuticals are chemicals we specifically design to act on living cells. They regulate, in organisms, hormonal balance and the way it metabolizes its nutrients. Pharmaceuticals even change the way signals travel between cells. In order to work, many drugs have to resist the stomach’s acid environment, so the compounds can reach their destination inside the body. That’s why they are formulated to degrade very slowly or not at all. When active pharmaceuticals pass through our bodies and enter the environment

We use a wide variety of chemical compounds to prevent living organisms from damaging crops and spreading diseases like malaria. These compounds are collectively termed pesticides. These days the majority of pesticides have low to moderate acute toxicity. But despite their many positive developments, there remain a small but significant group of Highly Hazardous Pesticides that cause illness and environmental damage.Not only because they are very toxic, but also because they remain active for a long time after being released

Video animation explaining why mercury and, in particular, mercury in skin lightening products is dangerous to health and the need for countries to take action to ban this source of exposure.