IFCS
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety
Information Circular
Table of Contents:
OFFICERS AND FORUM STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
BAHIA DECLARATION ON CHEMICAL SAFETY AND PRIORITIES FOR ACTION BEYOND 2000
NEW PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST
FORUM IV
OFFICERS AND FORUM STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The following individuals have been designated by the elected governments to serve as IFCS Officers
for the period between Forum III and Forum IV:
President
Vice Presidents:
Africa
Asia-Pacific
Central & Eastern Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
Western Europe & Other Groups
Brazil
Mr Henrique B. Cavalcanti
Senegal
Japan
Hungary
Ecuador
Sweden
Mr Ibrahima Sow
Mr Toru Yamamoto
Prof Dr György Ungváry
Ing Mercedes Bolaños
Dr Gunnar Bengtsson
Contact details for the Officers can be found on the IFCS website: http://www.who.int/ifcs/ifcsofficers.html. The website includes a biography for each.
The IFCS Vice Presidents have prepared initial regional plans for the time period to Forum IV. You
are encouraged to contact the Vice President in your region to provide information on your national
priorities and to explore ways to contribute to the regional efforts.
The list of representatives to the Forum Standing Committee including full contact information can
also be found on the IFCS website: http://www.who.int/ifcs/forum_standing_committee.htm .
Bahia Declaration on Chemical Safety and Priorities for Action beyond 2000
With the aim of contributing to the on-going process of awareness-raising and subsequent
call-to-action for global chemical safety, the Bahia Declaration and the IFCS Priorities for Action
beyond 2000 have been prepared in poster and brochure format for distribution to a wide and general
audience. The publications will be available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish. The publications are intended to raise awareness, stimulate discussion, encourage
partnerships and motivate action to achieve the IFCS targets and goals. Over the next several months,
copies will be sent to all IFCS National Focal Points for distribution to national departments sharing
responsibility for chemical safety (health, environment, agriculture, labour, transport, industry, etc) as
well as non-governmental organizations active in the area. The Priorities for Action beyond 2000
have received support in a number of governmental fora, including the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) Governing Council (Decision 21/7, February 2001), the G8 Environment
Ministers (March 2001), the Environment Ministers of the Americas (March 2001), and the Summit
of the Americas (May 2001). As events take place, the Secretariat would appreciate receiving
information on other fora that have expressed support for the Bahia Declaration & Priorities for
Action beyond 2000.
Secretariat: c/o World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (22) 791 3873/4333/3650; Fax: +41 (22) 791 4875; Email: ifcs@who.ch; Website: www.ifcs.ch
NEW PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST ETC
OECD Environmental Outlook for the Chemicals Industry
The current lack of information on the safety of chemicals on the market as well as the amount of
hazardous substances being released into the environment during use and disposal of chemical
products will pose a major challenge to policy makers over the next two decades. These are key
conclusions of the OECD report entitled “Environmental Outlook for the Chemicals Industry” issued
in April 2001. The report examines the future trends for the chemical industry, the wide range of past
and current policies designed to manage risks posed by the production and use of chemicals, and the
key safety issues for the future. The report is available for downloading, free of charge, from the
following web site: http://www.oecd.org/ehs.
International Programme on Chemical Safety’s (IPCS) INCHEM
Beginning June 2001, the IPCS INCHEM service, http://www.inchem.org, became free-of-charge to
people around the world via the Internet. IPCS INCHEM offers quick and easy access to thousands of
searchable full-text documents from international bodies on chemical risks and the sound
management of chemicals. Produced through cooperation between IPCS (WHO/ILO/UNEP) and the
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), IPCS INCHEM directly responds to
one of the IFCS 1994 priority actions to consolidate current, internationally peer-reviewed chemical
safety-related publications and database records from international bodies, for public access. The
IPCS INCHEM collection includes:
 Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monographs
 Concise International Chemical Assessment Document (CICADS)
 Health and Safety Guides (HSGs)
 International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs)
 IPCS/EC Evaluation of Antidotes Series
 JECFA (Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives) - monographs and evaluations
 JMPR (Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues) – monographs and evaluations
 Pesticide Data Sheets (PDSs)
 Poisons Information Monographs (PIMs)
 Screening Information Data Set (SIDS) for High Production Volume Chemicals
 CIS Chemical Information (ILO/CIS)
 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) -Summaries and Evaluations
Other chemical safety information from international bodies will be added progressively to the
collection.
Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR)
Evaluations through 2000
The inventory of IPCS and other WHO pesticide evaluations and summary of toxicological
evaluations performed by JMPR is available on the IPCS website at:
http://www.who.int/pcs/jmpr/jmpr.htm .
Forum IV
Forum IV will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in November 2003 – mark your calendar!