Format for submitting pursuant to Article 8 of the Stockholm
Convention the information specified in Annex E of the Convention
Introductory information
Name of the
submitting
Party/observer
Contact details
(name, telephone,
e-mail) of the
submitting
Party/observer
Chemical name
Beta-HCH
(as used by the POPS
Review Committee
(POPRC))
Date of submission
(a) Sources, including as appropriate (provide summary information and relevant references)
(i) Production data:
As lindane is not produced in Australia but is imported from
India, there is no production of beta-HCH in Australia.
Quantity
Location
Other
(ii) Uses
There are no uses of beta-HCH as it is a by-product of lindane
production.
(iii) Releases:
Discharges
Losses
Emissions
Other
(b) Hazard assessment for endpoints of concern, including consideration of toxicological
interactions involving multiple chemicals (provide summary information and relevant references)
K0582396
290705
For reasons of economy, this document is printed in a limited number. Delegates are kindly requested to bring their copies to
meetings and not to request additional copies.
UNEP/POPS/POPRC.1/4
(c) Environmental fate (provide summary information and relevant references)
Chemical/physical
properties
Persistence
How are
chemical/physical
properties and
persistence linked to
environmental transport,
transfer within and
between environmental
compartments,
degradation and
transformation to other
chemicals?
Bio-concentration or bioaccumulation factor,
based on measured
values (unless
monitoring data are
judged to meet this need)
“Decision POPRC-2/10: Beta hexachlorocyclohexane” reports
the estimated atmospheric half-life of beta-HCH was 15 d
according to Reference 16 (Scholtz et al. 1997). In
correspondence with the author of the paper, Australia
discovered the paper had been misquoted (through no fault of
the nominating Party), likely due to an inaccuracy in another
paper. The 15 d half-life is in fact an assumed value for
degradation on the canopy, not a measured or modelled value
for atmospheric degradation (see e-mail from Trevor Scholtz
of 12 January 2007, Attachment A).
Decision POPRC-2/10 also cites Reference 4 (Li et al. 2002)
as reporting the transfer of beta-HCH to the Arctic via ocean
currents. This paper gives a maximum concentration in Arctic
Ocean surface waters of 550 pg/L from wide sampling during
1981-1999. Given that the acute LC50 value for algae,
invertebrates and fish is quoted in the proposal in the order of
1 mg/L, the concentration in water is seven orders of
magnitude lower and unlikely to cause adverse effects.
Therefore, Australia believes beta-HCH is not likely, as a
result of its long-range environmental transport, to lead to
significant adverse human health and/or environmental effects,
such that global action is warranted.
The rationale provided in “Decision POPRC-2/10: Beta
hexachlorocyclohexane” para 3(c) (ii) and (iii) does not
support the statement that there is sufficient evidence that betaHCH meets the criterion on bioaccumulation.
The biomagnification factors of 1-18 in marine food webs
(with a maximum value of 280) and of 9-109 in wolves do not
meet the criteria specified in Annex D, as only
bioconcentration and bioaccumulation factors are allowed for
which must be >5,000. No BCF/BAF values for beta-HCH
have been reported exceeding this value.
(d) Monitoring data (provide summary information and relevant references)
(e) Exposure in local areas (provide summary information and relevant references)
- general
- as a result of
long-range
environmental
transport
- information
regarding bio-
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UNEP/POPS/POPRC.1/4
availability
(f) National and international risk evaluations, assessments or profiles and labelling information and
hazard classifications, as available (provide summary information and relevant references)
(g) Status of the chemical under international conventions
Li Y-F, RW Macdonald, LMM Jantunen, T Harner, TF Bidleman and WMJ Strachan (2002) The
transport of beta-hexachlorocyclohexane to the western Arctic Ocean: a contrast to alpha-HCH.
The Science of the Total Environment 291:229-246.
Scholtz, M.T., McMillan, A.C., Slama, C., Li, Y.F., Ting, N. and Davidson, K. 1997, Pesticide
Emissions Modeling: Development of a North American Pesticide Emissions Inventory. Canadian
Global Emissions Interpretation Centre (CGEIC), Mississauga, Ontario. Report No. CGEIC-19971, May 1997. Unpublished internal company report.
___________________________
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UNEP/POPS/POPRC.1/4
Attachment A
From: Trevor Scholtz [mailto:tscholtz@ortech.ca]
Sent: Friday, 12 January 2007 2:12 AM
To: Fan, Gary - Product Integrity
Subject: RE: [UNCLASSIFIED] Report # CGEIC-1997-1
Gary,
I have reviewed the CGEIC-1997-1 report and I am surprised that we are quoted as
reporting a 15 day atmospheric half-life for beta-HCH. We studied only lindane
and alpha-HCH. I think I can trace the chain of re-referencing that led to the
15-day atmospheric half-life for beta-HCH being quoted (or mis-quoted).
CGEIC-1997-1
We developed soil-air exchange model for pesticides known as PEM (Pesticide
Emission Model) We also developed a canopy model and compared the modelled halflife of some 29 pesticides that have been sprayed on the canopy with reported
observed canopy half-life from Willis et al. 1987. The canopy model addresses
only volatilization half-life and the half-life for photolysis, chemical
degradation etc. on/in the canopy is an assumed input parameter since no data
were found in the literature. In this study we found that assuming a 15-day
degradation half life on the canopy for all pesticides gave reasonable agreement
between modelled and observed total loss half-life for short lived pesticides.
For pesticides with low volatilization loss from the canopy, the modelled loss
half-life is dominated by the 15-day assumption and the model evaluation is
inconclusive.
Scholtz M.T. et al. (2002) Atmospheric Environment 36, 5015-5024 is the
publication that gives these results and discusses the 15-day assumption.
I think where the 15-day atmospheric half-life for beta-HCH came from is likely
Li et al (2003) Environ. Sci. Technol. 37, 3493-3498. For this study, the PEM
that includes the canopy model was used to predict global emission factors for
beta-HCH and as we had done in prior studies, we assumed a 15-day degradation
half-life for beta-HCH on the canopy. This paper references CGEIC-1997-1 as the
source of the atmospheric half-life for beta-HCH (Table 1 in Li et al. that
gives the input parameters for PEM). Unfortunately, that this is an assumed
value for canopy degradation was not made clear. In PEM the canopy half-life is
only used for emissions from the canopy; atmospheric degradation is not part of
the emission factor prediction. In Table 1 atmospheric half-life should have
been described as degradation half-life on the canopy. Li 2003, should have more
correctly referenced Scholtz et al 2002 instead of the unpublished CGEIC-1997-1.
Atkinson (1987) has estimated the atmospheric half-life of alpha-HCH through
reaction with OH radicals as 2.3 days at 25 C.
I hope that this clarifies the issue.
Regards,
Trevor Scholtz.
-----Original Message----From: Gary.Fan@affa.gov.au [mailto:Gary.Fan@affa.gov.au]
Sent: January 10, 2007 5:26 PM
To: Trevor Scholtz
Subject: RE: [UNCLASSIFIED] Report # CGEIC-1997-1
Thanks very much for your response Trevor.
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UNEP/POPS/POPRC.1/4
I was interested in your publication because it had been referenced in a
Stockholm Convention document as reporting an atmospheric half-life for betahexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH) of 15 d. I was interested in confirming this
value. Can you tell me which of the other publications would contain this
information or would you be able to send me a copy?
Thanks very much,
Gary
-----Original Message----From: Trevor Scholtz [mailto:tscholtz@ortech.ca]
Sent: Thursday, 11 January 2007 1:29 AM
To: Fan, Gary - Product Integrity
Subject: RE: [UNCLASSIFIED] Report # CGEIC-1997-1
Dear Gary,
Unfortunately, this report was an internal report that was not published in
total. The report has been published in a series of papers that cover most of
the report content. The following are some references that might be of help to
you:
Y-F. Li, A.C. Mcmillan and M.T. Scholtz, "Global HCH usage with 1o x 1o
latitude/longitude resolution", Environ. Sci. Technol., 30:12, 3525-3533, 1996.
Van Heyst, B.J., M.T. Scholtz, A.W. Taylor, A. Ivanoff, A.C. McMillan and Y-F.
Li., "The Development of a North American Pesticide Emission Inventory", in
Proceedings of the 8th annual AWMA and US EPA Emission Inventory Conference, New
Orleans, LA, Dec. 8-10, 1998.
Scholtz, M.T., B. Van Heyst and A. Ivanoff, "Documentation for the Gridded
Hourly Atrazine Emissions Data Set for the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study",
Final report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Report # EPA 600/R99/067, August 1999.
Li, Y.F., M.T. Scholtz, and B.J. Van Heyst, "Global Gridded Emissions of a-HCH,"
1999, J. of Geophys. Res., 105 (D5), pp 6621-6632, 2000.
Scholtz, M.T. and B. Van Heyst, "A Modelling Assessment of the Impact of
Pesticide Application Methods and Tilling Practices on Emissions to the
Atmosphere", White paper commissioned by the International Joint Commission and
the Delta Institute, Lake Michigan Forum, Milwaukee, WI, November 8-9, 2000.
Scholtz, M.T., E. Voldner, A.C. McMillan, and B.J. Van Heyst. "A Pesticide
Emission Model (PEM) Part I: Model Development". Atmospheric Environment, 36, pp
5005-5013, 2002.
Scholtz, M.T., E. Voldner, B.J. Van Heyst, A.C. McMillan and E. Pattey, "A
Pesticide Emission Model (PEM) Part II: Model Evaluation".
Atmospheric Environment, 36, pp 5015-5024, 2002.
Modelling of the long term fate of pesticide residues in agricultural soils and
their surface exchange with the atmosphere: Part I. Model description and
evaluation. Science of the Total Environment, 368,
(2006) 823-838.
The following reference is an extension of the pesticide emissions model to
mercury emissions from soil. Some of the soil processes that are important for
mercury will also be important for some pesticides.
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UNEP/POPS/POPRC.1/4
Scholtz, M.T., B.J. Van Heyst and W.H. Schroeder, "Modelling of Mercury
Emissions from Background Soils". Science of the Total Environment, 304, pp185207, 2003.
I hope these references will be of help to you.
Regards,
Trevor Scholtz.
-----Original Message----From: Gary.Fan@affa.gov.au [mailto:Gary.Fan@affa.gov.au]
Sent: January 8, 2007 11:31 PM
To: Trevor Scholtz
Subject: FW: [UNCLASSIFIED] Report # CGEIC-1997-1
Dear Dr Scholtz,
I would like to receive a copy of your report
Scholtz, M.T., McMillan, A.C., Slama, C., Li, Y.F., Ting, N. and Davidson,K.
1997, Pesticide Emissions Modeling: Development of A North American Pesticide
Emissions Inventory. Canadian Global Emissions Interpretation Centre (CGEIC),
Mississauga, Ontario. Report No.
CGEIC-1997-1, May 1997.
Can you please tell me how I can get a copy of this?
Thanks very much for your help.
Cheers,
Gary
Gary Fan
Policy Development and Coordination Section Product Safety and Integrity Branch
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry GPO Box
858 Canberra, ACT, Australia 2601 Tel +61 2 6272 3964 Fax +61 2 6272 5697
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
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