ICRC-3 met from 17-21 February 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Discussions during the meeting resulted in a recommendation by the Committee that three widely-used pesticides and all forms of asbestos be added to the international list of chemicals subject to the Prior Informed Concent (PIC) procedure. These recommendations will be transmitted to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the Rotterdam Convention on the PIC Procedure for certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, whose next meeting will take place from 30 September to 4 October 2002 in Bonn, Germany.
The three pesticides recommended for the PIC procedure are monocrotophos, Granox TBC/Spinox T and DNOC. Monocrotophos is used in many developing countries to control insects and spider mites on cotton, citrus, rice, maize and other crops, but threatens farm workers, with medical effects including nausea, diarrhoea, blurred vision, and, in severe cases, serious respiratory problems, convulsions and even death. Monocrotophos is also highly toxic to birds and mammals. Granox TBC and Spinox T are mixtures of fungicides and the highly toxic insecticide Carbofuran, and are used in a powdered form by peanut farmers. NDOC is an insecticide, weed killer and fungicide that is toxic to humans as well as other organisms. The five remaining forms of asbestos were also recommended to be added to the PIC list. More information on this meeting is available online at: http://www.pic.int