International shipments of hazardous wastes are not only a globe environmental issue, but also a tremendously sensitive political issue for both exporting and importing countries. Globe environmental issues were first addressed in a United Nations (UN) conference in Stockholm in 1972, and put into final form at the UN Environmental Programme Board in 1975 (UNEP, 1975). Not until the 1989 Basel Convention was an international treaty for the control of Transboundary (International) Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Disposal adopted. This treaty went into effect in May 1992. Since then, 116 countries have ratified the Basel Convention. This paper will review the contents of the treaty to assist countries that are not part of the convention in managing the international movement of hazardous waste.
International Hazardous Waste Movement
Authors: Almon M. Shen
1999 International Environmental Issue Seminar