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Chemicals management
Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
After two years of negotiations, in March 1998 representatives of 95 countries, including Australia, reached an agreement on the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The major aim of the Convention is to promote shared responsibility between exporting and importing countries in protecting human health and the environment from the potential hazards of dangerous chemicals.
Under the PIC procedure, participating countries learn more about the characteristics of potentially hazardous chemicals that may be shipped to them. The procedure initiates a decision making process on the future import of these chemicals by the countries themselves and facilitates the dissemination of these decisions to other countries. It gives importing countries the power to make informed decisions on which chemicals they want to receive and to exclude those they cannot manage safely.
The PIC Convention was opened for signature at a Diplomatic Conference in Rotterdam, 9-11 September 1998. The Rotterdam Convention entered into force generally on 24 February 2004 and Australia became a Party to the Convention on 18 August 2004. At 28 February 2005, 84 countries were Party to the Rotterdam Convention. It supersedes the voluntary PIC procedure that had been in operation prior to the Rotterdam Diplomatic Conference.
Full details on the Convention can be found at the: