(a) “Convention” means the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, adopted at Barcelona on 16 February 1976 and amended on 10 June 1995;
(b) A “Party” means a Contracting Party to this Protocol in accordance with Article 29, paragraph 1, of the Convention;
(c) “Wastes” means substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provisions of national law;
(d) “Hazardous wastes” means wastes or categories of substances as specified in Article 3 of this Protocol;
(f) “Transboundary movement” means any movement of hazardous wastes from an area under the national jurisdiction of one State to or through an area under the national jurisdiction of another State or to or through an area not under the national jurisdiction of any State, provided at least two States are involved in the movement;
(g) “Approved site or facility” means a site or facility for the disposal of hazardous wastes which is authorized or permitted to operate for this purpose by a relevant authority of the State where the site or facility is located;
(h) “Competent authority” means one governmental authority designated by a Party to be responsible, within such geographical areas as the Party may think fit, for receiving the notification of a transboundary movement of hazardous waste, and any information related to it, and for responding to such a notification;
(i) “Clean production methods” means those which reduce or avoid the generation of hazardous wastes in conformity with Articles 5 and 8 of this Protocol;
(j) “Environmentally sound management” of hazardous wastes means taking all practicable steps to ensure that hazardous wastes are collected, transported and disposed of (including after-care of disposal sites) in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such wastes;
(k) “Area under the national jurisdiction of a State” means any land, marine area or airspace within which a State exercises administrative and regulatory responsibilities in accordance with international law in regard to the protection of human health or the environment;
(l) “State of export” means a Party from which a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes is planned to be initiated or is initiated;
(m) “State of import” means a Party to which a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes is planned or takes place for the purpose of disposal therein or for the purpose of loading prior to disposal in an area not under the national jurisdiction of any State;
(n) “State of transit” means any State, other than the State of export or import, through which a movement of hazardous wastes is planned or takes place;
(o) “Exporter” means any person under the jurisdiction of the State of export who arranges for hazardous wastes to be exported;
(p) “Importer” means any person under the jurisdiction of the State of import who arranges for hazardous wastes to be imported;
(q) “Generator” means any person whose activity produces hazardous wastes or, if that person is not known, the person who is in possession and/or control of those wastes;
(r) “Disposer” means any person to whom hazardous wastes are shipped and who carries out the disposal of such wastes;
(s) “Illegal traffic” means any transboundary movement of hazardous wastes as specified in Article 9;
(u) “Developing countries” means those countries which are not Member States of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); *
(v) “Developed countries” means those countries which are Member States of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); **
(b) Wastes that are not covered under paragraph (a) above but are defined as, or are considered to be, hazardous wastes by the domestic legislation of the State of export, import or transit;
(d) Hazardous substances that have been banned or are expired, or whose registration has been cancelled or refused through government regulatory action in the country of manufacture or export for human health or environmental reasons, or have been voluntarily withdrawn or omitted from the government registration required for use in the country of manufacture or export.
1. The special situation of the Mediterranean developing countries which do not have the technical capabilities nor the disposal facilities for the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes is taken into consideration.
2. The competent authority of the State of import ensures that the hazardous waste is disposed of in an approved site or facility with the technical capacity for its environmentally sound disposal.
3. The transboundary movement of hazardous wastes only takes place with the prior written notification of the State of export as specified in Annex IV to this Protocol, and the prior written consent of the State(s) of import and the State(s) of transit. This paragraph does not apply to conditions of passage through the territorial sea, which are governed by paragraph 4 of this Article.
4. The transboundary movement of hazardous wastes through the territorial sea of a State of transit only takes place with the prior notification by the State of export to the State of transit, as specified in Annex IV to this Protocol. After reception of the notification, the State of transit brings to the attention of the State of export all the obligations relating to passage through its territorial sea in application of international law and the relevant provisions of its domestic legislation adopted in compliance with international law to protect the marine environment. Where necessary, the State of transit may take appropriate measures in accordance with international law. This procedure must be complied with within the delays provided for by the Basel Convention.
(a) Exchange of information on cases or alleged cases of illegal traffic in the Mediterranean and coordination of action to remedy such cases;
(b) Providing assistance in the field of capacity-building, including development of national legislation and of appropriate infrastructure in the Mediterranean States with a view to the prevention and penalization of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes;
(a) To keep under review the implementation of this Protocol, and consider any additional measures, including in the form of annexes;
(c) To formulate and adopt programmes, methods and measures in accordance with the relevant Articles of this Protocol;
(d) To consider any information submitted by the Parties to the Organization or to the meetings of the Parties in accordance with the relevant Articles of this Protocol;
UN Class * | Code | Characteristics | |
1 | H1 | EXPLOSIVE An explosive substance or waste is a solid or liquid substance or waste (or mixture of substances or wastes) which is in itself capable by chemical reaction of producing gas at such a temperature and pressure and at such a speed as to cause damage to the surroundings. |
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3 | H3 | FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS The word “flammable” has the same meaning as “inflammable”.Flammable liquids are liquids, or mixtures of liquids, or liquids containing solids in solution or suspension (for example paints, varnishes, lacquers, etc., but not including substances or wastes otherwise classified on account of their dangerous characteristics) which give off a flammable vapour at temperatures of not more than 60.5 degrees C, closed-cup test, or not more than 65.6 degrees C, open-cup test. (Since the results of opencup tests and of closed-cup tests are not strictly comparable and even individual results by the same test are often variable, regulations varying from the above figures to make allowance for such difference would be within the spirit of this definition.) |
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4.1 | H4.1 | FLAMMABLE SOLIDS Solids, or waste solids, other than those classed as explosives, which under conditions encountered in transport are readily combustible, or may cause or contribute to fire through friction. |
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4.2 | H4.2 | SUBSTANCES OR WASTES LIABLE TO SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION Substances or wastes which are liable to spontaneous heating under normal conditions encountered in transport, or in heating up on contact with air, and being liable to catch fire. |
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4.3 | H4.3 | SUBSTANCES OR WASTES WHICH, IN CONTACT WITH WATER, EMIT FLAMMABLE GASESSubstances or wastes which, by interaction with water, are liable to become spontaneously flammable or to give off flammable gases in dangerous quantities. | |
5.1 | H5.1 | OXIDIZING Substances or wastes which, while in themselves not necessarily combustible, may generally by yielding oxygen, cause or contribute to the combustion of other materials. |
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5.2 | H5.2 | ORGANIC PEROXIDES Organic substances or wastes which contain the bivalent-O-Ostructure are thermally unstable substances which may undergo exothermic self-accelerating decomposition. |
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6.1 | H6.1 | POISONOUS (ACUTE) Substances or wastes liable either to cause death or serious injury or to harm human health if swallowed or inhaled or by skin contact. |
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6.2 | H6.2 | INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES Substances or wastes containing viable microorganisms or their toxins which are known or suspected to cause disease in animals or humans. |
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8 | H8 | CORROSIVES Substances or wastes which, by chemical action, will cause severe damage when in contact with living tissue, or in the case of leakage, will materially damage, or even destroy, other goods or the means of transport; they may also cause other hazards. |
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9 | H10 | LIBERATION OF TOXIC GASES IN CONTACT WITH AIR OR WATER Substances or wastes which, by interaction with air or water, are liable to give off toxic gases in dangerous quantities. |
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9 | H11 | TOXIC (DELAYED OR CHRONIC) Substances or wastes which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may involve delayed or chronic effects, including carcinogenicity. |
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9 | H12 | ECOTOXIC Substances or wastes which if released present or may present immediate or delayed adverse impacts on the environment by means of bioaccumulation and/or toxic effects upon biotic systems. |
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9 | H13 | Capable, by any means, after disposal, of yielding another material, e.g. leachate, which possesses any of the characteristics listed above. |
The Organization should make use of a Notification Form and accompanying documents such
as those developed within the framework of the Basel Convention, the OECD and the European
Community.
1 Full name and address, telephone, telex or telefax number and the name, address, telephone,
telex or telefax number of the person to be contacted.
2 Full name and address, telephone, telex or telefax number.
3 In the case of a general notification covering several shipments, either the expected dates of
each shipment or, if this is not known, the expected frequency of the shipments will be
required.
4 Information to be provided on relevant insurance requirements and how they are met by
exporter, carrier and disposer.
5 The nature and the concentration of the most hazardous components, in terms of toxicity and
other dangers presented by the waste both in handling and in relation to the proposed disposal
method.
6 In the case of a general notification covering several shipments, both the estimated total
quantity and the estimated quantities for each individual shipment will be required.
7 Insofar as this is necessary to assess the hazard and determine the appropriateness of the
proposed disposal operation.
The Organization should make use of a Movement Document and accompanying documents such as those developed within the framework of the Basel Convention, the OECD and the
European Community.
The information required on the Movement Document shall where possible be integrated in one document with that required under transport rules. Where this is not possible, the information
should complement rather than duplicate that required under the transport rules. The Movement Document shall carry instructions as to who is to provide information and fill out any form.
1 Full name and address, telephone, telex or telefax number and the name, address, telephone,telex or telefax number of the person to be contacted in case of emergency.