We are happy to present you the Outcomes of the 13th Int. HCH & Pesticides Forum, which was a great success and brought the issue and solutions of Obsolete pesticides forward again. Both issues of obsolete Pesticides in the EECCA region and the issue of the Inquinosa case have been intensively discussed and being reported.
We wish you all a happy Christmas and a great start in 2016

Yours
John Vijgen
Silvia Hernandez
Bram de Borst

The movie Silent Snow is now available with Russian subtitles!

https://vimeo.com/122953087. Анонс русскоязычной версии документального фильма <Безмолвный снег> К <Неделе мероприятий по пестицидам> (20-30 марта 2015 г.) ОБСЕ подготовило русскоязычную версию документального фильма <Безмолвный снег> голландского режиссера Яна ван ден Берга. Фильм красноречиво показывает негативное воздействие пестицидов на жизнь как тех, кто ими непосредственно пользуются, так и тех, кто никогда не имел о них представления.
Для русскоязычной аудитории фильм доступен бесплатно, однако, при желании, можно сделать благотворительный вклад для развития других фильмов серии <Безмолвная земля> Яна ван дер Берга на http://silentland.org/en/take-action/donate/.
Фильм находится на https://vimeo.com/122953087 и https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAcxdjq6rnE&feature=youtu.be.
Благодарим переводчика фильма, Катерину Роговскую ( Katya Rogovska ), за безвозмездный вклад в подготовке этой языковой версии.
С вопросами обращайтесь, пожалуйста, к режиссеру фильма Яну ван ден Бергу info@drsfilm.tv либо Тамаре Кутоновой (ОБСЕ) tamara.kutonova@osce.org.

13th HCH & Pesticides Forum, 20 years after the 3rd Forum in Bilbao: the legacy of the lindane production in Spain and “Lessons learned”
November 03-06, 2015, Zaragoza, Spain

Dear All,
You can find the 2^nd announcement with the following new information:
1. selected Venue: WTCZ – World Trade Center Zaragoza
2. Conference Papers and Submission – NEW PROCEDURES!
3. Accommodation: We have obtained special rates at 3 hotels which makes it interesting for all participants also for people with very small budgets

Please look also in the download area that we have now the following leaflets available:
Second Announcement, Forum Paper template, Schengen steps ENGLISH, Schengen steps RUSSIAN, Visa Form.
Remember that people outside of the EU need now to apply for the visa!!!!!
Finally please do not forget to register now, pay your fee and submit your papers according to the new rules in time.
We are looking forward to hear from you!

Many regards
John Vijgen
—–
For the latest update on Forum visit the website: www.hchforum.com

John Vijgen interview for the teaser of the movie Contaminated future: an investigation into dumping of obsolete pesticides – http://contaminatedfuture.org/video/

The Carcinogenic HCB by the Baltic Sea – “Lessons Learned on the management of HCB waste in Poland”

http://uwaga.tvn.pl/reportaze,2671,n/the-carcinogenic-hcb-by-the-baltic-sea,135689.html – video report

This is not just a story of a crime committed on the environment. It’s a story of people of good will, who couldn’t accept the reality they encountered, and decided to help us change it. In January 2012, we received an e-mail from a concerned citizen of Gdansk
We called this man “The Watchman” since he was a person who wanted to protect the environment, and local inhabitants, that might have been affected by toxic waste.

“I live in New Port district in Gdansk. There is an incinerator there that takes thousands of tons of waste from Ukraine. Hundreds of trucks come there daily, dropping their loads in every available spot in this facility”- he wrote.

“The Watchman”, and other people, who live in the vicinity of this plant kept wondering why waste from Ukraine was transported for over 1000 kilometers to our city. They couldn’t find any information about the transports. The piles of waste kept growing every day to an unprecedented size.

“There is so much of this waste, that it is stored all over the place. It is not sheltered in at all, nor protected from rain or wild animals. The odor there is so awful that you cannot describe it.
I tried to inform local authorities, but no one wants to help. They keep ensuring us that everything is in order. For myself and the other inhabitants of our district, I’m asking you for help.

I cannot reveal my identity, because I’m afraid of possible consequences or even losing my employment”.

We contacted him, and after confirming the facts, we travelled 550 km to Gdansk where we met “The Watchman” personally. He appeared to be an ordinary man, who just wanted to change the reality that surrounds him. He began his fight long before he contacted us, but was denied any help or attention.

At this point, we had some experience with waste management issues in Poland. Our previous experiences with medical waste treatment proved to us that Polish authorities are not professionally prepared to deal with emergency problems concerning waste management. Assuming that local environmental authorities will say “Everything is in order; our inspection didn’t reveal any breaches”, we decided to gather all the necessary information and evidence on our own. The investigation had begun.