Nations agree to new chemical ban, export controls
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U.N. officials and delegates say more than 120 nations agreed to tighter controls on several chemicals and hazardous waste, including a gradual ban on a flame retardant and some new export requirements for other substances.
But they say an effort to rein in use of construction material Chrysotile asbestos and a powerful herbicide, Paraquat, fell short at a two-week summit of delegates to three main international treaties.
The heads of two U.N. agencies and other officials told reporters Friday the summit was ending with agreement to phase-out the commonly used flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, but exempted some uses in buildings.
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The officials and delegates say the summit approved tighter requirements for disclosing information about exports of insecticide Azinphos-methyl, two flame retardants, PentaBDE and OctaBDE, and a fabric protector, PFOS.