Scale of illegal trade in chemicals reveals million of tonnes are exported every year

Twenty-six megatonnes of chemicals were illegally traded between 2004 and 2019, despite UN treaties meant to limit their transport and use. The substances, that can have harmful impacts on people and the environment, ranged from tetraethyl lead for fuels to tributyltin compounds for anti-fouling paint .

The new Swiss study has highlighted that there is a highly organised global trade of chemicals known to be hazardous to people and the environment. The researchers made their discovery by analysing over 66,000 trade records from the UN Comtrade database to identify the illicit trade taking place. Environmental experts are concerned as this new data shows that many chemicals that were previously thought to have been phased out globally are still being traded. These include pesticides such as 1,2-dibromoethane (EDB), a known carcinogen, and fuel additives, such as tetraethyl and tetramethyl lead, despite their neurotoxic effects.