[DRAFT] Regulation of Chemicals Harmful to.....

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

Regulation of Chemicals Harmful to Nature and Life

Category: Regulation --------- Type: Safety

The World Assembly,

Noting that the use of harmful chemicals in everyday cosmetics is commonplace,

Aware that many economies of nations depend on the production of these chemicals,

Acknowledging that many consumer goods use these products as "fillers" to increase their size,

Concerned that many chemicals are used to make deadly improvised explosives by terrorists,

Anxious about their incendiary properties which can cause domestic accidents,

Abhorred at the neurological effects of many such materials,

Shocked that many of these chemicals are yet to be restricted by many nations,

Hereby:
Listing the following metals as forbidden for all consumer goods in every WA nation: Arsenic Trioxide, Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, certain pure alkaline metals(Sodium, Potassium, Lithium in the elemental form).
Listing the following non-metals as forbidden for use in consumer goods: Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs), caustic alkalines such as Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide in concentrations more than 0.1%.
Listing the following pesticides, insecticides etc. as forbidden in agricultural use: DDT(Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), glyphosates, and lindane.
Forbidding all the following explosives and incendiary explosives: Hexogen, napalm, fulminates (mercury fulminate, gold fulminate, silver fulminate), Nitro explosives, Nitroglycerin etc.
Regulating the explosive ammonium nitrate to only be used in construction.
Regulating the following plastics: Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, Bisphenol F by preventing their use in civilian containers (bottles, food containers etc).
Forbidding the use of solvents as inhalants.
Forbidding the use of the following miscellaneous chemicals: Arsenic Trichloride, Cyanide and it's compounds, Liquid Bromine, Benzyl Chloride, Sarin, Formaldehyde and all it's compounds, Mustard Gas, chlorides of Phosphorus, Ricin in the pure form, Zinc Phosphide.

The World Assembly,

Noting that the use of harmful chemicals in everyday cosmetics is commonplace,

Aware that many economies of nations depend on the production of these chemicals,

Acknowledging that many consumer goods use these products as "fillers" to increase their size,

Concerned that many chemicals are used to make deadly improvised explosives by terrorists,

Anxious about their incendiary properties which can cause domestic accidents,

Abhorred at the neurological effects of many such materials,

Shocked that many of these chemicals are yet to be restricted by many nations,

Hereby:
1. Listing the following metals as forbidden for all consumer goods in every WA nation: Arsenic Trioxide, Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, certain pure alkaline metals(Sodium, Potassium, Lithium in the elemental form).

2. Forbidding the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs) due to their effect on the ozone layer.

3. Listing the following pesticides, insecticides etc. as forbidden in agricultural use: DDT(Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), glyphosates, and lindane.

4. Forbidding all the following explosives and incendiary explosives: Hexogen, napalm, fulminates (mercury fulminate, silver fulminate, potassium fulminate), Nitro explosives, Nitroglycerin etc.

5. Regulating the explosive ammonium nitrate to only be used in construction.

6. Regulating the following plastics: Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, Bisphenol F by preventing their use in civilian containers (bottles, food containers etc).

7. Forbidding the use of solvents as inhalants.

8. Forbidding the use of the following miscellaneous chemicals: Arsenic Trichloride, Cyanide and it's compounds, Liquid Bromine, Benzyl Chloride, Sarin, Formaldehyde and all it's compounds, Mustard Gas, chlorides of Phosphorus, Ricin in the pure form, Zinc Phosphide.

The World Assembly,

Noting that the use of harmful chemicals in everyday cosmetics is commonplace,

Aware that many economies of nations depend on the production of these chemicals,

Acknowledging that many consumer goods use these products as "fillers" to increase their size,

Concerned that many chemicals are used to make deadly improvised explosives by terrorists,

Anxious about their incendiary properties which can cause domestic accidents,

Abhorred at the neurological effects of many such materials,

Shocked that many of these chemicals are yet to be restricted by many nations,

Hereby:
1. Listing the following metals as forbidden for all consumer goods in every WA nation: Arsenic Trioxide, lead and cadmium used in containers, food products etc., forbidding mercury used in any circumstance except for mercuric oxides.

2. Forbidding the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs) due to their effect on the ozone layer.

3. Listing the following pesticides, insecticides etc. as forbidden in agricultural use: DDT(Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), glyphosates, and lindane.

4. Forbidding all the following explosives and incendiary explosives: Hexogen, napalm, fulminates (mercury fulminate, silver fulminate, potassium fulminate), Nitro explosives, Nitroglycerin etc.

5. Regulating the explosive ammonium nitrate to only be used in construction.

6. Regulating the following plastics: Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, Bisphenol F by preventing their use in civilian containers (bottles, food containers etc).

7. Forbidding the use of inhalants and highlighting their negative effect on the brain, and encouraging governments to inform the youth of their effects.

8. Forbidding the use of the following miscellaneous chemicals: Arsenic Trichloride, Cyanides, Pure Bromine except in industrial purposes, Benzyl Chloride, restricting the emissions of formaldehyde to .13 ppm and banning it's compounds, Phosphorus and it's chlorides, Pure Ricin, and Zinc Phosphide.

9. Prohibits the use of these chemicals for military purposes: Mustard Gas, Sarin Nerve Gas, Chlorine Gas (25%+ Concentration), phosgenes, Lewisite, Soman gas, Tabun gas.

10. Creating the GACRC (General Assembly Chemical Regulation Committee) to oversee the regulation of these chemicals.

The World Assembly,

Noting that the use of harmful chemicals in everyday cosmetics is commonplace,

Aware that many economies of nations depend on the production of these chemicals,

Acknowledging that many consumer goods use these products as "fillers" to increase their size,

Concerned that many chemicals are used to make deadly improvised explosives by terrorists,

Anxious about their incendiary properties which can cause domestic accidents,

Abhorred at the neurological effects of many such materials,

Shocked that many of these chemicals are yet to be restricted by many nations,

Hereby:
1. Defining a consumer good in this resolution as "a product which most consumers are bound to interact with everyday".

2. Regulating the following heavy metals to be used only in batteries and forbidding their use in consumer goods: Cadmium, Lead, and banning Arsenic Trioxide.

3 Forbidding the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs) due to their effect on the ozone layer.

4. Listing the following pesticides, insecticides etc. as forbidden in agricultural use: Dichlorodephenyltrichloroethane (DDT), glyphosates in extremely concentrated form (90%+), and lindane.

5. Forbidding civilian access to the following explosives, and permitting their use in controlled detonations: Hexogen, napalm, fulminates (mercury fulminate, silver fulminate, potassium fulminate), Nitro explosives, Nitroglycerin etc.

6. Regulating the explosive mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) to be only used in controlled detonations and forbidding their access to the public.

7. Regulating the following plastics: Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, Bisphenol F by preventing their use in civilian containers (bottles, food containers etc).

8. Putting light on the use of solvents as inhalants, and informing governments about their neurological effects, especially to children.

9. Forbidding the use of the following chemicals with an exception to industrial and research purposes: Cyanides, Formaldehyde in artificial wood with emissions more than .13ppm, Ricin, Liquid Bromine, and phosphine gas.

10. Reiterates the ban on chemical weapons as mentioned in GA#272

11. Creating the GACRC (General Assembly Chemical Regulation Committee) to oversee the regulation of these chemicals.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

bump

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

Since there are no comments, I'll submit.

[The Ice States]

Why is this not addressed by GA #645 and GA #376?

[Anne of Cleves in TNP]

Listing the following non-metals as forbidden for use in consumer goods: Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs), caustic alkalines such as Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide in concentrations more than 0.1%.

OOC: Opposed for as long as sodium hydroxide is restricted to 0.1% concentration. Sodium hydroxide has a variety of uses, and I doubt many of them would operate with 0.1% concentration sodium hydroxide. For example, one study used a 3 molar concentration of sodium hydroxide to run a fuel cell, which I doubt is 0.1% concentration (please correct me if necessary). If climate change is something NS wants to combat further, it is important to have fuel cells on-deck as well.

https://www.raco.cat/index.php/afinidad/article/download/305575/395413/

https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/environ ... oxide.html

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

Listing the following non-metals as forbidden for use in consumer goods: Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs), caustic alkalines such as Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide in concentrations more than 0.1%.

OOC: Opposed for as long as sodium hydroxide is restricted to 0.1% concentration. Sodium hydroxide has a variety of uses, and I doubt many of them would operate with 0.1% concentration sodium hydroxide. For example, one study used a 3 molar concentration of sodium hydroxide to run a fuel cell, which I doubt is 0.1% concentration (please correct me if necessary). If climate change is something NS wants to combat further, it is important to have fuel cells on-deck as well.

https://www.raco.cat/index.php/afinidad/article/download/305575/395413/

https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/environ ... oxide.html

Yeah, I should probably remove lyes from that. I thought I changed that before.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

Why is this not addressed by GA #645 and GA #376?

GA #645 is about the disposal of waste materials, while this resolution is preventing them from being used to make consumer goods. GA #376 is more like a declaration on pesticides, and doesn't prevent certain pesticides from being used.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

SUBMITTED THE PROPOSAL

[Sierra Lyricalia]

IC: "Ambassador, this needed quite a bit more refining before submission. Cadmium is widely used in car batteries, and automobiles are a consumer good. Do you actually intend to mandate the phasing out of cadmium, even in such uses where consumers will not come in contact with it? And many of the compounds you list in Clause 8 have necessary and legitimate industrial uses, some of which cannot be easily assumed by other substances or processes, none of which becomes dangerous to consumers unless safety procedures have gone horribly wrong. This is a one-size-fits-none draconian law whose costs will likely far outweigh its benefits."

---

OOC: Welcome to the World Assembly! I believe this resolution will not succeed at vote, for the above reasons stated In Character. There may be a good law buried in here somewhere, but you will need to let it sit for a while to be drafted and improved both by your own ideas and by the community, before it's ready to go. Usually these things take on the order of weeks or months for first time players. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." I recommend withdrawing and making those changes suggested by the community that conform to the logic of solving the problem you are trying to solve with this resolution. Then after a good period of time when you've improved it as much as you reasonably can, that's the time to submit.

Good luck!

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

IC: "Ambassador, this needed quite a bit more refining before submission. Cadmium is widely used in car batteries, and automobiles are a consumer good. Do you actually intend to mandate the phasing out of cadmium, even in such uses where consumers will not come in contact with it? And many of the compounds you list in Clause 8 have necessary and legitimate industrial uses, some of which cannot be easily assumed by other substances or processes, none of which becomes dangerous to consumers unless safety procedures have gone horribly wrong. This is a one-size-fits-none draconian law whose costs will likely far outweigh its benefits."

---

OOC: Welcome to the World Assembly! I believe this resolution will not succeed at vote, for the above reasons stated In Character. There may be a good law buried in here somewhere, but you will need to let it sit for a while to be drafted and improved both by your own ideas and by the community, before it's ready to go. Usually these things take on the order of weeks or months for first time players. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." I recommend withdrawing and making those changes suggested by the community that conform to the logic of solving the problem you are trying to solve with this resolution. Then after a good period of time when you've improved it as much as you reasonably can, that's the time to submit.

Good luck!

IC: I agree with your statements about car batteries, as the resolution mainly spoke about them being used in food products, containers, and in other things that may be ingested, causing neurological damage.

OOC: I've withdrawn it and probably will do some more research before resubmitting.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

bump

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

I have made necessary changes and I believe now is the time to submit.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

I have made necessary changes and I believe now is the time to submit.

OOC: You believe incorrectly. You made a few changes but they were very minor relative to what is needed. It would be helpful to be able to see the exact changes; going forward I would recommend placing the previous draft in [spoiler] tags beneath the newest version every time you make an update, so people can see exactly what changed.

More importantly, though...

...Usually these things take on the order of weeks or months for first time players. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." I recommend withdrawing and making those changes suggested by the community that conform to the logic of solving the problem you are trying to solve with this resolution. Then after a good period of time when you've improved it as much as you reasonably can, that's the time to submit.

[The North Polish Union]

OOC: I'm a chemist by profession. I generally don't think the blanket banning of chemicals (or classes of chemicals) is justified unless there's a very good purpose that doesn't misunderstand the purpose, use of consequences of the chemical and what impacts its prohibition will have.

The World Assembly,

Noting that the use of harmful chemicals in everyday cosmetics is commonplace,

Doesn't the WA already have legislation against this? I thought they did. If not, mitigating hazards posed to consumers might be a better and more narrow topic for a resolution.

Concerned that many chemicals are used to make deadly improvised explosives by terrorists,

Anxious about their incendiary properties which can cause domestic accidents,

Fun semi-related fact, making explosives and incendiaries is actually what got me interested in chemistry when I was younger. Thankfully I'm not a terrorist and am still (as of December 2022) allowed to board airplanes

Listing the following metals as forbidden for all consumer goods in every WA nation: Arsenic Trioxide, lead and cadmium used in containers, food products etc.,

I'm confused whether this ban applies to "any consumer goods" or just "containers, food products, etc." If its the former you've just banned lead-acid batteries (most modern car batteries) and NiCd-batteries (most consumer rechargeable batteries).

forbidding mercury used in any circumstance except for mercuric oxides.

Again this is confusing to whether you're banning elemental mercury or all mercury compounds except mercuric oxides. Mercury metal is still commonly used as a component in dental amalgam with little to no toxic impacts.

3. Listing the following pesticides, insecticides etc. as forbidden in agricultural use: DDT(Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane),

DDT should never have been restricted as heavily as it was IRL. Its large-scale application prior to the 1970s (when it was being sprayed indiscriminately across fields, lakes, and forests by airplanes) was undoubtedly destructive and harmful. However, the selective and topical small-scale application of DDT in high-mosquito areas (e.g. around window- and doorframes) is an excellent malaria-mitigation technique that avoids the environmental and health impacts of large-scale application, and the WHO continues to recommend it for malaria prevention.

glyphosates,

Just glyphosates or all organophosphorus pesticides?

4. Forbidding all the following explosives and incendiary explosives: Hexogen,

The explosive component of C-4.

napalm,

Trivially easy to manufacture from commercially-ubiquitous materials.

fulminates (mercury fulminate, silver fulminate, potassium fulminate),

No longer widely-used (even by terrorists I think) due to the danger posed by their extreme sensitivity, I guess one could make a case for banning them on that basis. Fun to play with but no longer a practical explosive.

Nitro explosives,

This potentially includes all nitrated compounds.

Nitroglycerin etc.

Dynamite continues to be one of the most effective and safest explosives. It is universal in drilling, mining, and all sorts of civil engineering work from road construction to controlled demolition. It also has medical applications. Why ban it?

5. Regulating the explosive ammonium nitrate to only be used in construction.

Its primary use is as a fertilizer.

6. Regulating the following plastics: Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, Bisphenol F by preventing their use in civilian containers (bottles, food containers etc).

There is a push to avoid bisphenols in food applications and this is a reasonable position rather than an outright ban on a class o chemicals.

7. Forbidding the use of inhalants and highlighting their negative effect on the brain, and encouraging governments to inform the youth of their effects.

Are you just banning all aerosol spray cans because people huff them sometimes?

8. Forbidding the use of the following miscellaneous chemicals: [...] Cyanides,

Banning nitrile gloves.

Pure Bromine except in industrial purposes,

What about research purposes?

Pure Ricin

So its fine as long as its impure?

, and Zinc Phosphide.

Used in semiconductors.

9. Prohibits the use of these chemicals for military purposes: Mustard Gas, Sarin Nerve Gas, Chlorine Gas (25%+ Concentration), phosgenes, Lewisite, Soman gas, Tabun gas.

Doesn't the WA already have chemical weapons legislation?

I don't think this draft displays the necessary thoughtfulness and care that should be taken when considering prohibitions on commonly-used chemicals. Its also far too broad, it would be easier to focus on a specific industry (such as cosmetics) or class of chemicals (such as organophosphates) and go from there.

[Heidgaudr]

Doesn't the WA already have chemical weapons legislation?

Yup.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

Withdrawn.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

I have made some suggested changes, hope to get some more feedback and advice.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

BUMP

[Bhang Bhang Duc]

OOC

From a metallurgist’s point of view the following is not a good idea with regards to lead.

Regulating the following heavy metals to be used only in batteries: Cadmium, Lead, and banning Arsenic Trioxide.

So lead anodes are used to produce about 20% of the world’s primary copper and well over 90% of the world’s zinc via electrowinning. There is no viable substitute.

Also lead sheet is still used in construction, perfectly safely as well. You make the layman’s mistake of thinking lead is bad, when actually it is the compounds that can be.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

OOC

From a metallurgist’s point of view the following is not a good idea with regards to lead.

Regulating the following heavy metals to be used only in batteries: Cadmium, Lead, and banning Arsenic Trioxide.

So lead anodes are used to produce about 20% of the world’s primary copper and well over 90% of the world’s zinc via electrowinning. There is no viable substitute.

Also lead sheet is still used in construction, perfectly safely as well. You make the layman’s mistake of thinking lead is bad, when actually it is the compounds that can be.

I meant to have mentioned "in consumer goods". I didn't mean it's restriction in industrial use.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

BUMP

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

bump

[Sierra Lyricalia]

2. Regulating the following heavy metals to be used only in batteries and forbidding their use in consumer goods...

"Ambassador, you do understand that batteries are, themselves, consumer goods? Please clarify this part."

5. Forbidding civilian access to the following explosives, and permitting their use in controlled detonations: Hexogen, napalm, fulminates (mercury fulminate, silver fulminate, potassium fulminate), Nitro explosives, Nitroglycerin etc.

6. Regulating the explosive mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) to be only used in controlled detonations and forbidding their access to the public.

"What does 'civilian' mean in this context? Are member states now required to turn over a vast swath of the construction industry to military control, simply because they use explosives? This seems wildly out of proportion to the actual scope of the danger, and obnoxiously micromanaging to boot. If you wish to regulate such substances, say to keep them from being used by folks just tryin' to blow shit up, you can mandate their use only under licensed supervision with a valid building permit, or something. Simply denying 'civilian access,' full stop, is a gross overreaction to a small problem."

10. Reiterates the ban on chemical weapons as mentioned in GA#272

"I don't believe this is necessary."

11. Creating the GACRC (General Assembly Chemical Regulation Committee) to oversee the regulation of these chemicals.

"Oversee how? What will this committee do that can't be articulated fully within this resolution? Simple oversight doesn't need a specialized expert committee unless either the particulars of enforcement or the decisions about what substances to regulate - and how - are too complicated to place in the text of the proposal. As written, neither of these things is the case - you have very simple blanket bans or personnel restrictions, and very clear lists of substances based on authorial opinion, not on any expert opinions about consumer safety as regards chemicals and explosives. Unless you plan to transfer a major part of this proposal to the purview of the committee, I would lose the committee. It is simply unnecessary bureaucracy, there for its own sake rather than because it contributes anything."