A/HRC/21/48 ratified some of these conventions. While as of 1 June 2012, 87 States were parties to the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, the more progressive “London Protocol,” agreed in 1996 and intended to modernize and replace the London Convention, has been ratified by only 42 States. The Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) are of limited geographic scope. 59. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions provide limited protection for the many populations vulnerable to the chemicals used and the waste produced by extractive industries, especially as their relevant shortcomings are not clearly addressed by other global, legally-binding agreements. This may create a protection vacuum which will diminish the capacity to monitor the situation of hazardous substances as well as access to remedies by aggrieved persons. 60. Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) are mechanisms that help to ensure the right to access information regarding human or environmental health in relation to releases of hazardous substances. The Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation and Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters ensures the public’s right to know about releases of pollutants from extractive industries. Although the Aarhus Convention and its Kiev Protocol was developed and is administered by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, they are both open to accession by any member State of the United Nations. PRTRs operate under the expectation that they will exert a significant downward pressure on levels of pollution, as no company will want to be identified as among the biggest polluters. B. International Labour Organization conventions 61. Several International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions concern the occupational hazards facing workers in extractive industries. In particular: • Convention No. 148 concerning the Protection of Workers against Occupational Hazards in the Working Environment Due to Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration states that, “as far as possible, the working environment shall be kept free from any hazards due to air pollution, noise or vibration.”33 • Convention No. 155 concerning Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment requires parties to establish a coherent national policy on occupational safety and health in order to improve working conditions. • Convention No. 162 concerning Safety in the Use of Asbestos obligates States parties to prescribe measures to protect workers from exposure to asbestos, including partial or total bans on future asbestos use, and thus its extraction; proper asbestos waste disposal; inspection and monitoring procedures of working conditions; and providing information on the hazards of asbestos to workers. • Convention No. 170 concerning Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work compels States parties to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals. Employers in States parties to the Convention are obligated to classify and identify hazardous 33 16 ILO Convention No. 148 entered into force in 1979; as of 1 June 2012, it had been ratified by 45 States; arts. 8 to 10, 13 and 16 set out technical measures of prevention or harm mitigation, including the provision by an employer of protective equipment; States parties must establish criteria for determining hazards, report hazards, as well as implement a programme of workplace inspections.