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The Convention was opened for signature on , Haiti , and the United States have signed the Convention but have not yet Ratified it. HISTORY With the tightening of environmental laws (e.g., RCRA ) in developed nations in the 1970s, disposal costs for hazardous waste rose dramatically. At the same time, globalization of shipping made transboundary movement of waste more accessible, and many LDCs were desperate for foreign currency. Consequently, the trade in hazardous waste, particularly to LDCs, grew rapidly. One of the incidents which led to the creation of the Basel Convention was the ''Khian Sea'' Waste Disposal Incident , in which a ship carrying incinerator ash from the city of Philadelphia in the United State after having dumped half of its load on a beach in Haiti, was forced away where it sailed for many months, changing its name several times unable to unload its cargo in any port, and ended up dumping much of it illegally at sea. BASEL BAN AMENDMENT After the initial adoption of the Convention, some LDCs and environmental organizations argued that it did not go far enough. Many nations and NGOs argued for a total ban on shipment of all hazardous waste to LDCs. In particular, the original Convention did not prohibit waste exports to any location except Antactica but merely required a notification and consent system known as "prior informed consent" or PIC. Further, many waste traders sought to exploit the good name of recycling and begin to justify all exports as moving to recycling destinations. Many believed af full ban was needed including exports for recycling. These concerns led to several regional waste trade bans, including the Bamako Convention . Lobbying at the 1995 Basel conference by LDCs, fully implemented the Basel Ban in its Waste Shipment Regulation ( EWSR ), making it legally binding in all EU member states. REFERENCES
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