At COP-4 in 2009, by decision SC-4/19, the COP decided to undertake a work programme to provide guidance to Parties on how best to restrict and eliminate these newly listed persistent organic pollutants and invited Parties to support work on the evaluation of alternatives and other work related to the restriction and elimination of these new POPs.
At COP-5 in 2011, by decision SC-5/5, the COP encouraged Parties and other relevant stakeholders to implement where appropriate, taking into account national circumstances, the recommendations of the POPRC set out in the annex to decision POPRC-6/2 on the elimination from the waste stream of brominated diphenyl ethers that are listed in Annex A to the Convention and on risk reduction for PFOS, its salts and PFOSF. Parties were invited to submit to the Secretariat information on their experiences in implementing the recommendations for consideration by the COP at its sixth meeting.
Furthermore in decision SC-5/9, on measures to reduce or eliminate releases from wastes, the COP requested that the recommendations be made available to the appropriate bodies of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal to support their work.
At COP-6 in 2013, by decision SC-6/7, the COP took note of the recommendations of the POPRC set out in the annex to decision POPRC-8/8, prepared on the basis of the technical paper on the identification and assessment of alternatives to the use of PFOS, its salts and PFOSF and their related chemicals in open applications (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.8/INF/17/Rev.1). Based on those recommendations, the COP:
- Encouraged parties and observers to implement where appropriate the recommendations that pertain to them;
- Encouraged parties to consider stopping their use of PFOS, its salts and PFOSF and related chemicals for the applications for which safer alternatives have been identified and are commercially available, which have been identified as follows:
- Fire-fighting foams;
- Insecticides for the control of imported red fire ants and termites;
- Decorative metal plating;
- Carpets;
- Leather and apparel;
- Textiles and upholstery;
- Invited parties that still use PFOS, its salts and PFOSF and their related chemicals for the control of leaf-cutting ants from Atta spp. and Acromyrmex spp. to undertake studies, including pilot projects, to obtain peer-reviewed information on the feasibility of using alternatives to PFOS, its salts and PFOSF and their related chemicals within an integrated pest management approach and to submit any results to the Secretariat.
Call for information and submissions
Decision SC-4/19: Establishing indicative elements of a work programme to facilitate the elimination of listed brominated diphenyl ethers and the restriction or elimination of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its salts, perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride and other chemicals listed in Annexes A or B of the Convention at the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties
Decision SC-5/5: Work programme on brominated diphenyl ethers and perfluorooctane sulfonate, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride
Decision SC-5/5: Work programme on brominated diphenyl ethers and perfluorooctane sulfonate, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride