Experts from around the world worked on draft risk profiles and draft risk management evaluations to determine whether to recommend that a series of chemicals fulfil the criteria to be considered Persistent Organic Pollutants under the Stockholm Convention.
The 18th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-18) concluded today in Rome, Italy. Chaired by New Zealand’s Dr Peter Dawson, POPRC-18 was held from 26 to 30 September 2022, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
POPRC’s Committee of 31 experts from around the world meets every year to review chemicals and determine whether to recommend to the Convention’s governing body that the chemicals be listed under Annex A (elimination), B (restriction) or C (unintended release) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
This time around, POPRC-18 recommended the listing of two industrial chemicals – Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 – under Annex A. A flame retardant and a UV absorbent respectively, both chemicals are heavily used as plastic additives, including for uses that require time to be phased out, such as for motor vehicles, industrial machines and in medical devices. For that reason, the POPRC-18 recommendations included time-limited specific exemptions, which will be considered by the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-11).
In addition, the Committee made recommendations related to the continued need for exemptions with respect to industrial chemicals that are already listed under the Stockholm Convention. The chemicals are decabromodiphenyl ether, short-chain chlorinate paraffins (SCCPs), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF). The recommendations will also be put for consideration at the SC COP-11.
POPRC-18 also adopted two risk profiles for “chlorinated paraffins with carbon chain lengths in the range C14-C17 and chlorination levels at or exceeding 45 per cent chlorine by weight (MCCPs)” and “long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), their salts and related compounds”. MCCPs are used in adhesives, paints, and textiles. Long-chain PFCAs, their salts and compounds, have a wide range of applications, including in carpet protectors and firefighting foams. The PORRC-18 Committee evaluated the chemicals’ persistence, bioaccumulation, and potential for long-range environmental transport, ultimately determining that global action is warranted, as the chemicals generate adverse effects on human health and the environment.
The meeting closed on a high note, with an official communication from the Convention’s depositary that Italy had ratified the Stockholm Convention, thereby becoming its 186th Party. The Convention will enter into force for this newest Party on 28 December 2022.
The 19th POPRC meeting will take place from 9 to 13 October 2023 in Rome where the Committee experts will consider the risk profile of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, among other tasks.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) brings together the three leading multilateral environmental agreements that share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes.
https://www.brsmeas.org/
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants looks to protect human health and the environment from highly dangerous, long-lasting chemicals by restricting and ultimately eliminating their production, use, trade, release and storage.
https://chm.pops.int/
For information on the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention, contact: Kei Ohno Woodall, BRS Senior Programme Management Officer, kei.ohno@un.org
For media inquiries, contact: Marisofi Giannouli, BRS Associate Public Information Officer, marisofi.giannouli@un.org