Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

Introduction to the new POPs

THIS PRESENTATION

• Overview of the POPs listed in 2009, 2011, 2013

• Pesticides

• Industrial Chemicals:

• PFOS

• BDEs

• HBCD listed in 2013

Pesticide

Industrial Chemical

Unintentional

production

Aldrin +Chlordane +DDT +Dieldrin +Endrin +Heptachlor +Mirex +Toxaphene +Hexachlorobenzene

+ + +

PCB + +PCDD +PCDF +

Original 12 POPs

Annexes to the Convention

Annex A (Elimination)

Each Party shall prohibit and/or take the legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate its production and use of chemicals in Annex A subject to the provisions of that Annex

Annex B (Restriction)

Each Party shall restrict its production and use of chemicals in Annex B in accordance with the provisions of that Annex

Annex C (Continuing minimization)

Each Party shall take measures to reduce the total releases derived from anthropogenic sources of each of the chemicals listed in Annex C, with the goal of their continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination

OVERVIEW OF THE POPS LISTED in 2009, 2011 and 2013

PESTICIDES

Chlordecone

Listed in: Annex A (Elimination) Production: Total ban - No exemption Use: Total ban - No exemption

Past use: Agricultural pesticide (banana plantation)Used in 1966-1975 in the USA for ant and roach.Also known as « Kepon ».Properties similar to Mirex.

Currently: No production and use reported.e.g. The French island of Martinique is heavily contaminated with chlordecone.

Alternatives: Available

Lindane

Listed in: Annex A (Elimination) Production: Total ban - No exemption Use: Specific exemption: Human health pharmaceutical for

control of head lice and scabies as second line treatment Possible additional control measures:

• Limiting the package size; appropriate label• Protecting vulnerable groups;• Outreach and awareness; promoting alternatives

Past use: About 600,000 tons of lindane was used globally 1950-2000

as pesticide and veterinary and human applications

Currently: Some countries are still known to use lindane

Alternatives: Exists but not readily available in some countries especially for control of head lice and scabies

Listed in Annex A (Elimination)Production: Total ban - No exemptionUse: Total ban - No exemption

alpha-HCH  beta-HCHAlpha-HexachlorohexaneBeta-Hexachlorohexane

Past: High-volume by-products of lindane.

1 ton of lindane 8 tons of mainly alpha- and beta-HCH.

Currently: Large stockpiles Contaminated sites around former lindane production sites

Alternatives: Not needed.

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GLOBAL ISSUE for POPs pesticides: obsolete stockpiles

Listed in 2011: endosulfan

Past use: insecticide, wood preservative, veterinary insecticide.

Currently: Broad range insecticide in agriculture.

Alternatives: Available in many geographical situations; Continued use required during phase-in of alternatives in some countriesMay be difficult to replace endosulfan for

specific crop-pest complexes.

Listing of endosulfan

Listed in: Annex A (Elimination)Production: Exemptions for Parties listed in Register of specific

exemptions Use: Exemptions for crop-pest complexes (example:

wheat/aphids) as listed in accordance with the provisions of part VI of Annex A

alpha-endosulfan(CAS No: 959-98-8)

beta-endosulfan(CAS No: 33213-65-9)

• Decision adopted at COP5 in April 2011• Entry into force: 27 October 2012• NIPs to be updated 2 years after entry into force

Technical endosulfan (CAS No: 115-29-7)

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS

• Flame retardants• PFOS, its salts & PFOS-F

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Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) • Polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of

industrial chemicals which have been widely used as additive flame retardants since 1970s.

• PBDEs were produced at three different degrees of bromination: commercial Pentabromodiphenyl ether (c-PentaBDE), commercial Octabromodiphenyl ether (c-OctaBDE) and c-DecaBDE

POP-BDEs in the Stockholm Convention

O

Br

Br

Br

BrO

Br

Br

Br

Br

BrBr

Prominent POP-PBDE congeners

O

Br

Br

Br

BrBr

BrBr

BDE-47 BDE-154 BDE-183

Obligation under the Convention

• Production and use of POP-PBDE is not allowed.

• Recycling of articles containing “POP-PBDEs”

Material flow c-PentaBDE containing articles

?

Hexabromobiphenyl

Listed in: Annex A (Elimination)Production: Total ban - No exemptionUse: Total ban - No exemption

Past use: Flame retardants. Added to plastics used in products such as home electrical appliances, textiles, plastic foams, laptop cabinets, etc. to make them difficult to burn.

Currently: No production and use reported.

Alternatives: Available

Hexabromobipheny (HBB)

• HBB was also newly listed as POPs in the Convention • Approximately 6000 tonnes of commercial HBB were

produced in the United States from 1970 to 1976. • Assumption: Due to the early and relatively small

production & use of HBB, it is of minor relevance and most HBB containing materials have been disposed off decades ago.

• Also reflected in the low HBB/PBB levels in food and the related low exposure: E.g. in European countries (having used PBB to some extent in the past) HBB/PBBs were mostly below detection levels in food (EFSA 2010).

Newest POP: flame retardant HBCD

Background

1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecaneStereoisomers: 70-95% γ-HBCD, 3-30% α- and β-HBCD

PRODUCTION: China, Netherlands, Japan, and USA (31,000 tonnes in 2011)

USE: Additive brominated flame retardant•Insulation and construction: oflame-retarded expanded (EPS) and extruded (XPS) polystyrene

foam•Back-coatings for upholstery and other interior textiles•Electric and electronic appliances:ohigh impact polystyrene (HIPS)

Risk Profile

• High chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms• Reproductive toxicity to mammals & birds• Effects on the thyroid-hormone system and the

nervous system in mammals• PNEC for secondary effects in wildlife exceeded in

source regions• Risk of adverse effects in Arctic top predators and

marine mammals

Increasing Releases

The increasing amount of construction materials are potentially long-term sources of HBCD to the environment when buildings are demolished or renovated– lifespan of PS foams in buildings is

30-50 years– likely that releases of HBCD will be

more significant in the future particularly from 2025 onwards

Listing at COP6, enters into force about October 2014

• Hexabromocyclododecane • Production: As allowed for the parties listed in the

Register in accordance with the provisions of Part VII of this Annex

• Use: Expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene in buildings in accordance with the provisions of Part VII of this Annex

• Each Party that has registered for the exemption shall take necessary measures to ensure that expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene containing hexabromocyclododecane can be easily identified by labelling or other means throughout its life-cycle.

PFOS, its salts & PFOS-F, PFOS related chemicals

PFOS bioaccumulates and biomagnifies. The half-live in humans is approximately 5 years.

PFOS does not follow the classic POPs-pattern (not into fatty tissues), but instead binds to proteins.

Therefore accumulate mainly in organs such as liver, kidney, brain and spleen.

In animal studies PFOS causes cancer, neonatal mortality; physical development delays and endocrine disruption.

Higher maternal levels of PFOS and PFOA were associated with delayed pregnancy (Fei et al. 2009)

Reduced human semen quality with increased PFOS/PFOA level (Jogsten et al. EHP 2010)

PFOS - bioaccumulation and health effects

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF)

Listed in Annex B (Restriction) with Specific exemptions and Acceptable purposes

Past use: Surfactant, water and fat repellentPFOS is both intentionally produced and a degradation product of PFOS-related substances (PFOS precursors) in the environment.

Currently: PFOS is still produced and used in several countries.

Alternatives: Available for some types of use but no known technically feasible alternatives for some applications e.g. semi-conductor, photo imaging, aviation hydraulic fluids Guidance on alternatives to PFOS and its derivatives (POPRC 2011)

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF): obligations

Regulated by Annex B are :

- PFOS, its salts, PFOSF and PFOS related chemicalsPFOS related chemicals are chemicals that contain the structural element PFOS in their molecular structure as they are and were produced with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts or perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF) as an intermediate or starting material

Specific exemptions and acceptable purposes available for production and use of PFOS, its salts, PFOSF and PFOS related chemicals

Examples

Aceptable purpose Specific exemptions

photo-imaging textiles and upholstery

aviation hydraulic fluids coatings and coating additives

Some past/current uses of PFOS

POPS FROM UNINTENTIONAL PRODUCTION

Pentachlorobenzene

Listed in: Annex A (Elimination) Production: Total ban - No exemptionUse: Total ban - No exemptionListed in: Annex C (Unintentional production)

Past use: Component of PCB products, fungicide, flame retardant.

Currently: Possible continuous use as intermediate for production of quintozene (pentachloronitrobenzene: fungicide). Unintentional production during combustion, thermal and industrial processesImpurities in chlorinated products e.g. solvents, pesticides.

Alternatives: Available

Have those items something in common?

Yes or No

• Stockholm Convention is a living international treaty• 9 new POPs added to the Stockholm Convention in 2009

• 4 pesticides:• Main challenge is disposal of obsolete stockpiles

• 4 industrial chemicals:• Widespread distribution in products & articles in use• Contamination of recycling streams• Environmentally sound disposal of wastes

• 1 chemical from unintentional production (PeCB):• Reducing releases from point and diffuse sources

• 1 new pesticide POP: endosulfan listed at COP5 in April 2011

(entered into force for Parties: 27 October 2012)• 1 new flame retardant HBCD listed at COP6 in Mai 2013

To remember: