Quick Views for the Conferences of the Parties of the Stockholm, Basel and Rotterdam Conventions, 2023

Following are excerpts from IPEN’s Quickviews — download the full document, below, for more information.

Stockholm Convention

Listing of chemicals in Annex A to the Convention

The POPs Review Committee (POPRC) has determined that three persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic POPs are likely, as a result of long-range environmental transport, to lead to significant adverse effects on human health and the environment, such that global action is warranted.

The chemicals recommended for listing are:

• The pesticide methoxychlor
• The UV stabilizer UV-328
• The flame retardant Dechlorane Plus

The most effective means to protect human health and the environment from the risks associated with these POPs is a complete prohibition of their production, sale and use.

All three chemicals should therefore be listed in Annex A with no specific exemptions. For more on IPEN’s views, see our brief “Ending Toxic Exemptions.”

Basel Convention

IPEN supports the following strict, protective LPCL values for adoption at the COP:

• Dioxins and Furans: PCDD/F + Dioxin-like PCBs – 1 ppb (1 microgram TEQ/kg)
• Polybrominated biphenyl ethers
• (tetra-, penta- hexa-, hepta-, decaBDE) – 50 mg/kg as a sum
• Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) – 100 mg/kg
• Short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCP) – 100 mg/kg
• PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and related compounds- 0.025 mg/kg for PFOS, PFOA or PFHxS and their salts individually; 10 mg/kg for sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and related compounds.

The non-combustion technology section for POPs waste destruction in the guidelines should be expanded and promoted over incineration/combustion technologies, which produce more dioxin and other UPOPs as an unavoidable result of their combustion processes.

Rotterdam Convention

The listing of chemicals under Annex III allows countries to decide if they want the listed hazardous chemicals to be imported to their country. The listing does not prevent the use of these chemicals. Therefore, Parties should support the proposed listings of the following chemicals in Annex III of the Convention:

• Acetochlor
• Carbosulfan
• Chrysotile asbestos
• Fenthion
• Paraquat
• Iprodione
• Terbufos

Download the full document, below, for more information.