Considerations on COM(2013)134 - EU position on the proposal for an amendment of Annexes A and B to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

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dossier COM(2013)134 - EU position on the proposal for an amendment of Annexes A and B to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants ...
document COM(2013)134 EN
date March 12, 2013
 
(1) The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) was ratified by the European Union on 16 November 2004, based on the Council Decision 2006/507/EC of 14 October 2004 concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants[19].

(2) The European Union has implemented the obligations from the Convention in European Union law by way of Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of 29 April 2004 on persistent organics pollutants and amending Directive 79/117/EEC[20] (the POPs Regulation).

(3) The European Union places strong emphasis on the need for the Convention to gradually expand its Annexes A, B and/or C with new substances which meet the criteria of being persistent organic pollutants (POPs), taking into account the precautionary principle, with a view to meeting the objective of the Convention and the commitment of all governments made at the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 to minimise the adverse effects of chemicals by 2020.

(4) Pursuant to Article 22 of the Convention, the Conference of the Parties (COP) may adopt decisions amending Annexes A, B and C to the Convention. Those decisions enter into force one year from the date of communication by the depositary of an amendment, save for those parties that have opted out.

(5) Following a nomination of Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD)[21] received from Norway in 2008, the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POP RC) established under the Convention has concluded its work on HBCDD. POP RC has found that HBCDD meets the criteria of the Convention for a listing in Annex A. The forthcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention is expected to decide on the inclusion of HBCDD in Annex A of the Convention.

(6) In 2011, HBCDD was included[22] in Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)[23]. HBCDD is therefore subject to the authorisation procedure under that Regulation. Placing on the market and use of HBCDD will be prohibited unless an authorisation is granted to a particular person for a particular use. Since HBCDD is capable of long-range environmental transport, a global phase-out of the use of this substance will be more beneficial to the EU citizen than an EU-wide phase-out under REACH.

(7) In order to align the listing under the POPs Regulation with the relevant deadline in Annex XIV to REACH, the Parties to the Convention should be allowed to delay the transposition of the COP decision listing HBCDD until February 2016.

(8) POP RC recommends the listing of HBCDD under the Convention with a specific time limited exemption for production and use of HBCDD in building-related applications of EPS and XPS. Those applications represent the vast majority of the use of HBCDD in the EU. Three to five years are needed in the EU in order to reach the sufficient capacity to replace HBCDD in the EU. The EU should therefore support the proposed specific exemption during COP6.

(9) POP RC notes that if HBCDD is listed in Annex A, waste management measures in accordance with of Article 6 paragraph 1(d) of the Convention would ensure that products and articles containing HBCDD are disposed of in such a way that their persistent organic pollutant content is destroyed or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

(10) Wastes containing HBCDD, especially EPS and XPS used in building-related applications, are currently recycled in a number of countries which are Parties to the Convention. These Parties may propose an exemption, allowing temporarily the recycling of HBCDD containing wastes in an analogous fashion to the clause which was included during COP4 in Part IV to Annex A and allows the recycling of wastes containing tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether under certain well-defined conditions.

(11) In 2010, Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives were listed[24] in Annex I to the POPs Regulation.

(12) POP RC encourages parties to stop using PFOS in fire-fighting foams; insecticides for the control of red imported fire ants and termites; decorative metal plating; carpets; leather and apparel; textiles and upholstery. POP RC also encourage parties to restrict the use of PFOS in hard metal plating, currently allowed as a specific exemption, to closed-loop systems only, currently allowed as an acceptable purpose under the Convention.

(13) PFOS and its derivatives were listed in Annex I to the POPs Regulation only with a small number of exemptions provided for under the Convention. Considering POP RC decision, the relevant specific exemptions and acceptable purposes for PFOS and its derivatives should be deleted except for the exemption for the use as wetting agents in controlled electroplating systems. That exemption should be maintained until its expiry in 2015. The exemption should not be extended beyond that date.