Stockholm Convention on POPs

Furthermore, most eco-labels and restriction lists include PCP. PCP is also discussed in connection with the Stockholm Convention on POPs and may be restricted or forbidden worldwide through the Stockholm Convention in the future. 

Perfluorinated chemicals such as PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are usually restricted by brands and eco-labels. Furthermore, the EU regulates the content of PFOS in consumer products on the market. The use of PFOS and PFOA is also restricted by the Stockholm Convention on POPs although some exemptions exist. PFOS are still produced and used in several countries and can be used in the coating of leather. 

The Stockholm Convention on POPs lists 22 priority chemical substances that pose potential risks of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. Since the convention was enacted in 2004, evidence for the toxic effects of POPs such as DDT, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), PCBs, PCDD/Fs and other halogenated compounds has been demonstrated for both humans and wildlife. 

China SEP A, 2003. Building the Capacity of the People s Republic of China to implement the Stockholm Convention on POPs and develop a National Implementation Plan. GEF Project Brief (GF/CPR/02/010). 

In addition to public concern, international conventions to reduce or eliminate emissions of POPs in South Korea took effect in May 2004. The South Korean Government, as a signatory participant of the Stockholm Convention on POPs, plans to ratify the convention. Then the government is obliged to submit a National Implementation Plant (NIP) to minimize POPs emission and update the plan and provide a status report every two years from the time of ratification (Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001). Therefore, it is inevitable that a scientific assessment and review of the domestic status and history of the POPs pollution including emissions, contamination levels (or distribution), exposures, and risks will be needed. This information will be disseminated to the public and also used to develop efficient control... 

In 1997, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council decided that immediate international action should be taken to protect human health and the environment. International negotiations to reduce and eliminate the emission and discharges of an initial set of 12 POPs were initiated at the Stockholm Convention on POPs in May 2001. The 12 substances that were addressed at the Stockholm Convention were aldrin, endrin, dieldrin, dichlorodiphenyltrichoroethanes (DDTs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), chlordane, toxaphene, heptachlor, hex-achlorobenzene (HCB) and mirex. Basic information and status of major organochlorine pesticides in China are summarized in Table 8.1. 

To meet its obligations under the Stockholm Convention on POPs, the Philippine government, through the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under a GEF-UNDP Grant, conducted an initial National Inventory of POPs (Factora et al., 2004). It was reported that 5 of the 12 POPs—aldrin, dieldrin,... 

Table 2 Criteria used to designate a chemical substance as a persistent organic pollutant or POP . Information from the Stockholm Convention on POPs ...

These chemicals have received intense international attention in recent years because of their ubiquity, persistence, high bioaccumulation potential and harmful biological effects. Under the Stockholm Convention on POPs (see Chapter 1), 12 chlorinated chemical substances have been banned or severely restricted. These include dioxins and furans (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, PCDD/Fs),... 

Although the Stockholm Convention on POPs is the latest of the international agreements, its global coverage and inclusion of all environmental media makes the Stockholm Convention the most important of these. However, in the other regional Conventions, a lot of experiences have been gained, which are used in the proposal to list SCCPs as new POPs in one of the annexes to the Stockholm Convention. 

The BSAP also reiterates RELCOM S commitment to contribute to work on hazardous substances in other international fora. RELCOM will provide coherent input from the Contracting States where possible based on a common RELCOM position, especially as regards the updating of lists of priority/candidate substances and substances to be evaluated, for example under the EU REACR, the 2001 Stockholm Convention on POPs and the 1998 Aarhus Protocol on POPs to the UNECE LRTAP Convention. 

Brief Introduction and History of the Stockholm Convention on POPs... 

Washington State PBT PBT Chemicals Final Rule Design for Environment (DfE) International Joint Commission" OSPAR PBT Definition European Union (EU) REACH"— Substances of Very High Concern Stockholm Convention on POPs ... 

Stockholm convention on POPs. http //chm.pops.int/Programmes/NewPOPs/The9newPOPs/ tabid/672Aanguage/en-US/Default.aspx (02-02-2011)... 

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