SG 044/26
The United Kingdom (UK) plans update to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) regulations for Great Britain (GB).
On March 18, 2026, the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) opened a 56-day (eight-week) consultation period on its proposed changes to Annex I of the assimilated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 in relation to GB (England, Wales and Scotland).
What does this draft regulation require?
The key revisions in the proposal are related to changes to the Stockholm Convention which the UK, as a party to the Convention, must implement at a national level. These amendments cover the prohibition, use and placing on the market of five new POPs:
- Chlorpyrifos (CAS 2921-88-2)
- Dechlorane Plus (DP (CAS 13560-89-9), including its syn- (CAS 135821-03-3) and anti-isomers (CAS 135821-74-8))
- Long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs), their salts and LC-PFCA-related compounds
- Medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs)
- UV-328 (CAS 25973-55-1) (Table 1)
Other proposed changes are in response to scientific or technical progress:
- Updating the unintentional trace contaminant (UTC) limit values for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and PFOS-related compounds (Table 2)
- Seeking information to help identify potential implications of differing UTC limit values between GB and Northern Ireland (NI) for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), where ‘PBDEs’ refers collectively to tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta- and decabromodiphenyl ether
Who is impacted?
The proposal would affect stakeholders across multiple industries and supply chains, including manufacturers, users, importers and exporters of these POP substances, as well as products, recyclates, components or sub-components that contain or are contaminated by them:
- Adhesives and sealants, analytical instruments and automobiles
- Construction and demolition
- Industrial machinery and other combustion engine industries
- Medical technology and metal working fluids
- Packaging, paints and coatings
- Plastics, polymers and rubber materials
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Semiconductors
- Textiles
- Wiring and cables
Key changes on the addition of five POPs to the list of prohibited substances in Annex I of the assimilated POPs Regulation and the proposed changes to the already-prohibited POP, PFOS, are summarized in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
| Substance | Scope | Specific exemption as UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Chlorpyrifos |
| ≤ 0.01 mg/kg |
| DP, including its syn- and anti-isomers¹ |
| ≤ 10 mg/kg² |
| LC-PFCAs and their salts |
| ≤ 0.025 mg/kg (sum)² |
| ≤ 1 mg/kg (sum) | |
| ≤ 0.1 mg/kg (sum) | |
| LC-PFCA-related compounds |
| ≤ 1 mg/kg (sum)² |
| MCCPs |
| ≤ 3%² |
| ≤ 0.45%² | |
| UV-328¹ |
| ≤ 10 mg/kg² |
¹The ban on these POP chemicals were lifted in May 2025 (SafeGuardS 78/25) ² Contains time-limited derogations for specific uses | ||
Table 1
| Section of PFOS entry in Annex I of the POPs Regulation | Proposed amendment to Section of PFOS entry in Annex I of the POPs Regulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification point 1 | ≤ 10 mg/kg PFOS as UTC in substances or mixtures | ≤ 0.025 mg/kg PFOS and any of its salts as UTC in a substance, mixture or article |
| Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification point 2 | < 0.1% PFOS as UTC in semi-finished products, articles or parts thereof or < 1 µg/m² PFOS of the coated material in textiles or other coated materials | ≤ 1 mg/kg sum of PFOS-related compounds as UTC in a substance, mixture or article |
Table 2
What are the uses of the five proposed new POP chemicals?
Several uses of the substances are detailed in Table 3.
| Substance | Application |
|---|---|
| Chlorpyrifos |
|
| DP |
|
| LC-PFCAs, their salts and related compounds |
|
| MCCPs |
|
| UV-328 |
|
Table 3
Comments will be accepted until May 13, 2026.
These regulations are intended to enter into force on December 16, 2026.
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