Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic organic chemicals of global concern due to their ability for long range transport, persistence in the environment, and bio-accumulate in the fatty tissues of organisms. Exposures to these chemicals can lead to cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive and immune dysfunction, and neurobehavior and developmental disorders.
In April 2004, the European Union (EU) published Regulation (EC) 850/2004, a comprehensive piece of legislation for the management of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) listed in the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on POPs (‘the Protocol’) and the Stockholm Convention on POPs (‘the Convention’). The POPs Regulation contains five Annexes:
The POPs Regulation has since been amended on 12 occasions and the number of POPs under Part A of Annex I have evolved to 21 chemicals.
On June 25, 2019 the EU published Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, recasting the POPs Regulation (‘POPs Recast Regulation’). This new law contains several important changes to the POPs Regulation. These include, inter alia, the following:
When pentabromodiphenyl ether (penta-BDE) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS and its derivatives) were added to the POPs Regulation, their entries were subsequently deleted from Annex XVII of REACH by legislation (Safeguard 55/11). By listing Deca-BDE under the POPs Recast Regulation, Deca-BDE under entry 67 to Annex XVII of REACH is expected to be deleted officially.
The POPs Recast Regulation repeals the POP Regulations and will become effective on July 15, 2019.
Highlights of the polybromodiphenyl ether flame retardants and PCP in Part A of Annex I in POPs Recast Regulation and a comparison with the POPs Regulation are summarized in Table 1
| Persistent Organic Pollutants Annex I Part A ‘Substances Listed in the Convention and in the Protocol as well as Substances Listed only in the Convention’ ‘Specific exemption on Intermediate Use or other Specification’ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Substance | Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 (POPs Recast) | Regulation (EU) 850/2004 (POPs) |
| Tetra-*, penta-*, hexa-* hepta-* and deca-BDE* (as an unintentional trace contaminant) | ≤ 10 mg/kg each in substances | ≤ 10 mg/kg each of tetra-, penta-, hexa- and hepta-BDE in substances, preparations, articles or parts thereof (Deca-BDE not listed) |
| ≤ 500 mg/kg (sum in mixtures or articles) (subject to review by July 16, 2021) | ||
| PCP, its salts and esters | No specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification | Not listed |
| Effective Date | July 15, 2019 | Repeal by POPs Recast on July 15, 2019 |
| *Certain exemptions apply | ||
Table 1
SGS has published a white paper to provide an overview of POPs within the consumer goods industry. Please obtain your copy here.
SGS is committed to providing information about development in regulations for consumer products as complimentary services. Through a global network of laboratories, SGS provides a wide range of services including physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.
Stakeholders are advised to comply with the latest requirements in the POPs Recast Regulation for the EU market.
For enquiries, please contact:
Hingwo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
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