Persistent organic pollutants – consultation on regulatory change

One of the European Commission’s goals is to protect human health and the environment. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as defined by the Stockholm Convention, are a real threat, so eliminating them or limiting their production and use is on the EC’s list of priorities.

The object of the current regulations is to control the production and use, as well as the import and export of POPs, i.e. chemicals that exhibit toxicity to humans and animals, high resistance to decomposition in the environment, fat solubility, bioaccumulation capacity in plant and animal tissues, and the potential for long-distance transmission in the environment.

Consultation on POPs regulations

A consultation on regulations relating to persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is open until March 18, 2025. Opinions can be submitted to the EC via forms on the website. As the EC points out, the feedback received will be taken into account in developing the final form of the initiatives.

Remember, your vote counts! Take part in the consultation.

What are persistent organic pollutants?

Persistent organic pollutants are chemicals that contaminate the environment (waters, soils, air) and therefore come into contact with food and enter both human and animal organisms through the skin or respiratory tract.

Chemicals included in the POPs group are characterized by a long shelf life in the environment, due to their resistance to biological decomposition processes. They are well soluble in fats and poorly soluble in water, resulting in accumulation in the fatty tissue of humans and animals. The volatility of POPs is associated with their transport, along with water vapor, over considerable distances from the point of release to the environment.

Persistent organic pollutants were used or are still used, among others:

• In agriculture – as plant protection products;
• To prevent malaria; as recommended by the World Health Organization;
• As preservatives for wood and fabrics, plasticizers for plastics, paints and varnishes;
• As anti-inflammatory additives for plastics (polyurethane foams);
• In electrical engineering – as dielectric liquids (PCBs);
• small amounts of PCBs appear in vacuum pumps, hydraulic drives, heating systems – as additives to lubricants.

Persistent organic pollutants – polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

The draft regulations currently being consulted by the EC concern PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. These compounds were produced on a large scale around the world in the 1930s and 1980s. In the 1970s. They were used in particular in lubricants and electrical and hydraulic equipment, as well as in oil-based paints, plastics, insulation materials, adhesives or tapes. The use of PCBs as a raw material or chemical intermediate has been banned in the EU since 1985. Nevertheless, it can still be present in old equipment. Trace amounts are also generated by some chemical processes.

Given the effects of PCBs on human and animal health, it is necessary to establish a limit value for its presence as an unintentional trace contaminant (UTC) in substances or mixtures. The currently consulted draft regulations referring to PCBs introduce proposals for a limit value of 0.2 mg/kg for the presence of PCBs as UTC.

In addition, given that PCBs are inadvertently produced during the production of pigments or organic dyes, where they occur in concentrations that average more than 0.2 mg/kg, and given the technical limitations on the removal of PCBs from pigments and organic dyes, the consulted draft regulations propose setting the limit at 25 mg/kg from the date of entry into force of the consulted regulation. After three years, the permissible level is to decrease to 10 mg/kg. The gradual reduction in standards should give the industry time to adjust to the new regulations.

Persistent organic pollutants – polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)

The draft EC regulations currently under consultation also address PBDEs (tetrabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromodiphenyl ether, heptabromodiphenyl ether and decabromodiphenyl ether). It changes the limit value for the presence of this POP in mixtures or products.

PBDEs exhibit persistent and bioaccumulative properties and can cause adverse effects on humans and aquatic organisms. They are used as flame retardants in a wide range of products, including electrical and electronic equipment, textiles and foams.

The production, marketing and use of PBDEs have largely been banned in the EU. Nevertheless, due to past and current recycling efforts, PBDEs are found in materials and products derived from waste processing, including toys, hair accessories or kitchen utensils. The draft legislation currently being consulted aims to bring the requirements relating to these substances in line with scientific and technological advances.

Stockholm Convention

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international agreement signed in 2001 to restrict the production and use of substances in the group of persistent organic pollutants. The convention entered into force on May 17, 2004.

In Poland, it was introduced into the national legal system by the Act of June 13, 2008 on the ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (…). The legislation came into force on January 21, 2009.

Initially, the 3 annexes to the convention included 12 substances referred to as the “dirty dozen” (the “scabrous twelve”). In subsequent years, the list was increased. Thus, in the annexes:

• A (Elimination) are substances whose production and use should be completely discontinued;
• B (Restriction) are substances for which measures must be taken to restrict their production and use;
• C (Unintentional production) are substances whose unintentional release into the environment from anthropogenic sources should be eliminated or reduced.

The convention also provides for the suspension of the import and export of POPs, except where the purpose is safe disposal or permitted by an exemption.

Nowadays, given that the purpose of the Stockholm Convention and the POPs Regulation is to protect human health and the environment, issues related to recycling waste containing PBDEs, for example, are considered in the context of a closed-loop economy.