Committee members adopted the first decisions of the meeting, before digging deeper into some of the more complex questions raised by the chemicals under consideration at POPRC-17.
The decisions adopted are important for the ongoing implementation of the Stockholm Convention and work of the Committee. POPRC members adopted a decision on the review of information related to specific exemptions for decabromodiphenyl ether and short-chain chlorinated paraffins. For these persistent organic pollutants (POPs), some parties had registered the need to continue using the chemicals for specific applications. The POPRC helps to review information on these uses to help inform decisions on whether such exemptions are still required.
The POPRC also adopted a decision on the indicative list for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds. This list indicates the chemicals that are included in this complex family of compounds and are therefore included in the Stockholm Convention listing.
The third decision of the day was related to a document reviewing long-range environmental transport. The ability to be transported over long distances is a defining characteristic of a POP. As part of its review of UV-328, Committee members are currently debating whether long-range environmental transport can occur via plastics in the ocean or in seabirds. It is hoped that continuing work on this guidance can help inform the decision on UV-328.
In the afternoon, POPRC members met in contact groups to finalize the draft risk management evaluation for the pesticide methoxychlor and to discuss the draft risk profile for UV-328, a stabiliser used in plastic products such as some personal care products, rubber and coatings. UV-328 is a complex case for the POPRC, as it requires the review of very new information and consideration of issues related to its long-range environmental transport and other POP criteria.
Contact groups on chlorpyrifos and Dechlorane Plus met in the evening to review and refine the documents that may move these chemicals to the next stages of the POPRC’s consideration.
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Selected Photos
Greg Hammond, Canada
Elham Refaat Abdelaziz, Egypt
Timo Seppälä, Finland, Drafter of the guidance on long-range environmental transport
Magdalena Frydrych, Poland, intervenes during plenary
Chalongkwan Tangbanluekal, Thailand, Chair of the contact group on methoxychlor