Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Transcription

1 UNITED NATIONS SC UNEP/POPS/COP.8/12 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Distr.: General 28 November 2016 Original: English Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Eighth meeting Geneva, 24 April 5 May 2017 Item 5 (e) of the provisional agenda* Matters related to the implementation of the Convention: listing of chemicals in Annex A, B or C to the Convention Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee: developments for action by the Conference of the Parties Note by the Secretariat I. Introduction II. 1. Since the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee has held its eleventh and twelfth meetings in Rome from 19 to 23 October 2015 and from 19 to 23 September 2016, respectively. The reports of those meetings are available in documents UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/10 and UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11, respectively. 1 Issues of relevance to the Conference of the Parties A. Membership 2. In furtherance of decision SC-7/15, on the operation of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee, the following 14 experts were nominated as members of Committee, subject to appointment by the Conference of the Parties, to serve a four-year term from 5 May 2016 to 4 May 2020: African States Asia-Pacific States Central and Eastern European States Latin American and Caribbean States Western European and other States Ms. Caroline Wamai (Kenya), Mr. Adama Tolofoudye (Mali), Ms. Thabile Ndlovu (Swaziland), Mr. Youssef Zidi (Tunisia) Mr. Jianxin Hu (China), Mr. Agus Haryono (Indonesia), Mr. Mineo Takatsuki (Japan), Mr. Rameshwar Adhikari (Nepal) Ms. Anna Graczyk (Poland) Ms. Estefânia Gastaldello Moreira (Brazil), Ms. Helen Jacobs (Jamaica) Ms. Katinka van der Jagt (Luxembourg), Ms. Sarah Maillefer (Switzerland), Mr. Martien Janssen (Netherlands) * UNEP/POPS/COP.8/1. 1 See K

2 3. Subsequent to the twelfth meeting of the Committee, Switzerland designated Mr. Andreas Buser to replace Ms. Sarah Maillefer. 4. The curricula vitae of the experts mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 above may be found in the information note by the Secretariat on the curricula vitae of newly designated members of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/60). All the designated experts have submitted completed declaration of interests forms, in accordance with decision SC-1/8. The appointment of those experts as members of the Committee is expected to be made by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting. 5. The terms of office of the remaining 17 members will expire on 4 May At its eighth meeting, the Conference of the Parties will need to appoint new experts to fill the forthcoming vacancies. Parties within each region should identify, through consultations, those Parties that are to nominate members of the Committee and submit the names of experts along with supporting documents, namely a curriculum vitae and the completed form for declaration of conflicts of interests, to the Secretariat before the end of the meeting. The form for declaration of conflicts of interest is set out in annex II to decision SC-4/20. B. Recommendations on listing new chemicals 6. At its tenth, eleventh and twelfth meetings, the Committee, pursuant to paragraphs 6 and 7 (a) of Article 8 of the Convention, adopted the risk profiles and risk management evaluations for decabromodiphenyl ether (commercial mixture, c-decabde) (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.10/10/Add.2; UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/10/Add.1; UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11/Add.4) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/10/Add.2 and UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11/Add.3). 7. In accordance with paragraph 9 of Article 8 of the Convention, the Committee decided to recommend to the Conference of the Parties that it consider listing those chemicals as follows: (a) Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) of c-decabde in Annex A to the Convention with specific exemptions (see UNEP/POPS/COP.8/13); (b) Short-chain chlorinated paraffins in Annex A to the Convention, including controls to limit the presence of short-chain chlorinated paraffins in other chlorinated paraffin mixtures, with or without specific exemptions (see UNEP/POPS/COP.8/14). 8. With regard to hexachlorobutadiene, the Committee had at its eighth and ninth meetings adopted the risk profile and risk management evaluation for the chemical (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.8/16/Add.2 and UNEP/POPS/POPRC.9/13/Add.2) and recommended to the Conference of the Parties that it consider listing hexachlorobutadiene in Annexes A and C to the Convention. At its seventh meeting, the Conference of the Parties adopted decision SC-7/12, by which it decided to amend part I of Annex A to the Convention to list hexachlorobutadiene therein without specific exemptions. At its seventh meeting, the Conference of the Parties also adopted decision SC-7/11, by which it requested the Committee to further evaluate hexachlorobutadiene on the basis of newly available information in relation to its listing in Annex C and to make a recommendation to the Conference of the Parties on listing hexachlorobutadiene in Annex C for further consideration at its eighth meeting. 9. At its twelfth meeting, the Committee evaluated the new information on unintentional production of hexachlorobutadiene and concluded, in its decision POPRC-12/5, that there were unintentional releases of hexachlorobutadiene from the production of certain chlorinated hydrocarbons, the production of magnesium, incineration processes and the production of polyvinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer. The Committee noted nonetheless that there were some concerns regarding the cost-benefit implications of measures to address such unintentional releases (see UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11/Add.5). 10. Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 21 of the Convention, on 20 October 2016, six months before the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the Secretariat communicated the recommendations to the Parties and signatories to the Convention and, for information, to the Depositary. A compilation of submissions by Parties relating to the recommendations is available in document UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/21. 2

3 C. Chemicals under consideration 11. The following chemicals are under consideration by the Committee: (a) Dicofol; UNEP/POPS/COP.8/12 (b) Pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (CAS No: , PFOA, perfluorooctanoic acid), its salts and PFOA-related compounds. 12. In its decisions POPRC-12/1 and POPRC-12/2, the Committee adopted the risk profiles for dicofol (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11/Add.1) and PFOA, its salts and PFOA-related compounds (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11/Add.2), respectively, and decided that those chemicals were likely as a result of their long-range environmental transport to lead to significant adverse human health and environmental effects such that global action was warranted. The Committee established intersessional working groups to prepare draft risk management evaluations for those chemicals in accordance with Annex F to the Convention. 13. At its twelfth meeting, the Committee also adopted a workplan for the preparation of risk management evaluations during the intersessional period between its twelfth and thirteenth meetings (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11, annex III). D. Other technical work 1. Process for the evaluation and review of brominated diphenyl ethers pursuant to paragraph 2 of part IV and paragraph 2 of part V of Annex A to the Convention 14. In accordance with the process set out in decision SC-6/3, adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting, the Committee, at its twelfth meeting, reviewed the draft report for the evaluation and review of brominated diphenyl ethers listed in Annex A to the Convention prepared by the Secretariat (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/INF/17). The Secretariat revised the report, taking into account the comments provided by the Committee, for submission to the Conference of the Parties for consideration at its eighth meeting (UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/10). 15. Further information relevant to the process for the evaluation and review of brominated diphenyl ethers pursuant to paragraph 2 of part IV and paragraph 2 of part V of Annex A to the Stockholm Convention may be found in document UNEP/POPS/COP.8/7. 2. Consolidated guidance on alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its related chemicals 16. In response to the request in paragraph 5 (d) (i) of decision SC-6/7, the Committee, by its decision POPRC-11/6, established an intersessional working group to prepare revised guidance on alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts, perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride and their related chemicals, based on the proposal set out in document UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/INF/11/Rev.1. The European Union provided generous financial support for the preparation of the draft revised guidance. 17. At its twelfth meeting, the Committee, by its decision POPRC-12/6, endorsed the consolidated guidance on alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its related chemicals (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/INF/15/Rev.1) and decided to make use of the information in the guidance when carrying out the assessment of alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride pursuant to the process set out in decision SC-6/ Further information relevant to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride may be found in document UNEP/POPS/COP.8/8. E. Cooperation and coordination with other scientific bodies 19. To strengthen cooperation and coordination between the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee and the Chemical Review Committee of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, their eleventh and twelfth meetings were held back-to-back in Rome in October 2015 and September At their twelfth meetings, the committees agreed to hold their thirteenth meetings back-to-back during the two-week period between 17 and 27 October 2017 in Rome. 2 2 The Chemical Review Committee and the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee tentatively agreed to meet from 17 to 21 October 2017 and from 23 to 27 October 2017, respectively. The length of the meetings might be adjusted by the respective Chair, in consultation with the Bureau or the Vice-Chair, depending on the work requirements. 3

4 20. As part of the activities to support the coordination and collaboration of scientific bodies of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, and the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, 3 the Secretariat facilitated information exchange among those bodies, including by providing information at their meetings on the discussions and outcomes of the meetings of the other scientific bodies and on issues of common concern, such as the naming of chemicals under consideration by both the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee and the Chemical Review Committee. Furthermore, the Secretariat maintains an online roster of experts 4 in the work of the three conventions, including former and current members of the committees, facilitating the identification of regional and national experts in chemicals and wastes-related issues. F. Activities for the effective participation of members and Parties in the work of the Committee 21. For the purpose of providing orientation for incoming members, newly nominated or appointed experts are invited to participate in a Committee meeting as observers prior to the start of their terms of office. In October 2015, all 14 experts nominated to serve as Committee members whose terms of office started on 5 May 2016 participated in the eleventh meeting of the Committee, thanks to generous financial support provided by the European Union. 22. Pursuant to decision SC-7/15, and as part of the technical assistance programme of the Stockholm Convention, 5 the Secretariat organized face-to-face training activities for the Committee and other stakeholders and held a series of webinars on topics related to the work of the Committee. 6 Those activities also contributed to the work on enhancing cooperation and coordination among the scientific bodies of the three conventions. Information on these activities is set out in document UNEP/CHW.13/INF/34-UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.8/INF/24-UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/ During the biennium , the Secretariat had planned to organize, subject to the availability of funding, two regional training workshops on enhancing effective participation in the work of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee and the Chemical Review Committee for the Asia-Pacific and the Latin America and the Caribbean regions. As at 9 November 2016, no voluntary contributions had been received for that purpose. 24. In its decision POPRC-12/7, the Committee invited the Secretariat, subject to the availability of resources, to continue its activities related to supporting Parties and others to participate effectively in the work of the Committee. G. Effectiveness evaluation pertaining to listing of chemicals in Annexes A, B and C 25. The main findings, conclusions and recommendations pertaining to the listing of chemicals in Annexes A, B and C to the Convention may be found in paragraphs of the executive summary of the report on the effectiveness evaluation (UNEP/POPS/COP.8/22/Add.1). Furthermore, paragraphs of the executive summary set out the main findings, conclusions and recommendations on persistent organic pollutants in products and on alternatives, which are cross-cutting issues related to listing of chemicals. III. Proposed action 26. The Conference of the Parties may wish to adopt a decision along the following lines: The Conference of the Parties, Noting the needs recognized in decision SC-8/[ ] on effectiveness evaluation as they relate to the listing of chemicals in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention, 1. Welcomes the reports of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee on the work of its eleventh and twelfth meetings 7 and the documents forwarded by the Committee to the Conference of the Parties; 8 3 Activity 12 (S6) of the programme budget for the biennium , decisions BC-12/25, RC-7/15 and SC-7/ See UNEP/CHW.12/INF/25-UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.7/INF/17-UNEP/POPS/COP.7/INF/16. 6 See UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/INF/13 and UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/INF/18. 7 UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/10 and Add.1 2; UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/11 and Add

5 2. Appoints the 14 designated experts with terms of office commencing on 5 May 2016 to serve as members of the Committee and notes that one vacancy arising during the intersessional period has been filled; 9 3. Also appoints the 17 designated experts with terms of office commencing on 5 May 2018, as listed in the annex to the present decision, to serve as members of the Committee; Encourages Parties and observers to submit the information specified in Annexes E and F to the Convention and to review and provide technical comments on the draft risk profiles and draft risk management evaluations to the Committee through the Secretariat in a timely manner to support the development of sound recommendations to the Conference of the Parties and supporting documents on the listing of chemicals in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention; 5. Encourages Parties and observers to undertake, within their capabilities, appropriate research, development, monitoring and cooperation pertaining to alternatives to persistent organic pollutants and candidate persistent organic pollutants in accordance with Article 11 of the Convention; 6. Requests the Secretariat to continue, subject to the availability of resources, to assist the Committee in collecting information on persistent organic pollutants in products as necessary for its review of chemicals and to provide Parties with guidance on labelling for the chemicals listed in Annexes A and B, and to collaborate, as appropriate, with relevant international efforts such as the Chemicals in Products project of the United Nations Environment Programme; 7. Requests the Secretariat to continue, subject to the availability of resources, to undertake activities to support Parties and others to participate effectively in the work of the Committee, as listed in decision POPRC-12/7, and to report on the results of those activities to the Conference of the Parties at its ninth meeting. Annex to decision SC-8/[ ] Members of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee appointed by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting for the terms of office commencing on 5 May 2018 African States Asia-Pacific States Central and Eastern European States [The names of the 2 members to be inserted] Latin American and Caribbean States [The names of the 3 members to be inserted] Western European and other States 8 UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/INF/9/Rev.1; UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/INF/12/Rev.1;UNEP/POPS/POPRC.12/INF/15/Rev.1. 9 See UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/ See UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/[ ]. 5