UK National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) – Current issues

Jaya Shah

April 2013

Obligations of the Stockholm Convention

• 2005 - UK ratified

• 2007 - 1st National Implementation Plan

• 12 POPs, 4 unintentional by-products• http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/chemicals/documents/pop-nationalplan.pdf

• 2013 - 2nd National Implementation Plan

• 10 POPs, 1 unintentional by-products• https://

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/update-to-the-uk-national-implementation-plan-2007-for-the-stockholm-convention-on-persistent-organic-pollutants

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/persistent-organic-pollutants-national-implementation-plan

Overview of the plan

• Situation in the UK

• Use, production and legacy issues

• Regulatory controls

• Emissions and trends

• National Action

Listed Pesticides - Regulatory controls

Pesticide Date banned in the UK

Aldrin 1991

Chlordane 1981

DDT 1986

Dieldrin 1981

Endrin 1991

Heptachlor 1984

Hexachlorobenzene 1981

Mirex Never been approved for use

Toxaphene Never been approved for use

Chlordecone 1977

Hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha, beta, gamma(lindane))

1982 – alpha and beta2000 – 2006 depending on use

Endosulfan 2007

Industrial chemicals – regulatory controls

Chemical Date banned

Hexabromobiphenyl 1977

Hexa bromo-diphenyl ether 2004 (Commercial grade octa BDE)

Hepta bromo-diphenyl ether 2004 (Commercial grade octa BDE)

Penta bromo-diphenyl ether 2003 (Commercial grade penta BDE)

Tetra bromo-diphenyl ether 2003 (Commercial grade penta BDE)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 2000 to phase out PCB containing equipment by 2010

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOS-F)

2007 with exemptions (for some uses) which expire in 2015

Unintentionally produced

• Dioxins and Furans

• by-products of combustion processes, industrial

processes regulated

• Hexachlorobenzene

• contaminant level in chlorothalonil controlled

• Pentachlorobenzene

• quintozene not approved since 2002

Emissions data - sources

• NAEI - National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, since

1990, activity estimates and emission factors

• IPPC/EPR Pollution Inventories – EU Integrated Pollution

Prevention and Control Directive/Environmental Permitting

Regulations Pollution Inventories, since 1995

• UK PRTR – United Kingdom Pollutant Release and Transfer

Register, since 2007

Challenges – 2007 NIP

• Dioxin Action Plan – Dioxin Strategy Group

• evaluation of current and projected release inventories

for dioxins, PCB and HCB

• develop and maintain source inventories and release

estimates –

• reducing emissions of unintentionally produced POPs

• Emissions inventory – only air vector in 2007

2010 - What do the releases tell us?

% Reduction between 1990 and 2010

All vectors Air

Dioxins 65 80

PCBs 95 88

HCB 98 99

The levels of dioxin and dioxin-like PCBs in food have reduced by approximately 70% between 1997 and 2007

Annual releases of dioxins, PCB, HCB and PeCB in 2010

Air Land WaterDioxins (g l/TEQ)

189 501 26

PCB (kg) 799 2938 0.6 – 2HCB (kg) 33 9 1.7PeCB (kg) 35 233 3Land emissions include all releases to land including waste to landfill

Dioxin emission trends – Air, Land and Water

PCB emission trends – Air, Land and Water

Challenges – 2013 NIP

• Very limited available data for new POPs

• Diffuse sources of unintentionally produced

POPs – improved understanding of emission

sources and factors, difficult to control

• Emissions from products in use and entering

the waste stream – managing emissions

What are we doing next?

• Listed POPs – uncontrolled emissions

• PBDEs in non-electronic consumer products

• Listed POPs - potential legacy sources

• Lindane, alpha and beta hexachlorocyclohexane

• Emerging candidates

• Food and Standards Agency activities

Candidate POPs – WORK IN PROGRESS

• Dicofol

• Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)

• Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) – No use or production in EU,

unintentional by-product (Annex D)

• Pentachlorophenol (PCP) – No use and production in EU

• Chlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs?) – No use and production in EU,

unintentional by-product

• Short chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCP) – restricted in EU since

2002

Thank you

THANK YOU

Jaya Shah

Jaya.Shah@defra.gsi.gov.uk

020 7238 1597