Questions and Answers On Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
What are POPs and why are they a problem for human health and the environment?
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals with toxic properties that remain in the environment for a very long time, accumulate in food chains and can harm human health and the environment. If released, these pollutants can move across boundaries far from their source - through air, water and migratory species - and they even accumulate in regions where they have never been used or produced.
As indicated in the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, certain chemicals, including POPs, can cause cancer, affect the immune, respiratory, endocrine, reproductive and cardiovascular systems, weaken human resilience and capacity to respond to vaccines and increase vulnerability to disease. The problems caused by POPs come from their intrinsic properties, from how and where they have been used, and ultimately from the harmful effects that their progressive release has on human health and ecosystems.
With limited exceptions, POPs are generally no longer used in new products, but they can still be found in waste. If such waste (such as plastic, wood, paper) is recycled, POPs may re-enter the economy when the resulting materials are used in new products. This poses a threat to health, especially if associated to consumer products.
How do we deal with POPs in waste?
The POPs Regulation determines how waste that contains POPs has to be managed. The ultimate goal is to ensure that this is done in an environmentally sound way. Generally, this means that waste exceeding defined limit values for maximum POPs content has to be incinerated or destroyed through other permitted disposal operations, to stop POPs re-entering the circular economy. Waste that meets the established limits can be treated or disposed of through other, non-destructive means. This waste can potentially be recycled, and the recycled materials are subject to additional limits for the placing of products on the market.
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-Waste producers and waste managers, including recyclers, will have to ensure that waste is treated taking into account the new limit values. In some cases this may entail additional costs in terms of monitoring and treatment but will also result in higher quality, more competitive recycled materials becoming available and in an overall improved management of POP waste.
Which substances does the proposal address?
With today's proposal the EU is implementing its international obligations under the Stockholm Convention, as well as its obligations under the POPs Regulation.
Eight substances or substance families are covered by the proposal. Some of them are listed for the first time, such as PFOA and dicofol. Other POPs, such as certain flame retardants, were already listed and a lowering of their limit values is proposed in all cases.
Today's proposal introduces stringent limits for the following three substances, or groups of substances, in waste:
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-perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its salts and related compounds - found in waterproof textiles and fire-fighting foams;
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-dicofol - a pesticide, previously used in agriculture;
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-pentachlorophenol, its salts and esters - found in treated wood and textiles.
In addition, the Commission is proposing to tighten the maximum limits in waste, for another five substances or substance groups that are already regulated:
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-5 Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - flame retardants found in plastics and textiles used in electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles and furniture;
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-Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) - flame retardant found in some plastic and textile waste, particularly in polystyrene insulation from demolition of buildings;
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-Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) - flame retardant found in some rubber and plastic waste, such as rubber conveyor belts, hoses, cables and seals;
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-Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) - these substances are not produced or added to materials intentionally but are present as impurities in certain ashes and in other industrial waste;
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-Dioxin-like PCBs - similar to dioxins, these PCBs can be present as impurities in some ashes and industrial oils. Limits for these specific PCBs are proposed, together with those for dioxins.
The proposal also strives to ensure an optimal balance with the European Green Deal's ambitions to achieve toxic-free material cycles, increase recycling and circularity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It contributes to delivering on the objectives of the Zero Pollution Action Plan and of the new Circular Economy Action Plan.
How do these limits relate to those adopted internationally?
At the international level, the Basel Convention addresses the transboundary shipment of hazardous waste and certain other wastes and seeks to ensure their environmentally sound management. Under the Convention, limit values relevant to the management of POPs in waste that define “low POP content” are periodically revised and agreed, as part of non-legally binding guidelines on POPs. The European Union actively contributes to developing and improving these guidelines. The values put forward in this proposal lay the basis for future discussions to develop an EU position ahead of negotiations to introduce or amend limit values in these guidelines.
For More Information
Proposal to amend the annexes of the Regulation on persistent organic pollutants (POPs)